Natura 2000 and land cover data viewer

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Natura 2000 is the key instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. The Natura 2000 dataset is updated annually. The Natura 2000 information is broken down by country, administrative regions (NUTS) or biogeographical regions. It is possible to filter and show only selected countries or biogeographical regions.

The CORINE Land Cover (CLC) inventory is covering the European continent. It is a hierarchical inventory with three levels of thematic detail. Level 1 has five major land cover groups while level 3 goes to a total of 44 land cover classes. The inventory was initiated in 1985 (reference year 1990) to standardize data collection on land in Europe to support environmental policy development. It is updated at regular intervals, the most recent update was in 2018. In this data viewer, you have access to the 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018 updates.

Calculations are done separately for sites designated under the Birds Directive only (Special Protection Areas or “SPAs”), for sites designated under the Habitats Directive only (Sites of Community Importance or “SCIs” and Special Areas of Conservation or “SACs”) and for the entire Natura 2000 network. The Natura 2000 network is the combination of the sites designated under the two directives.

In the data viewer you will find three interactive tables, one for the Corine Land Cover class area in Natura 2000 sites designated under the Birds Directive (SPAs) only, one for the Corine Land Cover area in Natura 2000 sites designated under the Habitats Directive (SCIs and SACs) only and one for the Corine Land Cover area in the full Natura 2000 network. The fourth interactive table shows the percentage coverage of Corine Land Cover classes inside and outside the Natura 2000 network. Please note that if you are looking for country level statistics of Natura 2000 coverage, you should use the official numbers from the Natura 2000 Barometer and not summarise the percentage values in this dashboard. The interactive map in the fifth page shows the percentage coverage of Corine Land Cover inside Natura 2000 sites aggregated by NUTS level 3.

Instead of using Corine Land Cover as the land cover unit, you have also the option to use Land cover flows for information on land cover change inside the network or to use the ecosystem types developed under the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) project.