1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 The Habitats Directive
In 1992 the then European Community adopted Council Directive
92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna
and flora, known as the Habitats Directive. This is an
important piece of supranational wildlife legislation, the
principal stimulus for which was the need to provide a
Community-wide mechanism to meet obligations under the 1979
Bern
Convention and to complement the provisions of the 1979
Birds
Directive. The main objectives of the Habitats Directive
are:
"...to contribute towards ensuring biodiversity through the
conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora in the
European territory of the Member States to which the Treaty
applies" (Article 2.1); and
"...to maintain or restore, at favourable conservation status,
natural habitats and species of wild fauna and flora of Community
interest" (Article 2.2)
The 24 articles of the Directive specify a range of measures,
including conservation of features in the landscape that are
important for wildlife, the protection of species listed in the
annexes from damage, destruction or over-exploitation, the
surveillance of natural habitats and species, and ensuring that
introductions of non-native species are not detrimental to
naturally occurring habitats and species. The most stringent
obligations relate to the selection, designation and protection of
a network of sites - special areas of conservation (SACs).
Part 1 of the present publication describes the rationale for site
selection - the process and principles used to guide the selection
of the network of SACs in the UK. Parts 2 and 3 contain accounts of
how these were applied to each of the habitat types and species for
which sites have been selected, and give details of qualifying
features on the sites selected for designation as SACs in the
UK.
Box 1.1:
Definition of favourable
conservation status (Article 1)
Article 1(e): The conservation status of a natural
habitat will be taken as 'favourable' when:
- its natural range and areas it covers within that range are
stable or increasing, and;
- the specific structure and functions which are necessary for
its long-term maintenance exist and are likely to continue to exist
for the foreseeable future, and;
- the conservation status of its typical species is favourable as
defined in Article 1(i).
Article 1(i) The conservation status will be taken
as 'favourable' when:
- population dynamics data on the species concerned indicate that
it is maintaining itself on a long-term basis as a viable component
of its natural habitats, and;
- the natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor
is likely to be reduced for the foreseeable future, and;
- there is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently
large habitat to maintain its populations on a long-term
basis.