CELEX: 51988PC0381
Language: en
Date: 1988-08-31
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL AND SEMI-NATURAL HABITATS AND OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA

Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 247/3
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the protection of natural and semi-natural habitats and of
                                                    wild fauna and flora
                                                     (COM(88) 381 final
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 16 August 1988)
                                                       (88/C 247/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          territories of the Member States due to fundamentally
                                                                  different biological and climatic characteristics;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130s                Whereas territories sufficient in number and size to
thereof,                                                          ensure the maintenance of threatened species and the
                                                                  protection of threatened habitats should be classified as
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                special protection areas according to a carefully-defined
                                                                  schedule;
Having regard      to  the   opinion    of  the   European
                                                                  Whereas in view of the urgent need for action to protect
Parliament,
                                                                  certain theatened habitats, it is necessary that the ten
                                                                  most important areas in the Community be identified
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  and classified as special protection areas within a very
Social Committee,                                                 short period of time;
Whereas the European Community Policy and Action                  Whereas all classified areas, including those classified
Programme on the Environment (1987 to 1992) (')                   under Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on
makes provision for measures regarding conservation of            the conservation of wild birds ( J ), should become part of
nature and natural resources;                                     a European network aimed not only at protecting and
                                                                  improving existing natural resources and re-establishing
Whereas the protection of natural and semi-natural                degraded or destroyed habitats but also at making the
habitats and of wild fauna and flora constitutes an               best use of those resources, adequately preserved in their
important element of environmental policy; whereas the            biological diversity; whereas the European network will
decline in the quality of habitats and in the number of           thus contribute to achieving the objective of prudent and
wild fauna and flora represents a serious threat to the           rational utilization of natural resources;
conservation of the natural environment;
                                                                  Whereas therefore the classification of special protection
                                                                  areas will play an important role in the overall strategy
Whereas the threats affecting habitats and species of wild
                                                                  for the protection of the environment, since it will
fauna and flora may also be of a transfrontier nature;
                                                                  contribute to a satisfactory balance between nature
whereas it is therefore in particular necessary to
                                                                  protection and economic development, based on better
undertake action to protect those habitats and species at
                                                                  use of local resources and diversification of economic
a Community level; whereas for the determination of the
                                                                  activities as well as new forms of land management;
species to be protected, account should be taken of envi-
ronmental conditions in the various regions of the
                                                                  Whereas such classification of special protection areas
Community;
                                                                  should not mean that excessive exploitation of nature
                                                                  should be allowed in non-protected areas and whereas
Whereas the conservation, protection and improvement              appropriate land management also outside the classified
of the environment are essential objectives of general            areas should ensure the sustainability of the biological
interest pursued by the Community, as is stated in Article        systems connecting these areas;
130r of the Treaty;
                                                                  Whereas there is a need to protect distinct features of the
Whereas it is not appropriate to include in this Directive        landscape;
habitats and wild fauna and flora of the non-European
C) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1.                                (2) OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 247/4                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  21. 9. 88
Whereas provision should be made for the possibility of            Whereas it is necessary to adapt certain annexes rapidly
 derogations from the obligations to classify special              in the light of technical and scientific progress; whereas,
 protection    areas    given    specific    socio-economic        to facilitate the implementation of the measures needed
conditions, provided the coherence of the European                 for this purpose, provision should be made for a
 network and its conservation potential for the habitats           procedure establishing close cooperation between the
and species concerned is fully maintained;                         Member States and the Commission in a Committee for
                                                                  Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress;
Whereas it might be necessary to take initiatives to
promote common or coordinated management of trans-
                                                                  Whereas all necessary measures should be taken to
frontier areas of major importance for the conservation
                                                                   ensure the monitoring of the biological communities and
of threatened species of wild fauna and flora and the
                                                                   the populations of threatened species for which full
maintenance of wilderness areas, as well as the transfer
                                                                   habitat protection is required;
of know-how with regard to the management of special
protection areas;
                                                                  Whereas care should be taken in consultation with the
Whereas the national, regional and local planning and              Commission to see that the introduction of any species
development policies should take into account the                 of wild fauna and flora not naturally occurring in the
conservation of habitats and wild fauna and flora and             European territory of the Member States does not cause
therefore all projects, all development plans or                  harm to local flora and fauna,
programmes likely to affect special protection areas
should be made subject to environmental impact
assessment and whereas for this end Council Directive             HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
85/337/EEC (») should be amended;
Whereas a general system of protection is required for                                GENERAL PROVISIONS
certain species of flora and fauna not already covered by
Directive 79/409/EEC;                                                                         Article 1
Whereas exploitation of certain species, whose biological         The aim of this Directive is to conserve natural and
status so requires, should be subject to a management             semi-natural habitats and wild fauna and flora in the
plan, and whereas with in the framework of such                   European territory of the Member States to which the
management plans no undue burdens should be placed                Treaty applies, including maritime areas under the sover-
on industry or commerce;                                          eignty or jurisdiction of the Member States.
