01 Jul 2010
There is insufficient data to accurately analyse transport infrastructure charges throughout the EEA region. However from the data available, the following can be concluded for the freight sector. Overall charges are varied and no clear trend in pricing can be established. The most widely used form of taxing for heavy goods vehicles are charges on the possession of vehicles or use of roads for vehicles registered in the country (nationality based charge), although a number of countries in the EEA-32 do not apply any such tax. A number of countries have abolished time based charges for the use of the road or motorway network (moderately territorial road charge) and now only 5 have such a charge (2008). Distance based charges (strongly territorial road charge) for freight vehicles are more common and prices for this have increased in each country during the time period 1998 to 2008. The indicator does not cover parking charges, inland waterways (IWW), aviation or marine infrastructure charges.
01 Jul 2010
Between 1997 and 2007 the annual number of road transport fatalities fell by 29.5 % in the EU-27, and by 27.4 % in the EEA-32. However, in the EEA-32 the annual number of road transport deaths is still close to 48,000 per year (Figure 1). Over the same period, the reduction in the number of fatalities has been proportionally greater for the old EU15 member states (38 %) than in the new EU12 ones (13.6 %). In its White Paper European transport policy for 2010: time to decide the European Commission set a target of a 50 % reduction in road transport fatalities for EU27 countries, between 2000 and 2010 (European Commission, 2001). As this target looks unlikely to be achieved, and with further growth in transport volume predicted, stronger accident prevention policies and measures will be necessary. The number of road transport fatalities per thousand persons decreased by around 31 % in both the EU-27 and the EEA-32 between 1997 and 2007. There are currently (in 2007) around twice as many fatalities per 1,000 persons in the new EU-12 than in the old EU-15. Rail, water and air transport remain the safest modes, in terms of number of fatalities. The annual number of rail fatalities in the EEA-32, although quite variable, has a general downward trend, and there have been fewer than 200 fatalities per year between 2000 and 2007. In 2005 and 2007 fewer than 100 people died in rail accidents in the EEA-32. Fatality statistics for water transport (maritime accidents) and air transport are methodologically different from other modes, and therefore play a minor role in this indicator.
01 Jul 2010
The level of car ownership is growing rapidly in the EEA area, especially in countries with relatively low car ownership levels, like the new EU Member States (EU-12). Increasing private vehicle ownership has proven to lead to increased usage of private vehicles and might have the opposite effect on public transport usage in the future. The number of buses-coaches per capita has increased slightly in the period 1995 to 2008. The number of trucks per unit of GDP (truck intensity) has remained constant over the same period and is generally higher in the new EU Member States (EU-12) than in the older ones (EU-15).
01 Jul 2010
The objective of the indicator is to monitor the efficiency of passenger transport through vehicle occupancy rates. Although comparative data are only available for five years (2004 - 2008), the data suggest that passenger car occupancy rate is generally stabilising in Western Europe (UK, DK, NL, NO, AT, ES, IT) but is declining, from a higher baseline, in the Eastern European countries (CZ, SK, HU). This would be expected given that car ownership levels are growing more rapidly in Eastern Europe (see Figure 1). Rail and bus occupancy rate data is scarce and trends available for some countries might be representative only of certain regions (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
22 Jun 2010
Global The global (land and ocean) average temperature increase between 1850 and 2009 was 0.74 0 C using combined Hadley centre and CRU datasets compared to the 1850 - 1899 period average temperature and 0.84 0 C using GISS dataset compared to the 1880 - 1899 period average temperature. All used temperature records show the 2000s decade (2000 - 2009) was the warmest decade. The rate of global average temperature change has increased from around 0.06 0 C per decade over last 100 years, to 0.16 - 0.20 0 C in last decade. The best estimates for projected global warming in this century are a further rise in the global average temperature from 1.8 to 4.0 0 C for different scenarios that assume no further/additional action to limit emissions. The EU global temperature target is projected to be exceeded between 2040 and 2060, taking into account all six IPCC scenarios. Europe Europe has warmed more than the global average. The annual average temperature for the European land area up to 2009 was 1.3 0 C above 1850 - 1899 average temperature, and for the combined land and ocean area 1 0 C above. Considering the land area, nine out of the last 12 years were among the warmest years since 1850. High-temperature extremes like hot days, tropical nights, and heat waves have become more frequent, while low - temperature extremes (e.g. cold spells, frost days) have become less frequent in Europe. The average length of summer heat waves over Western Europe doubled over the period 1850 to 2009 and the frequency of hot days almost tripled. The annual average temperature in Europe is projected to rise in this century with the largest warming over eastern and northern Europe in winter, and over Southern Europe in summer. High temperature events across Europe including temperature extremes such as heat waves are projected to become more frequent, intense and longer this century, whereas winter temperature variability and the number of cold and frost extremes are projected to decrease further. According to the projections, the most affected European regions are going to be the Iberian and the Apennine Peninsula and south - eastern Europe.
