The European network of sites protecting
threatened and vulnerable species and habitats was expanded today to
include thousands of locations in the boreal, or northern,
woodlands.
The European Commission adopted the list of Natura 2000 sites
which covers the main parts of Finland and Sweden. Norway is not
included as it is not a member of the European Union.
Species and sites under Natura 2000 benefit from increased
protection through a number of safeguards which must be respected.
The increasingly rare spruce forest (Photo courtesy Earth Observation)
The list includes over 5,000
sites providing protection for species such as the lynx, the flying
squirrel and fairy slipper, and for habitats such as Western Taiga,
raised bogs and aapa mires, as well as freshwater and land upheaval
coast habitats. Among the protected types of lands are wooded dunes, woodland
bogs, Baltic islets and small islands, Atlantic salt meadows, large
shallow inlets and bays, and reefs.
The Boreal region is one of six bio-geographic regions in EU-15
and the fifth for which the Commission has adopted a list.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said, “Natura 2000 is
central to meeting the EU's objective of halting the decline of
biodiversity by 2010. Its completion is now well on its way after
the adoption of the EU list of protected sites for the Boreal
region."
This list of protected areas includes a large number of
endangered animal and plant species and habitats, such as the lynx
and the ringed seal, the flat bark beetle, the field sagewort, the
pendantgrass, the fairy slipper and the Western Lapland buttercup as
well as various types of forests, rocky habitats and caves, raised
bogs and aapa mires, freshwater and land upheaval coast habitats,
coastal sand dunes.
The bear, Ursos arctos, is endangered in Sweden and in Finland.
(Photo courtesy outwild.se)
The protection of
these species and habitats is scientifically considered to be of
European importance. A joint EU effort is viewed as necessary to
ensure biodiversity and the conservation of natural animals and
plants in this region of Europe.The Natura 2000 network is set up under the EU’s Habitats
Directive of 1992 to safeguard Europe’s most important wildlife
areas and species. As part of Natura 2000, the selected areas
benefit from increased protection.
Member states must take all the necessary measures to guarantee
their conservation and avoid their deterioration. Not all economic
activity in the sites is excluded, but member states must ensure
that such activities are carried out in a way which is compatible
with the conservation of the habitats and species living there.
The next step towards the completion on the Natura 2000 network
will be the adoption of one more list of sites for EU-15: the EU
Mediterranean bio-geographical region.
After that the main focus will shift to the establishment of the
Natura 2000 network in the 10 new member states. At the same time,
the Commission will pay increased attention to the proper management
of the network.
For more information on the adopted lists - decision text and annexes, overview maps see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/home.htm