Whereas certain means of capture or killing and hunting                                       Article 2
from certain modes of transport must be banned because
of the excessive pressure which they exert or may exert           Member States shall take the requisite measures to
on the numbers of the species concerned or because of             maintain the abundance and diversity of wild fauna and
unnecessary cruelty;                                              flora at a level which corresponds in particular to
                                                                  ecological, scientific and cultural requirements and the
Whereas, because of the importance which may be                   needs of sub-species, varieties, forms and populations at
attached to certain specific situations, provision should         risk locally, while taking account of economic and
be made for the possibility of derogations on certain             recreational requirements.
conditions and subject to monitoring by the
Commission;
                                                                                              Article 3
Whereas the Commission should prepare periodically a              For the purposes of this Directive:
composite report based among other things on the infor-
mation forwarded by the Member States regarding
implementation of national provisions taken under the             (a) 'threatened species' means:
Directive;
                                                                       — endangered species, i.e. taxa in danger of
Whereas the conservation of natural and semi-natural                       extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the
habitats and of wild fauna and flora still presents                        causal factors continue operating. Included are
problems which call for scientific research and                            taxa whose numbers have been reduced to a
evaluation;                                                                critical level or whose habitats have been so dras-
                                                                           tically reduced that they are deemed to be in
Whereas it is appropriate for the Council to adopt                         immediate danger of extinction, and
amendments to the articles of the Directive under the
procedure provided for under Article 130s of the Treaty;               — vulnerable species, i.e. taxa believed likely to
                                                                           move into the endangered category in the near
                                                                           future if the causal factors continue operating.
(') OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40.                                        Included are taxa of which most or all the popu-
 ---pagebreak---  21. 9. 88                                Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 247/5
          lations are decreasing because of over-exploi-                  — on level II for Greece, France, Italy, Portugal,
          tation, extensive destruction of habitats or other                  Spain and the United Kingdom,
          environmental disturbance; taxa with populations
          that have been seriously depleted and whose
          ultimate security is not yet assured; and taxa with             — on level I for the other Member States.
         populations that are still abundant but are under
          threat from serious adverse factors throughout
         their range, and                                                           PROTECTION OF HABITATS
     — narrow endemic species under latent threat.                                             Article 4
                                                                    Member States shall take the requisite measures to
                                                                    conserve the natural and semi-natural habitats of wild
(b) 'Habitat' means:                                                fauna and flora, with particular attention to the habitats
                                                                    of threatened species, especially threatened species
                                                                    endemic to the European territory of the Member States,
     — the normal abode, natural home or locality of a              and threatened natural and semi-natural habitats, in
         named species or population of a named species;            accordance with the provisions of this Directive.
