EEA activities

The EEA's biodiversity group leads the Agency's work supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2011-2020. The group works closely with the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity (ETC/BD) and with EEA's country network (Eionet).

Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein

1. Supporting the 2020 biodiversity targets 

BISE, the Biodiversity Information System for Europe, is a web portal centralising information about European biodiversity - policies, data and assessments - in a single location. BISE was launched on 1 June 2010.

On 1 June 2010, the EEA published the Baseline for European biodiversity. Building on SEBI and other data, the EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline provides facts and figures on the state and trends of the different biodiversity and ecosystem components. It thereby supports the EU in developing the post 2010 sub‑targets and provides factual data for measuring and monitoring progress in the EU from 2011 to 2020. The baseline is not a target, but rather a reference point.

2. Biodiversity data

The Biodiversity data centre (BDC) provides access to data and information on species, habitat types and sites of interest in Europe and to related products for biodiversity indicators and assessments. Priority is given to policy-relevant data and information for European and national institutions, professionals, researchers and the public.

Examples of EEA activities on biodiversity data:

• Interactive map viewer with Natura 2000 sites and other protected areas in Europe.

• EEA core set of indicators and SEBI indicators.

• The EUNIS database provides public access to species, habitat types and sites in Europe.

• In support to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the EEA also manages the European Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism (CHM), now a component of BISE. The CHM promotes technical cooperation and technology transfer within the European Union and its Member States, within the pan-European Region and the rest of the world.

3. Biodiversity assessments

A report assessing progress towards the 2010 target was produced in 2009, complemented by a report with short assessments for each SEBI 2010 indicator.

The report "Towards an early warning and informationsystem for invasive alien species (IAS) threatening biodiversity in Europe" was published in May 2010. Invasive alien species (IAS) have become a major driver of biodiversity loss, second only to habitat fragmentation.  This publication is the EEA contribution to the establishment of an early warning and rapid response framework for Europe in the forthcoming Strategy on Invasive Alien Species.

A biodiversity assessment based on SEBI indicators and focusing on specific ecosystems was published in October 2010. In 2011, a new SEBI methodological report will be published. The new report will take stock of the SEBI 2010 set three years after its adoption. It will evaluate which indicators have been particularly useful, which ones can be improved, and which gaps need filling in order to assess progress to a new set of targets.

An assessment report on protected areas in Europe will be prepared for launch in 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the UN Rio Conference and the Habitats Directive.