Habitats Directive

The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The European Community was reformed as the European Union the following year, but the directive is still recognised.
The Habitats Directive required national governments to specify areas that are expected to be ensuring the conservation of flora and fauna species. This led to the setting up of a network of protected areas across the EU, along with 'Special Areas of Conservation', which together with the existing Special Protection Areas, became the so-called Natura 2000 network established to protect species and habitats.
This directive is one of the main pillars of the European Union's system of wildlife and nature conservation, another being the Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive, together with the Birds Directive, are also called the "nature directives".
The Habitats Directive consists of 24 articles of legislation to which all member states must comply. Article 17 of the directive sets the terms and standards for reporting on both the habitats and species listed in the annexes by the individual EU member countries. It stipulates a report from each member country on the state of nature every six years. The first preliminary reports were due in 2001 (but only published in 2004), the first actual assessments were due in 2007 (published 2009), the second in 2013 (published 2015), and the third set of assessment reports were due in 2019 (published 2020). The assessments of conservation status differ markedly from those of the IUCN Red List. The aim in the case of the EU conservation status is to assess the distance from a defined favourable situation, as opposed to the distance from extinction. There are three classes of conservation status: favourable (FV), unfavourable-inadequate (U1) and unfavourable-bad (U2).
The annexes of the directive outline the protected habitats and species:
From 1988 to 1992, the policy was given importance at the national level by policy experts, scientists and ecologists; later on in the 1990s this spawned further political, social and administrative discussions among the relevant countries.
Due to differences in nature conservation traditions, national problems have arisen in the implementation of the directive. Since member states in the south and east of Europe participated less in nature policies, these states experienced problems with the EU provisions. In Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium, the observation of conflicts between various government layers have caused prolonged delays in the management of nature policies. On the other hand, in member states such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, positive outcomes have developed due to stakeholder involvement, pro-active authorities, agencies responsible for implementation and public participation.
According to one 2014 report there are increasing incompatibilities with the Natura 2000 policy on economic development.
Annex I lists the specific habitats which have been designated as the a Special Area of Conservation, to which a common EU-wide legislation applies. Certain habitats among those are furthermore designated as "priority habitat types". Habitats in the EU are given codes. An area or habitat can combine two habitats, and be designated as for example code 35.2 × 64.1 - Open grassland with Corynephorus and Agrostis (35.2), in combination with continental dunes (64.1). Example Annex I habitats are:
Open sea and tidal areas
Dunes
Standing and running freshwater
Matorral
Grasslands
Bogs, mires and fens
Rocky areas and caves
Forests - Only (sub-)natural
The full list of habitats is distributed over 9 main categories.
Annex II lists species which determine if an area is a Special Area of Conservation. These include:
Mosses and liverworts: Bruchia vogesiaca, Buxbaumia viridis, Dichelyma capillaceum, Dicranum viride, Distichophyllum carinatum, Drepanocladus vernicosus, Jungermannia handelii, Mannia triandra, Meesia longiseta, Nothothylas orbicularis, Orthotrichum rogeri, Petalophyllum ralfsii, Riccia breidleri, Riella helicophylla, Scapania massolongi, Sphagnum pylaisii, Tayloria rudolphiana
Ferns and allies
Monocots
Dicots
There are also a number of priority species:
There is a separate list for plants from Macaronesia.
Androcymbium psammophilum
This annex explains the criteria which are used to select sites which are eligible to be recognised as important for Europe, or as Special Areas of Conservation. The process consists of two stages. The first stage is to assess the importance at a national level, based on the habitats and species listed in Annex I and II. The second stage is to assess the importance for Europe as a whole, again based on the two earlier annexes.
Annex IV lists species of interest to Europe which are in need of strict protection.
Turtles
Lizards
Snakes
Salamanders:
Toads and frogs:
Annex IV contains all the plant species listed in Annex II (except the mosses and lichens), plus the plant taxa listed below:
Annex V details the species which are of 'interest' to the European Union, of which the taking or exploitation of wild may be subject to the management decisions of the individual countries concerned. This largely concerns plants or animals in which the hunting or gathering was/is an economic activity. Mammals
Amphibians
Fish
Other
Plants
This annex compiles the types of capture and killing (i.e. hunting) which are prohibited in the European Community (and now the European Union), as well as prohibited modes of transport (while hunting). These can vary according to form of life. Birds are covered by the older Birds Directive.
It is furthermore illegal to hunt wildlife in the European Union from an aircraft or moving motor vehicle.