Natura 2000: Introducing a discussion on identification and selection of sites

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1 Natura 2000: Introducing a discussion on identification and selection of sites Alberto Arroyo Schnell WWF International 12 th October 2005 WWF-Canon / Krista SORMUNEN

2 Previous hypothesis Bosnia Hercegovina is an EU candidate / accession country Therefore: Legislation has to be transposed If needed, annexes of both Directives are being adapted National lists are under preparation Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

3 Experience from latest enlargement processes No transition periods for nature legislation Prepare national lists to be ready by accession Art.6.2/3/4 applies by accession Adaptation of the annexes of both directives Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

4 Establisment of the Natura 2000 network Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

5 Legal obligations from the designation SPA X X X psci csci? X? X? X? SCI X X X SAC X X X X Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

6 Natura 2000 designation SCI/ SAC SPA Two different processes; different selection criteria; different objectives; overlapping designation; Legal impacts; It does matter for conservation what is the form of designation Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

7 SPA A Place for Birds Birdlife International

8 Site designation: SPAs Alberto Arroyo Schnell

priority setting for sitebased bird conservation.

9 The Birds Directive and the IBA Programme The IBA programme has originally aimed at identifying potential SPAs in the EU; Today it is the global tool for priority setting for sitebased bird conservation. The IBA inventories widely used by the CEC to challenge Member States for insufficient desig-nation of SPAs (11 of 15)

10 A Global B Europe C European Union Threatened spp. A1: Globally threatened Restricted-range spp. A2: Endemic spp. B2: One of n most important for a SPEC1-3 sp. C1: Globally threatened [= A1] Assemlages of biome-restricted spp. A3: Biome restricted spp. Congregations A4i: 1% of biogeogr. pop. of a waterbird sp.; A4ii: 1% of global pop. of seabird or other sp.; A4iii: 20,000 waterbirds or 10,000 pairs of seabird; A4iv: 20,000 storks, raptors or cranes B1i: 1% of flyway pop. of a waterbird sp.; B1ii: 1% of a distinct pop. of seabird sp.; B1iii: 1% of a flyway or other distinct pop. of other congr. sp.; B1iv: 5,000 storks or 3,000 raptors or cranes Others B3: One of n most important for SPEC4 sp. C2: 1% of flyway or EU pop. of an Annex I sp. [ B1]; C3: 1% of flyway or EU pop. of a non- Annex I migratory sp. [=B1]; C4: 20,000 waterbirds or 10,000 pairs of seabird [=A4iii]; C5: 5,000 storks or 3,000 raptors or cranes [=B1iv]; C6: top 5 site for an Annex I sp. in the NUTS reg. C7: SPAs selected based on other ornith. criteria [n/a]

11 SAC A Place for Habitats & Species Alberto Arroyo Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

12 Site designation: pscis Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

13 The Biogeographical Regions Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

14 SCIs designation follows 4 phases Proposal of Member states (1 list per region) Evaluation in biogeographic seminars (1-3 loops) Improvement of National Lists Bilateral negotiations (member states and EC) Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

15 SCIs designation basics Based on scientific background (annexes) Includes discussion with stakeholders in a transparent procedure: the Biogeographic seminars WWF-Canon / Edward PARKER Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

16 SCIs designation criteria Annex III-A of the Directive establishes some general criteria: Habitats: Representativity % area respect to the total national area conservation status global assessment Species: Size and density of the population (respect to national population) conservation status isolation of the population global assessment Priority habitats and species Some guidelines from the EC help for this purpose Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

17 What needs to be protected? National reference list: Which habitats and species from the Annexes of the HD are present in your country? (anything relevant at the EU level missing?) Is the Habitats interpretation manual adapted to your country (very technical phytosociological information)? The Habitats interpretation manual allows to very broad interpretation: it could be enough to ensure national subtypes are included Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

18 Site designation: do we know what needs to be protected in Bosnia Hercegovina?

19 Identification of sites: some ideas Use of inventories e.g. ES: 1: habitats inventory (based on phitosociology) e.g. HR: Habitat mapping on the whole territory of Croatia (9ha units, remote sensing + field work) Use of existing information (scientific evidence, known locations, expert opinions) e.g. all over: use of known locations (non published expert cites) for the site designation process, use of scientific articles Focusing on known spots e.g. BG: inventory of known best areas (40% of their territory) Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

20 Data collection ACTIONS - contact experts - collect information PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS sometimes narrow field of expertise => many experts to be contacted different regions => even more experts specialists often not reluctant to give their data => write motivating letter with engagement of correct use of data differences in data quality which parts of the total distribution area are essential? data not always recent (< 10 years?)