     — a distinctive type of terrain, site or location,
         distinguished by physical, geographical, vegeta-                                      Article 5
         tional or other features.                                   1.     Habitats of the species specified in accordance with
                                                                    Annex I and the types of habitat specified in accordance
                                                                    with Annex IV shall be the subject of special conser-
(c) 'threatened habitat' means:                                     vation measures in order to ensure the maintenance of
                                                                    the species concerned at a satisfactory level in their area
                                                                    of natural distribution as well as the conservation of the
     — a type of environment characterized by a                     habitats concerned in all the regions where they occur.
         complex of abiotic conditions and a specific
         biotic community, exposed to the risk of disap-
         pearance or degradation because of its scarcity or         2.     Member States shall, within two years after the
         because of the fragility of the ecological                 expiry of the period laid down in Article 27, classify as
         conditions or because of the fragility of its more         special protection areas those areas which they consider
         specialized and characteristic species or because          correspond to the criteria set out in Annex V (a). If, after
         of its tendency to rarification. In this context           the expiry of that period, the ten most important areas in
         'disappearance' means the passage to another               the Community have not been classified by Member
         category in a general classification of habitats           States, the remaining areas to be classified shall be iden-
         and 'degradation' means the reduction of its most          tified by the Commission during the following year in
         characteristic elements without any change of              accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23,
         category.                                                  and shall be classified by the Member States accordingly
                                                                    within one year, following the decision of the
                                                                    Commission.
(d)   'specimen'means:
                                                                    3.     Within, at the latest, eight years after the expiry of
                                                                    the period laid down in Article 27, Member States shall
     — any animal or plant, whether alive or dead, of the           classify as special protection areas territories sufficient in
         species specified in accordance with Annex II and
                                                                    number and size to ensure:
         Annex III to this Directive, any part or derivative
         thereof, as well as any other goods which appear
         from an accompanying document, the packaging                (i) the maintenance of the species specified in
         or a mark or label, or from any other circum-                    accordance with Annex I at a satisfactory level in- all
         stances, to be parts or derivatives of animals or                regions where they occur;
         plants of these species.
                                                                    (ii) the protection of the threatened habitats specified in
                                                                        - accordance with Annex IV with their associated
(e)   'regions'means:                                                     fauna and flora in all regions where they occur.
     — the geographical units defined in the nomen-                 In classifying these areas, Member States shall apply in
         clature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) of      particular the criteria set out in Annex V (b). They shall
         Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European           at least take into account the timing and priorities set out
         Community:                                                 in the joint programme mentioned in Article 6 (2).
 ---pagebreak--- No C 247/6                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                21. 9. 88
4.     Member States shall send the Commission all                 these would have significant effects, having regard to the
relevant information on each area which they classify              objectives of this Directive, on the species or types of
under paragraphs 2 and 3, using in particular the form             habitats for which the area has been classified.
specified in accordance with Annex VI.
5.     For the areas covered by paragraph 3, Member                2.    Member States shall consider in particular the
States may derogate from the criteria set out in Annex             appropriate protection status to be given to areas as
V (b) if on the basis of scientific evidence and environ-          referred to in paragraph 1, and the setting up of inte-
mental impact assessment the authority competent for               grated management plans in accordance with the
nature protection is satisfied that, within the area for           ecological needs of the species and types of habitat
which it is responsible, the coherence of the European             concerned. A common typology for the classification of
network mentioned in Article 6 and its conservation                protected areas at European level shall be adopted in
potential for the habitats and species concerned is fully          accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23.
maintained. The reasons for such derogations shall be
made public and notified to the Commission.
                                                                   3.    Where necessary to ensure a satisfactory conser-
                                                                   vation status of a species Member States shall envisage
                                                                   the re-establishment of destroyed or degraded biotopes
                          Article 6                                or the creation of new ones.
