EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy

Policy Document
in the Communication: Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 (COM(2011) 244) the European Commission has adopted a new strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU by 2020. There are six main targets, and 20 actions to help Europe reach its goal. The six targets cover: - Full implementation of EU nature legislation to protect biodiversity - Better protection for ecosystems, and more use of green infrastructure - More sustainable agriculture and forestry - Better management of fish stocks - Tighter controls on invasive alien species - A bigger EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss

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Ecological footprint of European countries Ecological footprint of European countries The ecological footprint of Europe is a proxy measure of the amount of biologically productive land and water areas that Europe requires to produce all the biological resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and management strategies. These areas could be located anywhere in the world. This can be compared with the biocapacity of the planet or the biocapacity available within a given region. Both biocapacity and the ecological footprint are measured in global hectares (gha).
Changes in fish distribution in European seas Changes in fish distribution in European seas This indicator looks at the temporal development of the ratio between the number of Lusitanian and Boreal fish species within ICES Statistical rectangles and ICES divisions.
Agriculture: nitrogen balance Agriculture: nitrogen balance The indicator estimates the potential surplus (or deficit) of nitrogen in agricultural land. It calculates the balance between nitrogen added to an agricultural system and nitrogen removed from the system annually in kilograms of nitrogen per hectare of utilised agricultural area. The input side of the balance counts mineral fertiliser application and manure excretion as well as atmospheric deposition, biological fixation and biosolids (compost, sludge and sewage) input. The output side of the balance represents the removal from grassland (grazing and mowing) and the net crop uptake (removal) from arable land. The gross nitrogen balance takes an 'extended soil' surface (or 'land' surface) as the system boundary, meaning that it also includes nitrogen losses from animal housing and manure management (e.g. storage) systems.   The data used are partly based on expert estimates of various physical parameters for the individual countries as a whole. There may also be large regional variations within a country so national figures should be interpreted with care.  To assess the trend in the development of the nitrogen balance, it is necessary to draw on average values over several years, as factors such as extreme weather conditions may influence the annual nitrogen surplus. In this case, 2000-2003, and 2011-2014 were taken as reference periods.
Ecosystem coverage Ecosystem coverage Proportional and absolute change in extent and turnover of land cover categories aggregated to relate to MAES ecosystem types in Europe from 2006 to 2012. MAES ecosystem types are: (1) urban; (2) cropland; (3) grassland; (4) woodland and forest; (5) heathland and shrub; (6) sparsely vegetated land; (7) inland wetlands; (8) rivers and lakes; (9) marine inlets and transitional waters; and (10) marine. This indicator is based on photo-interpretation of satellite imagery and gives a 'wall-to-wall' picture of the changes and dynamics in Europe with respect to ecosystems. Additional indicators can be used to further highlight trends in extent and state of each of the ecosystem types mentioned above using computations from other data sources.
Abundance and distribution of selected species Abundance and distribution of selected species This indicator shows trends in the abundance of common birds and butterflies across their European ranges over time . It is a composite of many species trend indices. A value of 100 is set for each species in the start year. If a species is added to the composite index after the start year, it is scaled to the index value at the year it was added to the indicator.  
Sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives Sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives This indicator shows the current status of implementation of the Habitats (92/43/EEC) and the Birds Directives (79/409/EEC) by EU Member States. It does this by showing trends in spatial coverage of designated Special Protection Areas (SPAs), proposed Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), as well as the net area of the Natura 2000 network.   The net percentage of protected areas helps to evaluate progress towards Aichi Target 11.
