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Indicator Specification
There are a number of ways of assessing progress towards the target of halting the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. This indicator, which tracks changes in the status of European species that are threatened at the global level, can contribute to assessing progress towards the target by acting as a proxy indicator for the impacts of European and national policies on European biodiversity.
For many years, IUCN has monitored the extent and rate of biodiversity degradation by assigning species to red list categories through detailed assessment of information against a set of objective, standard, quantitative criteria. This assessment is made at the global level. For species only present in European territories and evaluated as globally threatened, this indicator therefore shows the impacts of European and national policies on European biodiversity.
For globally threatened species present in and also outside Europe, some of the species may not be classified as threatened at European or national levels. Nevertheless Europe has a strong responsibility for the care of these species even though they are not yet threatened in Europe. How far European policies on nature and biodiversity take this responsibility into consideration is shown by the information that the indicator provides on the number of globally threatened species that are protected at the European level.
This indicator shows:
It will show how many species present in Europe and assessed as globally threatened are protected by European instruments such as EC Directives and the Bern Convention.
Number of species
Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 is one target expressed by the 6EAP and the European Council at Gothenburg and re-expressed by the Environment Council in Brussels by June 2004.
This Council also emphasizes "the importance of monitoring, evaluating and reporting on progress towards the 2010 targets, and that it is absolutely vital to communicate biodiversity issues effectively to the general public and to decision-makers in order to provoke appropriate policy responses".
There are no quantitative targets for this indicator.
The target "Halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010" implies not only that species extinction must be stopped but that threatened species must be shifted to a better status.
4. Calculate the percentage
For each group, the list of globally threatened species is extracted following the countries in which the regulations apply. Therefore the species distribution from IUCN database is used.
Subspecies globally threatened are considered as strictly protected if their nominate species was so. It is to be noted also that there is one genus of invertebrate considered by IUCN as globally threatened (Hauffenia sp., Hydrobiidae, Mesogastropoda, Mollusca). This group is mentioned as occurring in Bern signatory countries and Accessing Countries. Then, as the number of species concerned by this genus remains unknown and as no Hauffenia species is strictly protected neither by the Bern Convention nor by the EC Habitats Directive, the proportion estimated in the graph is probably higher than the reality.
Regarding the EC Bird Directive, as all the species are considered as strictly protected with special derogations for hunting and trade for a short list of species (ANNEX II & III), it is checked that no globally threatened taxa is in that short list.
No data gap filling is applied.
No methodology references available.
Protection of globally threatened species by European instruments
none
Protection of globally threatened species by European instruments
IUCN red list is published every year but the update is made gradually by main species group. Because it is a global list, all Pan European countries are covered.
The assessment of each species is made at Global level. At lower level (region such as European region), it is relevant to calculate how many species threatened at Global level are present in Europe. But at country level, some confusion can be made with the national assessment of species threatened at national level.
none
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
cf SEBI2010 project
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/threatened-and-protected-species or scan the QR code.
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