21 Data collection ACTIONS - Put together information PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS absence of estimations of total area/habitat lack of precision of data difficulty to estimate the % covered by a habitat type interpretation of the interpretation manual (e.g. for degraded habitats)

22 Identification of sites: which information can we use in your country (see annexes)? Which is the situation (availability, gaps)

23 Selection of sites GIS: basic tool! EC requirement: minimum scale of 1: Based on the scientific information; borders can be broader (different approaches) Stakeholder involvement (not always carried out, as the site designation is a scientific process) Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

24 Mapping ACTIONS - Digitalizing information PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS availability of precise location different grid systems: UTM, Lambert, => PC-conversion programme => transparent grid lines on top op map absence of GIS-system => road map + transparents (same scale)

25 Caves

26 Selection of sites: how can the task be done in Bosnia Hercegovina? (GIS)

27 The standard data forms Available on Internet Based on the scientific information from the sites Digital form to be filled in, including habitats and species present % of habitats and species on the site, respect to national surface of them conservation status of the habitats and species other information Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

28 Filling in of the Standard Data Forms: how in Bosnia Hercegovina?

29 Further information EC website m ETC (technical Agency of the EC): ura_2000/documentation Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

30 CASE STUDY: Slovakia

Activities I 1 Organisation and capacity building 1.1 Advise on organisation and staffing of Natura 2000 Centre 1.1.1 Technical assistance and study tour 1.1.2 Support to the establishment of Natura 2000 Centre 1.

31 Activities I 1 Organisation and capacity building 1.1 Advise on organisation and staffing of Natura 2000 Centre Technical assistance and study tour Support to the establishment of Natura 2000 Centre 1.2 Development of management plans Training on management planning process Elaboration of management plans Training on stakeholder co-operation Stakeholder involvement in pilot areas

32 Activities II 2 Database and inventory development 2.1 Review of existing databases, their accessibility, usefulness Analysis of existing data sources relevant to Natura 2000 needs Preparation of preliminary list of Natura 2000 sites 2.2 Development of guidelines for site selection Study tour for the MoE and the SNC Technical assistance and workshop 2.3 Development of interpretation manual for habitats Identification of expert team Elaboration of manual 2.4 Database development and implementation Development of two transitional databases Filling up of databases Development of central database 2.5 Collection of data through fieldwork Preparation of methodologies for inventories Organisation of teams and training of experts in methodology Fieldwork and filling up databases 2.6 Elaboration of list of protected areas Analysis of all sites Ranking of selected sites

33 Activities II 2 Database and inventory development 2.1 Review of existing databases, their accessibility, usefulness Analysis of existing data sources relevant to Natura 2000 needs Preparation of preliminary list of Natura 2000 sites 2.2 Development of guidelines for site selection Study tour for the MoE and the SNC Technical assistance and workshop

2.3 Development of interpretation manual for habitats 2.3.1 Identification of expert team 2.3.2

34 2.3 Development of interpretation manual for habitats Identification of expert team Elaboration of manual Results: 64 annexed habitats (including proposed by accession countries) 22 priority habitats

35 2.4 Database development and implementation Development of two transitional databases Filling up of databases Development of central database Different databases + GIS (13 identified) CentralDB + GIS Plant species Animal species Habitats Birds NATURA2000 Sites selection GIS layers of different NATURA species and habitats for spatial analyses. PreNaturaDB Structure according to Natura2000 database Additional Information: GIS calculation CORINE - overlapping Impact Status of protection Literature NATURA2000 DATABASE

36 State of existing databases Name of Database Focus 1. GIS of Grasslands All grassland habitats No. Sp. records Data holder DAPHNE Institute of Applied Ecology 2. Information System of Slovak Biotopes All biotopes Institute of Landscape Ecology of Slovak Academy of Sciences 3. Database of Higher Plants Vascular plants Institute of Botany of Slovak Academy of Sciences 4. Database of relevés Phytosoc. records - Institute of Botany of Slovak Academy of Sciences 5. Databank of Slovak Fauna All animal groups (no birds) Dept. of Zoology of Fac. Nat. Sci. of Comenius University 6. Database of Forests Forest habitats - Ministry of Agriculture/Lesoprojekt 7. Databases D-Fyto and F- Zoo Plant and animal species National Nature Conservancy 8. IBAs Important Bird Areas - NGO Society for the Protection of Birds in Slovakia (SOVS) 9. Birds of Slovakia Bird populations approx. 100,000 Slovak ornithological Society 10. Peatland GIS Peatland habitats - DAPHNE Institute of Applied Ecology

37 75 148

38 2.5 Collection of data through fieldwork Coverage of the Slovak Republic by grassland mapping after 3 rd year 6,500 localities of 17 N2000 habitats in GIS 400,000 species records 115,000 ha covered

Activities III 3 Awareness building 3.1 Dissemination of awareness on Natura 2000 to stakeholders 3.1.1 Initial national stakeholder conference 3.1.2 Second national stakeholder conference 3.

