Europe’s biodiversity under threat

14 July 2009, Brussels. The European Commission published a report on the conservation status of over 1,150 species and 200 habitat types protected under EU law. Only a small proportion of these vulnerable habitats and species have achieved good conservation status and Member States will need to strengthen their efforts if this situation is to improve.

The report, which covers 2001-2006 and is the most comprehensive survey of EU biodiversity ever undertaken, provides an invaluable reference point for measuring future trends. Grasslands, wetlands and coastal habitats face the greatest threats, mainly due to the decline of traditional patterns of agriculture, tourist development and climate change.

The picture is not uniformly gloomy, however, and some larger, emblematic species such as the wolf, Eurasian lynx, beaver and otter are beginning to re-colonize parts of their traditional range. Many Member States invested heavily to carry out the detailed monitoring, and despite a number of gaps, the reporting has been a great success.

Overall, some 13% of regional habitat assessments and 27% of regional species assessments were reported as ‘unknown’. The number of ‘unknown’ classifications was particularly high for species found in southern Europe, with Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Portugal indicating ‘unknown’ for more than 50% of the species reported in their territories. The marine environment poses a particular problem, with 57% of the marine species assessments and about 40% of the marine habitats assessments classed as ‘unknown’.

• Read the full story on the EC website