21 May 2010
Around half of the species of Community interest (those species which, within the territory of the European Union are listed in Annexes II, IV and V of the Habitats Directive) have an unfavourable conservation status, with variation across biogeographic regions (1) . There are still significant gaps in knowledge, especially for marine species. (1) The reporting format uses three classes of Conservation Status. 'Good' (green) signifies that the species or habitat is at Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) as defined in the Directive and the habitat or species can be expected to prosper without any change to existing management or policies. In addition, two classes of 'Unfavourable' are recognised: 'Unfavourable-Bad' (red) signifies that the habitat or species is in serious danger of becoming extinct (at least locally) and 'Unfavourable-Inadequate' (amber) is used for situations where a change in management or policy is required but the danger of extinction is not so high. The unfavourable category has been split into two classes to allow improvements or deterioration to be reported. (Assessment, monitoring and reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive: Explanatory Notes & Guidelines DRAFT 2 January 2006).
21 May 2010
By mid-2008, most EU Member States were close to reaching the target levels for designation of Natura 2000 sites thought necessary to protect habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. Twentyone countries had a sufficiency of above 80 % and the new Member States (EU-10+2) were doing well given their recent accession. This is measured against a threshold that is considered adequate to achieve a favourable conservation status for the species and habitats of concern.
21 May 2010
To date, the Red List Index has been calculated only for bird species at a European level, so the information in the current indicator is limited to European birds. The overall risk of extinction among Europe's birds has generally been on the rise over the last decade. While the status of some species has due to conservation action, many more have deteriorated because of worsening threats and/or declining populations.
21 May 2010
Two-thirds of EU citizens do not know the meaning of the word 'biodiversity', let alone understand what the threats and challenges to its conservation are. Most EU citizens have never heard of the Natura 2000 network (80 %). However, over two-thirds of EU citizens report personally making efforts to help preserve nature.
21 May 2010
Biodiversity has served as a major resource for patent activity across a wide swathe of science and technology sectors ranging from agriculture to cosmetics, functional foods, traditional medicines, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and emerging developments such as synthetic biology. About 9 % of European patent activity relates to biodiversity, rising to 16 % if the full spectrum of pharmaceutical activity is included. After rapid growth, patent activity for biodiversity now shows a declining trend. The decrease from 2005 seen in Figure 1 is due to the time lag between the filing of a patent and its publication (2 years and more). This means that for recent years, the data may not yet be in the database (see Oldham and Hall, 2009). Additional work is required to link the data with wider economic and geographical information.
21 May 2010
In countries that reported data, 85 % of stations reported no changes in oxidised nitrogen levels in transitional, coastal and marine waters in the period 1985 - 2005 and 82 % reported no change for orthophosphate. At stations that identified changes, decreases were more common than increases.
21 May 2010
The total area of nationally designated protected areas in Europe (2) has increased over time. The total area of nationally designated sites in 39 European countries was around 1 million square kilometres in 2007. In EECCA countries, the total area of nationally designated sites is at least 1.8 million square kilometres (for 30 % of sites no size information is available). This quantitative information needs to be complemented by a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness as a tool for conserving biodiversity, including good management practices, and representativeness of the network of designated areas. (2) A 'Nationally Designated Area' is an area designated by a national instrument based on national legislation. If a country has included in its legislation the sites designated under the EU Birds and Habitats Directive, the Natura 2000 sites of this country are included in the total area.
21 May 2010
In the majority of European seas, the Marine Trophic Index (MTI) has been declining since the mid - 1950s, which means that populations of predatory fishes decline to the benefit of smaller fish and invertebrates.
