Reporting Requirements under the Nature Directives

As part of our work for the UK Government we co-ordinate the production of periodic reports to be submitted to the European Commission to show progress towards meeting the objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives. We also represent the UK in discussions on how to improve the reporting frameworks for both Directives through the work of the Expert Group on Reporting under these two ‘Nature’ Directives.

The most important reason for periodic reporting is to assess how the implementation of the Directives affects species and habitats. The UK considers that reporting should focus on outcomes and be used as part of a feedback loop in to management of our natural resources – the results of reports should help policy makers and site managers evaluate whether current action and regulatory processes need to be changed or not.

Reporting obligations under the Habitats Directive are set out in Article 17. Every six years each Member State must report on measures taken and their outcome in terms of the conservation status of species and habitats listed on the Directive’s Annexes. Member States have completed two reporting rounds for the Habitats Directive, covering the periods 1994-2000 and 2001-2006. The third Report, covering the period 2007-2012, is currently under preparation. The intention is to include a public consultation early in 2013, in advance of submission to the European Commission in June 2013. 

The first Habitats Directive report concentrated on the process of designating Special Areas of Conservation.  The second report included assessments of conservation status of each of the habitats and species listed on the Annexes of the Directive. 

The framework for assessing conservation status was developed in advance of the second report. It consists of four parts that mirror the definition of favourable conservation status in the Directive (Article 1e and 1i). Separate assessments are required for each biogeographic region in which a species or habitat exists in a Member State’s territory. The third report - covering 2007-2012 – is due in June 2013. Member States will need to report on the conservation status of species and habitats again, plus provide information on conservation measures taken by Member States.

For the Birds Directive, Article 12 until recently required reports on implementation, article by article, every three years. The reporting cycles of the two Directives were not synchronised and it was difficult to get an overview of Natura 2000 in the broad sense.  The European Commission plans to change the timing of Birds Directive reports so that they match those of the Habitats Directive more closely, being due every six years with the focus to be on population and distribution changes. The first report using the new format is due in December 2013.

Last updated: 13 September 2011