1.     Member States shall assist the Commission in the
creation of a European network of classified special
protection areas named 'Natura 2000'. The European                                           Article 8
network shall consist of areas classified under Directive           1.   Outside the classified special protection areas
79/409/EEC, as well as those classified under this                 referred to in Article 5 (2) and (3), Member States shall
Directive. Unless notice is given to the contrary before           also strive to avoid pollution or deterioration of natural
the expiry of the period laid down under Article 27,               and semi-natural habitats.
areas classified by the Member States under the Ramsar
Convention shall also be considered as classified under
this Directive. The European network shall be composed             2.     Member States shall furthermore take measures to
of areas sufficient in number and size to ensure the               ensure the protection of distinct features of the
maintenance of the species specified in accordance with            landscape, including in particular those specified in
Annex 1 at a satisfactory level as well as the conservation        accordance with Annex VII, which are of outstanding
of the types of habitats specified in accordance with              local importance to wildlife.
Annex IV, in all regions where they occur. The
European network should ensure that these territories
form a coherent whole which meets the protection
                                                                   3.     Member States may allow derogations, limited to
requirements of the abovementioned species and habitats
                                                                   the minimum area necessary, from paragraph 2 if their
in the geographical land and sea area to which this
                                                                   impact can be counterbalanced, so that they have no
Directive applies.
                                                                   adverse effects on the sustainability of the biological
                                                                   systems connecting the special protection areas or on
                                                                   species whose conservation cannot be ensured solely
2.     Within two years after the expiry of the period laid        through the designation of special protection areas.
down in Article 27, the Commission shall adopt a joint
programme for the development and strengthening of
the European network in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 23. The joint programme shall be                                        Article 9
reviewed at the end of the eight-year period specified in
                                                                    Member States shall assist the Commission in promoting:
Article 5 (3). The joint programme shall furthermore
specify the measures to be taken at the appropriate levels
of competence by the Community and the Member                       (a) common or coordinated management of trans-
States in order to back up the implementation of the                    frontier areas of major importance for the conser-
Directive. Such measures may include the requirements                   vation of species of wild fauna and flora specified in
for protection, training infrastructure and management                  accordance with Annexes I and II or for the
plans, research and studies, field experiments, monitoring              protection of the threatened habitats specified in
schemes and necessary resources.                                        accordance with Annex IV;
                           Article 7                                (b) the maintenance of wilderness areas throughout the
                                                                        Community;
 1.    In respect of the special protection areas referred to
 in Article 5 (2) and (3), Member States shall the appro-
 priate steps to avoid pollution or deterioration of habitats       (c) the transfer of know-how with regard           to  the
 or any disturbances affecting fauna and flora, insofar as              management of special protection areas.
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 9. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 247/7
         ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT                          (c) the deliberate destruction or taking of eggs from the
                                                                       wild or the keeping of such eggs even if empty;
                           Article 10
                                                                  (d) the keeping and sale of specimens taken from the
Member States shall take the necessary measures to                     wild.
incorporate safeguards in national, regional and local
planning and development policies to ensure that damage
to natural and semi-natural habitats and loss of wild             (2) The prohibitions referred to under (a), (b) and (d)
fauna and flora (with particular reference to populations         of paragraph 1 shall apply to all life stages of the animals
or colonies of threatened species) is avoided.                    to which this Article applies.
They shall also ensure that persons involved in the                                          Article 13
planning and implementation of these policies, as well as
the general public, are adequately informed as to the             1. Member States shall take the requisite measures to
requirements of this Directive.                                   establish a general system of protection for the plant
                                                                  species specified in accordance with Annex II (b), prohi-
                                                                  biting in particular:
                           Article 11
                                                                  (a) the picking, collecting, cutting, uprooting           or
Directive 85/337/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
                                                                        destruction of such plants in the wild;
(a) The following subparagraphs are added to Article              (b) the keeping and sale or specimens of such species
     4(2):                                                              taken in the wild.
     'However, all projects which are located in or are
     likely to affect the conservation potential of a special     2. The prohibitions referred to under (a) and (b) of
     protection area forming part of the European                 paragraph 1 shall apply to all life stages of the plants to
     network established under Directive ???/EEC shall            which this Article applies.
     be made subject to an assessment in accordance with
     Articles 5 to 10.                                                                        Article 14
     All development plans or programmes likely to affect          1. Member States shall take the requisite measures to
      special protection areas shall be made subject to an        insure the protection of the wild fauna and flora species
      equivalent assessment.'                                     specified in accordance wih Annex III.