39 Activities III 3 Awareness building 3.1 Dissemination of awareness on Natura 2000 to stakeholders Initial national stakeholder conference Second national stakeholder conference 3.2 Development of documentation for public information Preparation of information leaflet on Natura Preparation of interpretation manuals for Article Designing and printing of leaflet and interpretation manual Prepared communication strategy on Natura 2000

Milestones Preliminary list of Natura 2000 developed in Jun 01 Methodologies for inventories prepared in Jun 01 Interpretation manual developed in Jun 01 Development of transitional databases in Jul

40 Milestones Preliminary list of Natura 2000 developed in Jun 01 Methodologies for inventories prepared in Jun 01 Interpretation manual developed in Jun 01 Development of transitional databases in Jul 01 Natura 2000 Centre established and equipped in Sep 01 Guidelines for site selection developed in Sep 01 Information leaflet printed in Dec 01 Management plans developed in Oct 02 Interpretation manual printed in Oct 02 Development of central database in Nov 02 Fieldwork realized in Nov 02 Development of List of SPAs and preliminary list of SACs in Nov 02

41 Final project report Results of consortium {9 teams} within the project are included in the final report, which is available, if you want to. Good project for the beginning of the whole Natura 2000 network establishment.

42 CASE STUDY: LIFE project in CROATIA

43 PROJECT LIFE III CRO-NEN BUILDING-UP THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL NETWORK AS A PART OF THE PAN-EUROPEAN ECOLOGICAL NETWORK & NATURA 2000 NETWORK (PROJECT ACRONYM CRO-NEN)

44 LIFE III CRO-NEN PROJECT In December 2004 State Institute for Nature Protection started with LIFE Project Building-up the National Ecological Network (CRO-NEN) Project has finished in May 2005.

45 Objectives of CRO-NEN Project Training of nature protection authorities for implementation of Croatian obligations in the accession process to the European Union Creation of a map of National ecological network as a part of the Pan-European Ecological Network and basis for EU Program NATURA 2000 Developing of a network of associates for gathering data on biodiversity as basis for the establishment of National Biodiversity Monitoring Programme

46 DATA GATHERING All existing data on endangered species and habitats were gathered and processed. Data about internationally endangered species and habitats listed in Bird and Habitats Directive Nationally endangered species on the Red List of Threatened Plants and Animals of Croatia.

47 DATA GATHERING Data concerning habitats were taken from GIS map of habitats made by OIKON Ltd. - Institute for Applied Ecology as a result of Project Habitat mapping of Republic of Croatia (1: scales) As part of the project GIS distribution maps for endangered species were made.

48 DATA RESOURCES All available resources were used: red books literature data State Institute for Nature Protection field works scientific institutions and experts data data from public institutions for management of protected areas data from NGOs, GIS maps of protected areas (scale 1: )).

49 CRO-NEN DATABASE additional data about specific areas of ecological network (species and habitats in the area, literature data, photos etc) Data concerning internationally important areas are compatible with international databases (NATURA 2000, Emerald, MedWet). CRO-NEN database is part of Information System for Nature Protection developed by State Institute for Nature Protection.

50 INDICATIVE CRO-NEN MAP AS PART OF THE PEEN Development and upgrading of the Regional map of ecological network for the countries of Visegrad group 4+2 (scale 1: , produced by consulting company OIKON Ltd.). based on distribution of habitats and key species for PEEN

52 MAP OF NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL NETWORK not only internationally important areas, but also species and habitats of national importance. At the end of the project first proposal of National ecological network will enter into consultation process where participation of all interested parties is expected Final Proposal will be send to the Ministry of Culture in which jurisdiction is nature protection in Croatia. This map determines core areas, buffer zones, corridors and restoration areas.

53 International and national core areas All national parks and nature parks (large protected areas important for biological diversity) All existing and proposed special reserves Important areas for birds from Annex I of Birds Directive (The Institute for Ornithology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) Important areas for other species endangered on international (NATURA 2000) or national level (Red list): bats, dolphins, mushrooms, endemic species and others. Representative proportion of habitat types endangered on international (NATURA 2000) or national level

54 Corridores and buffer zones Corridores: All larger rivers with coast area of 100 or 50 m Forest corridors connecting forest core areas Migration routes for birds crossing Adriatic sea Coast areas important for sea turtles and dolphins Buffer zones: Estimated protective area around particular core area

55 Restoration areas Exact locations need yet to be identified! River Drava Part of River Sava near Zapresic Elements of steppes in Baranja and Srijem Mountain pastures of Dinara Mountain Meadows in process of overgrowing in core areas Pastures in coast and island areas

56 NATIONAL LISTS First step:making a scientific estimate on distribution and degree of endangerment for Natura 2000 species and habitat types on national level. 269 species and about 70 habitat types distribution map with important localities

57 NATIONAL LISTS - data red books of endangered species habitat maps prepared by OIKON Ltd. Institute for Applied Ecology The Institute for Ornithology analysed bird species from Birds Directive not included in Red Data Book of birds of Croatia and made analysis of important areas for all NATURA 2000 bird species made proposal of SPAs for Croatia. OIKON Ltd. made database for data on important areas compatible with NATURA 2000 database.

58 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Alberto Arroyo Schnell April 2007

BirdLife International Marine Programme Marine Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (Marine IBAs)

Photo: Pep Arcos BirdLife International Marine Programme Marine Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (Marine IBAs) Marguerite Tarzia- Marine Conservation Officer, BirdLife Europe marguerite.tarzia@birdlife.org