Collectively these sites are often referred to as “ Natura 2000 sites” and are now the largest coordinated network of protected areas anywhere in the world. The Natura 2000 Network also includes Special Protection Areas (SPAs) classified under the Birds Directive. Together, they cover almost 950 000 km2 of land and sea – an area greater than Spain and Sweden put together. Today, thanks to the Habitats Directive, Member States have classified over 23 500 SCIs across the EU. Member States then have up to six years to designate them as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and to introduce the necessary management measures to maintain or restore the species and habitats present to a good condition.The selected Sites of Community Importance become part of the Natura 2000 Network.The Commission then selects, with the help of the Member States, the European Environment Agency and scientific experts, Sites of Community Importance (SCIs).Each Member State first proposes a national list of important sites to be protected for those species and habitats present on their territory.Sites are selected on scientific grounds using the criteria laid down in the Directive (Annex III). Member States must designate, protect and manage core areas for habitat types listed in Annex I and species listed in annex II of the Habitats Directive. Member States must also take measures, where necessary, to ensure that the taking or exploitation of specimens of species listed in Annex V is compatible with their being maintained at a favourable conservation status. the keeping, transport and sale of specimens taken from the wild.the use of all indiscriminate means of capture or killing capable of causing local disappearance and serious disturbance to populations of such species, and.deliberate destruction of nests or eggs, or the picking, collecting, cutting, uprooting or destruction of protected plants in the wild.deterioration or destruction of breeding sites or resting places.during breeding, rearing, hibernation and migration all forms of deliberate capture or killing in the wild.In particular, Member States must prohibit Like the Birds Directive, the Habitats Directive requires all Member States to establish a strict protection regime for species listed in Annex IV, both inside and outside Natura 2000 sites. The Habitats Directive ( Council Directive 92/43/EEC) was adopted in 1992, thirteen years after the Birds Directive. They provide a strong legislative framework for all EU countries to protect the most valuable and threatened biodiversity. Together, the two directives have also created the Natura 2000 network – which is now the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world. The Birds and Habitats Directives form the cornerstones of EU biodiversity policy. Biodiversity is not only important in its own right it is also essential for our economy and well-being. Preserving and restoring Europe’s rich biodiversity is one of the EU’s top priorities, as outlined in the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030. Today, over a quarter of Europe’s animal species are at risk of extinction. This has led to the large-scale disappearance and degradation of many valuable natural areas and the species that live in them. However, much of Europe’s natural heritage has been lost over the years due to urban sprawl, intensive agriculture, forestry and fisheries, pollution, and other human activities. Europe has a stunning diversity of wild animals, plants and habitats, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world.
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