 (b) The following subparagraph is added to Article                2. Exploitation, whether commercial or otherwise, of
      6(1):                                                        the species specified in accordance with Annex III (a)
                                                                   should only be permitted of species whose population is
      'Member States shall ensure that the authorities             shown to be stable or increasing and exploitation must
      responsible for the protection and management of             be sustainable. Such exploitation shall be subject to a
      special protection areas, and other relevant bodies          management plan with the aims specified in Annex VIII
      likely to be concerned by the project, development           in order to keep wild populations of those species at a
      plan or programme, are closely associated in the             satisfactory level and to avoid causing local disap-
      assessment procedures and that their final opinion is        pearance of or serious disturbance to populations.
      made public.'
                                                                   3. Member States shall prohibit the uprooting of living
                                                                   wild plants specified in accordance with Annex III (b) in
                  PROTECTION OF SPECIES                            whole or in part (or the removal of their bulbs, corms,
                                                                   rhizomes and/or rootstocks in whole or in part) for
                           Article 12                              commercial use or sale except for species:
  1. Member States shall take the requisite measures to             (a) whose population is shown to be stable or increasing,
 establish a general system of protection for animal                     and
 species specified in accordance with Annex II (a), prohi-
 biting in particular:                                              (b) whose exploitation is sustainable. Any such exploi-
                                                                         tation shall be subject to a management plan with the
  (a) all forms of taking, capture           and   deliberate            aims specified in Annex VIII.
       destruction, injury or killing;
  (b) deliberate disturbance, particularly during the period        4. Member States shall take the requisite measures to
       of breeding, rearing and hibernation, insofar as             prohibit the sale of and trade in plants or parts of plants
       disturbance would be significant in relation to the          specified in accordance with Annex III (b) (including
       objectives of this Directive;                                their bulbs, corms, rhizomes and/or rootstocks)
 ---pagebreak--- No C 247/8                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                  21. 9. 88
uprooted from the wild, except where exploitation             is     (c) in the interests of public health and safety;
subject to a management plan with the aims specified         in
Annex VIII. Such measures shall cover offering               or      (d) for the purposes of research and education, of
exposing for sale and transporting for the purpose           of           repopulation, of reintroduction and for the breeding
sale.                                                                     necessary for these purposes, and for the artificial
                                                                          propagation of plants;
5. Member States shall, where appropriate, take other
measures, in particular:                                             (e) to permit, under strictly supervised conditions, on a
                                                                          selective basis and to a limited extent, the taking or
                                                                          keeping of certain wild animals and plants in small
(a) closed seasons and/or other procedures regulating
                                                                          numbers.
     exploitation;
(b) temporary or local prohibition of exploitation, in               2. Member States shall report to the Commission each
     order to restore satisfactory population levels;                year on the derogations applied under this Article.
(c) regulation of the sale, keeping for sale, transporting           3.     The reports must specify:
     for sale or offering for sale of specimens.
                                                                     (a) the species which are subject to the derogation;
                           Article 15
                                                                     (b) the means, arrangements or methods authorized for
In respect of the capture or killing of wild fauna species                capture or killing;
specified in accordance with Annex III (a) and in cases
where, in accordance with Article 17, derogations are                (c) the conditions of risk and the circumstances of time
applied to the taking, capture and killing of species                     and place under which such derogations may be
specified in accordance with Annex II (a), Member                         granted;
States shall take measures to prohibit:
                                                                     (d) the authority empowered to declare that the required
(a) the use of the means specified in Annex IX (a);                       conditions obtain and to decide what means,
                                                                          arrangements or methods may be used, within what
(b) the manufacture, sale and use of the non-selective                    limits and by whom;
      devices for capture or killing listed in Annex IX (b);
                                                                     (e) the controls which will be carried out.