21 May 2010
In several countries, populations of native breeds, although generally well adapted to local circumstances and resources, remain in critically low numbers, being replaced by a few and widespread highly productive breeds, introduced for this purpose. The fact that native breeds make up only a small part of the total population, and that a high percentage of native breeds are endangered (1) indicates a risk of loss of biodiversity. Although data are available for only a few countries, these indicate that many native cattle breeds are endangered. The situation for sheep is also problematic. Overall, the situation is stable but negative. (1) According to FAO, an endangered breed is assessed on quantitative criteria as the total number of breeding females or the overall population size and the percentage of purebred females. Here, however, each country has its own interpretation.
21 May 2010
The cumulative number of alien species introduced has been constantly increasing since the 1900s . While the increase may be slowing down or levelling off for terrestrial and freshwater species, this is certainly not the case for marine and estuarine species. A relatively constant proportion of the alien species establishedcause significant damage to native biodiversity, i.e. can be classified as invasive alien species according to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This increase in the number of alien species established thus implies a growing potential risk of damage to native biodiversity caused by invasive alien species. While the majority of the approximately 10 000 alien species recorded in Europe (DAISIE project) have not (yet) been found to have major impacts, some are highly invasive. To identify the most problematic species to help prioritise monitoring, research and management actions, a list of 'Worst invasive alien species threatening biodiversity in Europe' (15) , presently comprising 163 species/species groups, has been established. While invasive alien species are recognised as a major driver of biodiversity loss, the issue of 'alien species' may in the future need to be considered in the context of climate change and particularly adaptation. For example, as agricultural food production adapts to a changing climate, farmers may welcome the arrival of pollinator species that match the new plant varieties that are used. Indeed, the movement of plant and animal species together may be necessary to facilitate adaptation. (5) A species, subspecies or lower taxon, introduced outside its natural past or present distribution; includes any part, gametes, seeds, eggs or propagules of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce. An invasive alien species is an alien species whose introduction and/or spread threaten biological diversity www.cbd.int/invasive/terms.shtml, accessed on 2 December 2008). (15) Based on expert opinion in the SEBI 2010 expert group on invasive alien species.
21 May 2010
Climate change is having a detectable effect on bird populations at a European scale, including both negative and positive effects. The number of bird species whose populations are observed to be negatively impacted by climatic change is three times larger than those observed to be positively affected by climate warming in this set of widespread European land birds. The Climatic Impact Indicator, which illustrates the impact of climate change on bird populations, has increased strongly in the past twenty years, coinciding with a period of rapid climatic warming in Europe. Potential links between changes in bird populations and ecosystem functioning and resilience are not well understood.
21 May 2010
Conservation status (1) is quite variable across the regions. A relatively large proportion of habitats (35 %) have a favourable status in the Alpine region but the situation is much worse in the Atlantic region where more than 70 % have an unfavourable status.That means their range and quality are in decline or do not meet the specified quality criteria. There are still significant gaps in knowledge on marine areas, except for the Baltic. (1) The reporting format uses three classes of conservation status. 'Good' (green) indicates that the species or habitat is at Favourable Conservation Status as defined in the Directive and the habitat or species can be expected to prosper without any change to existing management or policies. Two classes of 'Unfavourable' are also recognised. 'Unfavourable-Bad' (red) signifies that a habitat or species is in serious danger of becoming extinct (at least locally) and 'Unfavourable-Inadequate' (amber) is used for situations where a change in management or policy is required but the danger of extinction is not so high. The unfavourable category has been split into two classes to allow improvements or deterioration to be reported. (Assessment, monitoring and reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive: Explanatory Notes & Guidelines DRAFT 2 January 2006).
21 May 2010
Pollution of rivers with organic matter and ammonium is decreasing as are the levels of other anthropogenic nutrients in freshwater generally (rivers, lakes and groundwater). This reduces stress on freshwater biodiversity and improves ecological status.
21 May 2010
European ecosystems are literally cut to pieces by urban sprawl together with a rapidly expanding transport network. The increase of mixed natural landscape patterns due to the spread of artificial and agricultural areas into what used to be core natural and semi-natural landscapes is more significant in south-western Europe. Fragmentation is in many places caused by forest harvesting and has a dynamic and cyclic nature but in south-western Europe, losses towards agricultural and artificial surfaces are more frequent. In the period 1990 - 2000 the connectivity for forest species was stable in approximately half of Europe's territory and increasing or decreasing slightly for another 40 %. The decrease was significant in about 5% of provinces spread in Denmark, France, the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Lithuania.
21 May 2010
The ratio of felling to increment is relatively stable at around 60 %. This favourable utilization rate prevails across Europe, with the exception of Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and has allowed growing stock to increase.
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The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union.