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At the global scale, more than 80 % of the world's protected areas have been established since 1962, when the first World Parks Congress was held. In Europe, both the number of nationally designated protected areas as well as their total size has been growing exponentially ever since.
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Overall, the Natura 2000 network is largely complete as far as the terrestrial environment is concerned. However, its marine component is still very incomplete in most countries, and most of the designations are in inshore waters leaving the offshore waters with poor protection levels.
Year |
SCIs cumulative surface (ha) |
SPAs cumulative surface (ha) |
---|---|---|
1996 |
1 446 802 |
8 038 582 |
1997 |
14 590 722 |
11 383 879 |
1998 |
23 792 885 |
15 082 450 |
1999 |
33 598 019 |
15 567 101 |
2000 |
33 795 616 |
16 952 042 |
2001 |
38 179 398 |
17 319 979 |
2002 |
44 742 395 |
17 653 321 |
2003 |
45 784 279 |
24 533 193 |
2004 |
45 861 545 |
28 824 913 |
2005 |
55 219 328 |
41 256 430 |
2006 |
56 044 537 |
44 436 843 |
2007 |
64 844 105 |
50 128 568 |
2008 |
66 150 089 |
53 065 514 |
2009 |
68 197 514 |
56 060 470 |
2010 |
71 901 500 |
59 348 600 |
2011 |
73 362 000 |
62 756 000 |
More information on the progress of the Natura 2000 network is available from the Natura 2000 Barometer.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/protected-areas/facts-and-figures/progress-in-deisgnation-of-sites/progress-in-the-proposal-and or scan the QR code.
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