Landscape fragmentation pressure from urban and transport infrastructure expansion Landscape fragmentation pressure from urban and transport infrastructure expansion This indicator is based on the Effective Mesh Size (Jaeger 2000) method .  For some species, the effective mesh size (meff) can be interpreted as the area that is accessible when beginning to move from a randomly chosen point inside a landscape without encountering man-made barriers such as transport routes or built-up areas. However, it should be stressed that for many species that can fly, or are effective dispersers in others ways, man-made structures may not act as barriers. The combination of all barriers in a landscape is called Fragmentation Geometry (FG) hereafter. The meff value expresses the probability that any two points chosen randomly in an area are connected. Hence, meff is a measure of landscape connectivity, i.e. the degree to which movements between different parts of the landscape are possible. The larger the meff, the more connected the landscape. The indicator addresses structural connectivity of the landscape and does not tackle functional, species specific connectivity. The Effective Mesh Density (seff) is a measure of landscape fragmentation, i.e. the degree to which movement between different parts of the landscape is interrupted by Fragmentation Geometry. It gives the effective number of meshes (or landscape patches) per 1 000 km 2 , in other words, the density of the meshes. The seff value is calculated as 1 000 km 2 /meff, hence, the number of meshes per 1 000 km 2 . The more barriers fragmenting the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density. meff and seff are reported within the cells of a 1 km 2 regular grid. meff is area-proportionally additive, hence it characterises the fragmentation of any region considered, independently of its size, and thus can be calculated for a combination of two or more regions. The meff has several advantages over other metrics: It addresses the entire landscape matrix instead of addressing individual patches. It is independent of the size of the reporting unit and its values can be compared among reporting units of differing sizes. It is suitable for comparing the fragmentation of regions with differing total areas and with differing proportions occupied by housing, industry and transportation structures. It's reliability has been confirmed on the basis of suitability criteria through a systematic comparison with other quantitative measures. The suitability of other metrics was limited as they only partially met the following criteria: Intuitive interpretation; Mathematical simplicity; Modest data requirements; Low sensitivity to small patches; Detection of structural differences; Mathematical homogeneity (i.e., intensive or extensive).
Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings This indicator looks at the growing stock in forests and other wooded land. Growing stock is classified by forest type and by availability for wood supply. The indicator considers the balance between net annual increment and annual fellings of wood in forests to be made available for wood supply.
Abundance and distribution of selected species Abundance and distribution of selected species This indicator shows trends in the abundance of common birds and butterflies across their European ranges over time .  
Distribution shifts of plant and animal species Distribution shifts of plant and animal species Trend in thermophilic species in bird and butterfly communities Projected change in climatically suitable areas for bumblebees
Phenology of plant and animal species Phenology of plant and animal species Trends in spring phenology
Habitats of European interest Habitats of European interest This indicator shows changes and trends in the conservation status of habitats of European interest listed in the Habitats Directive. It is based on data collected under the reporting obligations of Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). This reporting obligation contributes to the further development of EU and international biodiversity policy by providing a reliable measure of the status and trends in nature at both species and habitat levels.
Species of European interest Species of European interest This indicator shows changes and trends in the conservation status of species of European interest listed in the Habitats Directive, and in the status and trends in populations of wild birds in Europe that are listed in the Birds Directive. It is currently based on data collected under the obligations for monitoring under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and under Article 12 of the EU Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) . Both reporting obligations contribute to the further development of EU and international biodiversity policy by providing a reliable measure of the status and trends in nature at both species and habitat levels.
Public awareness Public awareness This indicator is based on the Eurobarometer survey on biodiversity, a quantitative questionnaire-based survey, which provides results that can be presented as in the following fictional example: '35 % of the European voting population visit a nature reserve at least once a year'. It can also include qualitative information, often involving focus groups, as in the following fictional example: 'Discussion in the United Kingdom focus groups has shown that people are highly concerned about the impact of climate change on wildlife'.
Fragmentation of natural and semi-natural areas Fragmentation of natural and semi-natural areas This indicator shows the proportion of and trends in natural and semi natural areas, on the basis of land cover maps produced by the photo-interpretation of satellite imagery.
Sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives Sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives This indicator shows the current status of implementation of the Habitats (92/43/EEC) and Birds Directives (79/409/EEC) by EU Member States. It does this by showing (a) trends in spatial coverage of proposals of sites and (b) by calculating a sufficiency index based on these proposals.