(c) any hunting from the modes of transport mentioned
      in Annex IX (c).                                                                         Article 18
                                                                     Measures taken by Member States in implementation of
                           Article 16                                this Directive shall in no way affect their obligations
                                                                     under the provisions of Community legislation on the
Member States shall take the requisite measures to                   implementation in the Community of the Convention on
ensure that inshore fishing and protection of crops with             international trade in endangered species of wild fauna
nets are not detrimental to the conservation of                      and flora.
threatened species specified in accordance with Annex II,
 and, as far as possible, other species of wild fauna and
 flora.                                                                                     INFORMATION
                                                                                               Article 19
                           Article 17
                                                                      1. Member States shall, at the end of the period
 1. Member States may derogate from the provisions                    specified in Article 5 (2), and every three years
 of Articles 12, 13 and 14 and from the prohibition of the            thereafter, make a full report on the implementation of
 use of the means mentioned in Article 15 (a) provided                national provisions taken under this Directive. This
 that there is no other satisfactory solution and that the            report shall be made available to the public and
 exception will not be detrimental to the maintenance of              forwarded to the Commission.
 satisfactory levels of the populations concerned in their
 area of natural distribution:
                                                                      2. The Commission shall prepare a composite report
                                                                      based on the information referred to in paragraph 1 and
 (a) for the protection of wild fauna and flora;                      on research results obtained within the Community envi-
                                                                      ronmental R & D programme. This report shall include
 (b) to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock,                   an appropriate evaluation of progress achieved under the
      forests, fisheries, water and other forms of property;          Directive. That part of the draft report covering the
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 9. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 247/9
information supplied by a Member State shall be                                             Article 23
forwarded to the authorities of the Member State in
                                                                  1.     The Commission shall be assisted by a committee
question for verification. The final version of the report
                                                                  for the adaptation of this directive to technical and
shall be published by the Commission and forwarded to
                                                                  scientific progress consisting of representatives of the
the Member States, the Parliament and the Council.
                                                                  Member States and chaired by a representative of the
                                                                  Commission.
3.     Each year the Commission shall publish in the
Official Journal of the European Communities the list of          2.     The representative of the Commission shall submit
classified areas communicated by Member States.                   to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken.
Member States shall ensure that area classified under this        The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft
Directive are clearly marked by notices specified in              within a time limit which the chairman may lay down
accordance with Annex X.                                          according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion
                                                                  shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article
                                                                  148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the
                          RESEARCH                                Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the
                                                                  Commission. The votes of the representatives of the
                                                                  Member States within the committee shall be weighted in
                           Article 20                             the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall
                                                                  not vote.
1.     Member States shall encourage research and any
work required as a basis for the protection, management
and use of the populations of all species of wild fauna           3.     The Commission shall adopt measures which shall
and flora referred to in Article 1.                               apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in
                                                                  accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall
                                                                  be communicated by the Commission to the Council
2.     Particular attention shall be paid to research and         forthwith. In that event:
work on the subjects specified in accordance with Annex
XI, and transnational cooperative research shall be               — the Commission may defer application of the
encouraged.       Member       States shall    provide   the           measures which it has decided for a period of not
Commission with any information required to enable it                  more than one month from the date of such
to take appropriate measures for the coordination of the               communication;
research and work referred to in this Article.
                                                                  — the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take
                                                                       a different decision within that period.
 3.    Member States and the Commission shall promote
 multidisciplinary analysis and evaluation with a view to
 increasing scientifically — based knowledge to which the                                 MONITORING
 measures carried out under this Directive can be
 anchored. Such information should be made available to                                     Article 24
 the public.
                                                                   1.    Member States shall take all necessary measures to
                                                                   ensure the monitoring of the biological communities and
                                                                   the populations of species specified in accordance with
                AMENDMENT PROCEDURE
                                                                   Annex I and in the areas classified under Article 5.
