1. Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000
Expert Group on Natura 2000 Management
Meeting of 26 January 2011
Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000

2. Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000
Legal context
In the preamble to the Habitats Directive it is stated:
"..it is appropriate, in each area designated, to implement the necessary measures having regard to the conservation objectives pursued"
“.. an appropriate assessment must be made of any plan or programme likely to have a significant effect on the conservation objectives of a site which has been designated or is designated in future”

3. Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000 Legal context - continued
Article 4.4 Habitats Directive:
“once a site of Community importance has been adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2, the Member State concerned shall designate that site as a special area of conservation as soon as possible and within six years at most, establishing priorities in the light of the importance of the sites for the maintenance or restoration, at a favourable conservation status, of a natural habitat type in Annex I or a species in Annex II and for the coherence of Natura 2000, and in the light of the threats of degradation or destruction to which those sites are exposed”.

4. Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000 Legal context - continued
Article 6.1: "for special areas of conservation, Member States shall establish the necessary conservation measures …which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present on the sites.“
Article 6.3: "Any plan or project…shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives..”

5. The ultimate conservation objective
The ultimate conservation objective of the Habitats Directive is to ensure that the species and habitat types covered achieve ‘favourable conservation status’ (FCS).

6. Site level conservation objectives
A broad conservation objective aiming at achieving FCS can therefore only be considered at an appropriate level, such as for example the national or the biogeographical level.
This general objective needs to be translated into site level conservation objectives which define the conservation targets to be achieved within the respective sites in order to optimise their contribution to achieving FCS at the national, biogeographical or European level.

7. Site level conservation objectives - continued
Site level conservation objectives define what constitutes the target status of each species and habitat for which a site has been designated that should be met in the respective site in order to meet the ecological requirements of these species or habitat types and ultimately to achieve FCS at the national biogeographical level and eventually also at higher levels.
Therefore identifying the contribution of a site to the achievement of a FCS for the habitats and species concerned at the national biogeographical level can provide the basis for setting of site level conservation objectives.

8. Site level conservation objectives - continued
When adopting site level conservation objectives Member States may (should) establish priorities in the light of the importance of the respective sites for the maintenance or restoration, at a favourable conservation status at the national biogeographical level of the habitat types and species of Community interest present on a site and for the coherence of Natura 2000, and in the light of the threats of degradation or destruction to which a site is exposed.

9. Conservation objectives versus conservation measures
It is important to distinguish between site level conservation objectives and the overall objective of achieving FCS at the national biogeographical or higher level. Site level conservation objectives are a set of specified targets to be met at the site level in order to make sure that the site contributes in an optimal way to achieving FCS.
Conservation measures are the actual mechanisms and actions to be put in place to achieve site level conservation objectives. Measures are essentially established at the local/site level, but they can also be designed at the regional or national level, including areas that are not part of the Natura 2000 network.

10. When are the site level conservation objectives to be established?
It is clear from the text of the Habitats Directive that the conservation objectives at the site level need to be set up by the time of designation as SACs at the latest.
The site level conservation objectives are directly linked to the designation of the SAC and constitute a key question in the context of the SAC designation.
In addition, if Member States are applying Art. 6.3 to sites they must also have identified site level conservation objectives.
© Lawrence Walter-Jones

11. What elements need to be considered in setting conservation objectives?
In principle site level conservation objectives should be set for all species and habitat types of both the Habitats and Birds Directives that are present on a site. The information in the Natura 2000 standard data form provides the starting point for this.

12. When are the site level conservation objectives to be achieved?
The Habitats Directive does not set a date for the attainment of favourable conservation status at the national level.
To be credible the conservation measures must be undertaken within as short a time frame as possible, having regard to the urgency and importance of the measures.
It is important to set a timeline to review the site level conservation objectives in order to check appropriateness, measurability and implementation.

13. Setting priorities
Conservation priorities are a determination of the most important species/habitats to take action for and/or most important measures to be taken.
Priority conservation objectives are the most urgent targets to be achieved at site level or at higher levels in order to make sure that the overall goal of FCS can be achieved.
Priority conservation measures are the most urgent actions that need to be taken in order to make sure that conservation objectives can be achieved.
All priorities can be can be established at different levels (EU, biogeographical level, national, regional, local/site level).

14. Other relevant issues to consider include:
How to take into account economic, social and cultural requirements as required by Article 2.3 of the Habitats Directive
How to recognise the dynamic nature of sites and of their constituent species and habitat type
How to define the relative contribution of different sites in achieving FCS at the national or higher level for different species and habitat types
How to deal with dynamic situations and new development in sites, eg. newly arriving species, disappearance of species from sites – what are the consequences and how can conservation objectives take account of such situations
How to monitor and review progress towards achievement site level conservation objectives, refining objectives in the light of experience, and the links to monitoring under Article 17 of the Directive.