The European inventory of nationally designated areas holds information about protected areas and the national legislative instruments, which directly or indirectly create protected areas.
This map shows spatial distribution and intensity of main agricultural conversions (lcf52 Conversion from semi-natural land to agriculture, lcf41 Extension of set aside fallow land and pasture, lcf46 Conversion from pasture to arable and permanent crops and lcf6 Withdrawal of farming) over the territory in period 2006 - 2012.
The High nature Value Farmland (HNV) comprises hot spots of biodivsersity in rural areas and is usually characterised by extensive farming practices. This figure shows where the HNV are at higher risk due the pressure of agricultural intensification.
Data Visualization
21 Apr 2017
Data Visualization
21 Apr 2017
Indicator Assessment
21 Apr 2017
Land take as a result of the expansion of residential areas and construction sites is the main cause of the increase in urban land coverage in Europe.
Agricultural zones and, to a lesser extent, forests and semi-natural and natural areas are disappearing in favour of the development of artificial surfaces. This affects biodiversity since it decreases habitats and fragments the landscapes that support and connect them.
Between 2006 and 2012, the annual land take in the European countries (EEA-39) assessed in the 2012 Corine land cover (CLC) project was approximately 107 000 ha/year. The figure for the 2000-2006 period was approximately 118 000 ha/year.
In the 28 countries 1 covered by all three CLC assessment periods (1990-2000, 2000-2006 and 2006-2012), annual land take decreased by 10.5 % between 2000 and 2006, and by 13.5 % between 2006 and 2012.
In absolute values, the annual land take in these 28 countries was 114 000 ha/year (1990-2000), 102 000 ha/year (2000-2006) and 98 500 ha/year (2006-2012).
Between 2000 and 2006, more arable land and permanent crops were taken by artificial development than between 1990 and 2000, while fewer pastures and less mosaic farmland were taken over the same period. In fact, between 2006 and 2012, the types of land most taken for artificial development were arable land and permanent crops, followed by pastures and mixed agricultural areas.
1 The 28 countries covered by all three CLC assessment periods are AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, DK, ES, EE, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, ME, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, RS, SI, SK, TR and UK.
Natura 2000 is the key instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. It is an ecological network of protected areas, set up to ensure the survival of Europe's most valuable species and habitats. Natura 2000 is based on the 1979 Birds Directive and the 1992 Habitats Directive. This version covers the reporting in 2016.
Indicator Assessment
20 Dec 2016
Range shifts in forest tree species due to climate change have been observed towards higher altitudes and latitudes. These changes considerably affect the forest structure and the functioning of forest ecosystems and their services.
Future climate change and increasing CO2 concentrations are expected to affect site suitability, productivity, species composition and biodiversity. In general, forest growth is projected to increase in northern Europe and to decrease in southern Europe, but with substantial regional variation. Cold-adapted coniferous tree species are projected to lose large fractions of their ranges to more drought-adapted broadleaf species.
The projected changes will have an impact on the goods and services that forests provide. For example, the value of forest land in Europe is projected to decrease between 14 and 50 % during the 21st century.
The table shows the areal extent of Europe's seas and selected characteristics of EU marine protected areas (MPAs), namely area coverage, percentage of coverage and total number of sites.
Data excludes the Icelandic Sea, Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea
The table shows the percentage cover of MPAs and distance to 10% target for each regional and sub regional sea and by distance zone from the coastline modified from the report: Spatial analysis of Marine Protected Area Networks in Europe´s seas. EEA Technical report, no 17/2015
Climate change is warming the oceans, causing acidification of marine environments, and changing rainfall patterns. This combination of factors often exacerbates of other human pressures on the seas, leading to biodiversity loss in the oceans.
GIS Map Application
03 Jun 2014
The map shows an overview of protected sites in Europe, including Natura 2000 sites and nationally designated areas (CDDA). Natura 2000 is the key instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. It is an ecological network of protected areas, set up to ensure the survival of Europe's most valuable species and habitats. Nationally designated areas is a European inventory of protected areas designated by the national authorities.
GIS Map Application
01 Jan 2012
Ecological network of European protected areas
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