                                                                   Member States shall send the Commission the infor-
                           Article 21                              mation resulting from monitoring, so that it may take
                                                                   appropriate initiatives with a view to the coordination
 Any amendment to Articles of this Directive shall, in             necessary to ensure the fulfilment of the objectives of
 accordance with the second paragraph of Article 130s of           this Directive.
 the Treaty, be decided by the Council by qualified
 majority.                                                         2.    The Community and the Member States shall
                                                                   cooperate to ensure consistency of monitoring and
                           Article 22                              measurement methods.
  1.    Where Articles of this Directive provide for the
  specification of matters in accordance with the Annexes,                       SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
  these matters shall be adopted in accordance with the
  procedure laid down in Article 23 within one year                                          Article 25
  following the notification of the Directive.
                                                                    In implementing the provisions of this Directive, Member
                                                                    States shall:
  2.    Such amendments as are necessary for adapting the
  Annexes to technical and scientific progress shall be             (a) encourage the reintroduction of native species of
  adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in                 wild flora and fauna when this would contribute to
                                                                        conservation, provided that an investigation also in
  Article 23.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 247/10                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     21.9. 88
     the light of the experiences of other Member States                communities of wild fauna and flora referred to in
     or elsewhere has established that such reintroduction             Article 1.
     would be effective and acceptable;
(b) ensure that the introduction into the wild of any                                             Article 27
     species which do not occur naturally in the wild state             1.    Member States shall bring into force the laws,
     in that region does not prejudice the local fauna and              regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
     flora or its natural habitats. In this connection they             comply with this Directive within two years of its notifi-
     shall consult the Commission;                                      cation. They shall forthwith inform the Commission
(c) promote education and general information on the                   thereof.
     need to conserve species of wild fauna and flora and
     their habitats.                                                    2.    Member States shall communicate to the
                                                                        Commission the texts of the provisions of national law
                           Article 26                                  which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
Application of measures taken pursuant to this Directive                                          Article 28
shall not lead to any deterioration in the present
situation as regards the conservation of species and                   This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
                                                                ANNEX I
               The animals and plants to be specified under this Annex are those whose habitats are threatened in the
                                                               Community
               (a) animals
               (b) plants
                                                               ANNEX II
               The species of animals and plants to be specified under this Annex are those which are threatened in the
                                                               Community
               (a) animals
               (b) plants
                                                               ANNEX III
               The animals and plants to be specified under this Annex are those whose exploitation should be subject to a
                                                           management plan
               (a) animals
               (b) plants
                                                               ANNEX IV
               The natural and semi-natural habitats to be specified under this Annex are those that are threatenes in the
                                                               Community
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                                                                  ANNEX       V(a)
            Criteria for classification of areas as special protection areas of European significance for nature conser-
                         vation to be applied within the first two years after entry into force of the Directive
            The criteria for the classification of areas as special protection areas of importance for nature conservation
            at Community level are:
                 criterion (1) the presence of threatened species of animals or plants;
                 criterion (2) the presence of threatened habitats.
                 For application of criterion (1), at least those areas should be classified which meet one or both of the
                 following conditions:
                 — they are among the 10 most important areas in the Community for the conservation of each of the
                      species specified in accordance with Annex I;
                 — they are among the two most important areas in a region for the conservation of the species
                      specified in accordance with Annex I insofar as that region contains areas of regional significance
                      for those species.
                 For the purpose of assessing the importance of areas, size of the area, population harboured and
                 perennity shall be used.
                 For application of criterion (2), at least those areas should be classified which meet one or both of the
                 following conditions:
                 — they are among the 10 most important areas in the Community for the conservation of each of the
                      habitat types specified in accordance with Annex IV;
                 — they are among the two most important areas in a region for the conservation of each of the
                      habitat types specified in accordance with Annex IV insofar as that region contains areas of
                      regional significance for that habitat type. Size and representativity shall be used to assess
                      importance of the areas.