Forest: deadwood Forest: deadwood This indicator shows the volume of standing and lying deadwood in forest and other wooded land, classified by forest type (Forest Europe - Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE)). In national forest inventories, countries generally classify according to type (standing, snags, lying, species and state of decay).
Ecosystem coverage Ecosystem coverage Proportional and absolute change in extent and turnover of land cover categories aggregated to relate to main ecosystem types in Europe from 2000 to 2006. The 12 ecosystem types discussed represent (1) urban, (2) cropland, (3) agricultural mosaics, (4) woodland and forest, (5) grassland and tall forb, (6) heathland, shrub and tundra, (7) transitional woodland, (8) sparsely vegetated land, (9) inland wetlands, (10) coastal, (11) rivers and lakes and (12) marine areas. This indicator is based on photo-interpretation of satellite imagery, and gives a 'wall to wall' picture of the changes and dynamics in Europe with respect to ecosystems. Additional indicators can be used to further highlight trends in extent and state of each of the ecosystem types mentioned above using computations from other data sources.
Public awareness Public awareness This indicator is based on a quantitative questionnaire-based survey (Eurobarometer survey on biodiversity) to provide results that can be presented as, for instance (fictional example): '35 % of the European voting population visit a nature reserve at least once a year'. It can include qualitative information, often involving focus groups, for instance (fictional example): 'Discussion in the United Kingdom focus groups has shown that people are highly concerned about the impact of climate change on wildlife'.
Agriculture: nitrogen balance Agriculture: nitrogen balance 'Gross nitrogen balance' estimates the potential surplus of nitrogen on agricultural land. This is done by calculating the balance between nitrogen added to an agricultural system (nitrogen input can be taken as a proxy indicator for the general intensity of agricultural management) and nitrogen removed from the system per hectare of agricultural land. The indicator accounts for all inputs to and outputs from the farm, and therefore includes nitrogen input.
Abundance and distribution of selected species Abundance and distribution of selected species This indicator shows trends in the abundance of common birds and butterflies over time across their European ranges.  
Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings Growing stock in forest and other wooded land, classified by forest type and by availability for wood supply, and balance between net annual increment and annual fellings of wood on forest available for wood supply.
Ecological footprint of European countries Ecological footprint of European countries The ecological footprint for Europe is a measure of how much biologically productive land and water area Europe requires to produce all the biological resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and management. This area could be located anywhere in the world. This can be compared with the biocapacity of the planet or that available within a given region. Both biocapacity and the ecological footprint are measured in global hectares.
Agriculture: area under management practices potentially supporting biodiversity Agriculture: area under management practices potentially supporting biodiversity This indicator is based on two sub-indicators and shows trends in area (as proportion of the total utilised area) of two categories of agricultural land that are not mutually exclusive:  a. High nature value farmland area.  b. Area under organic farming.   a.'High nature value farmland area' (ha) indicates the area where farming systems are sustaining a high level of biodiversity. They are often characterised by extensive farming practices, associated with a high species and habitat diversity or the presence of species of European conservation concern. b.'Area under organic farming' (ha) indicates trends in the organic farming area and the share of the organic farming area in the total utilised agricultural area. Farming is only considered to be organic at the European Union (EU) level if it complies with Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, which provides a comprehensive framework for production of crops and livestock; labelling, processing and marketing of organic products; and the import of organic products into the EU.   Note: This indicator comprises two elements: a quality parameter (distribution of high nature value farmland) and a response parameter (area under agri-environment and organic farming). Both are relevant for an assessment of environmental sustainability although they are not necessarily linked.
Abundance and distribution of selected European species Abundance and distribution of selected European species This indicator shows trends in the abundance of common birds and butterflies across their European ranges over time . It is a composite of many species trend indices. A value of 100 is set for each species in the start year. If a species is added to the composite index after the start year, it is scaled to the index value of the year it was added to the indicator.  
Trends in marine non-indigenous species Trends in marine non-indigenous species This indicator shows the cumulative number and trends in the introduction of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) recorded in the regional seas of Europe since 1949.

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