                                                                   ANNEX       V(b)
            Criteria for classification of areas as special protection areas of European significance for nature conser-
                                                                       vation
            The criteria for the classification of areas as special protection areas of importance for nature conservation
            at Community level are based on:
                  criterion (1) the presence of threatened species of plants or animals;
                  criterions (2) the presence of threatened habitats;
                  criterions (3) the richness of the area for a taxonomic group (order, family).
                  For application of criterion (1) at least those areas should be classified which meet one or both of the
                  following conditions:
                  — they are among the 100 most important areas in the Community for the conservation of each of
                       the species specified in accordance with Annex I;
                  — they are among the five most important areas in a region for the conservation of each of the
                       species specified in accordance with Annex I insofar as that region contains areas of regional
                       significance for those species.
                  For the purpose of assessing the importance of areas, size of the area, population harboured and
                  perennity shall be used.
                  For application of criterion (2) at least those areas should be classified which meet one or both of the
                  following conditions:
                       they are among the 100 most important areas in the Community for the conservation of each of
                       the habitat types specified in accordance with Annex IV.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 247/12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                     21.9. 88
               — they are among the five most important areas in a region for the conservation of each of the
                   habitat types specified in accordance with Annex IV insofar as that region contains areas of
                   regional significance for that habitat type. Size and representativity of the areas shall be used to
                   assess their importance.
               Member States may classify less than five areas in a region or, in the case of species specified in
               accordance with Annex I where the whole Community population is concentrated in their territory,
               less than 100 areas if:
               (a) no unclassified area is more important than others already classified in the same region, and
               (b) more than half of the areas that could qualify have been classified in a region, and
               (c) more than half of the regional population of the species is harboured in special protection areas.
               In cases of species and types of habitats with very limited distribution involving more than one
               Member State, decisions as to how to apply the criteria will be taken in accordance with the
               procedure laid down in Article 23.
               For criterion (3) areas should be included in addition to those which satisfy criterion (1) or criterion
               (2) if they are exceptionally rich in significant species of one or several taxonomic groups.
                                                              ANNEX VI
          The information to be specified for the transmission of data about the classification of special protection
                                                                 areas
                                                             ANNEX VII
          The types of distinct landscape features to be specified under this Annex are those of outstanding local
                                                        importance to wildlife
                                                             ANNEX VIII
          Management plan for exploitable species of wild fauna and flora specified in accordance with Annexes III
                                                            (a) and III (b)
          The management plan mentioned in Article 14, paragraph 2, must aim to ensure:
          (a) that exploitation is sustainable,
          (b) that exploitation will be properly regulated, monitored and annually re-assessed to ensure that the
              population is remaining stable or increasing,
          (c) that exploitation will not affect the capacity of populations of the exploited species at individual
              localities to recover from natural or artifical losses.
                                                              ANNEX IX
                          Prohibited methods and means of capture and killing and modes of transport
          MAMMALS
          (a) — snares,
              — live animals used as decoys which are blind or mutilated,
              — tape recorders,
              — electrical devices capable of killing or stunning,
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              — artificial light sources,
              — mirrors and other dazzling devices,
              — devices for illuminating targets,
              — sighting devices for night shooting comprising an electronic image magnifier or image converter,
              — explosives,
               — nets ('),
               — traps (l),
               — crossbows,
               — poisons and poisoned or anaesthetic bait,
               — gassing or smoking out,
               — semi-automatic or automatic weapons with a magazine capable of holding more than two rounds of
                   ammunition;
          (b) — leghold trap,
               — self-locking body snare;
          (c) — aircraft,
               — motor vehicles in motion;
          FISH
          (a) — poison
               — explosives
          (l) If applied for large-scale or non-selective capture or killing.
                                                                  ANNEX X
          The notices to be specified under this Annex should show the classification of areas as special protection
                                                                     areas
                                                                  ANNEX XI
           The research to be specified under this Annex should provide a basis for the protection, management and
                                   use of all species of wild fauna and flora referred to in Article 1