Special Area of Conservation - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. They are to protect the 220 habitats and approximately 1000 species listed in annex I and II of the directive which are considered to be of European interest following criteria given in the directive. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance

Site of Community Importance

A Site of Community Importance is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at a favourable conservation status of a natural habitat type or of a...

by the State Members and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat.

SACs complement Special Protection Area

Special Protection Area

A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...

s and together form a network of protected sites across the European Union

European Union

called Natura 2000

Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...

. This, in turn, is part of the Emerald network

Emerald network

The Emerald network is an ecological network to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats of Europe, which was launched in 1998 by the Council of Europe as part of its work under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats or Bern Convention that came...

of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) under the Berne Convention

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats

The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats 1979, also known as the Bern Convention , came into force on June 1, 1982....

Assessment methodology UK

Prior to being designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), all sites are assessed under a process set out by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Joint Nature Conservation Committee

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is the statutory adviser to the UK Government on national and international nature conservation. Its work contributes to maintaining and enriching biological diversity, conserving geological features and sustaining natural systems...

as follows:

Assessment

Site selection UK considers the value of the proposed sites in relation to the whole national resource of each habitat type and of each species. The process is broken down into two stages:

Stage one criteria

1- Assessment of the relative importance of sites containing examples of the individual habitat types. This includes four criteria:

the degree of representativity
the area
the degree of conservation of habitat structure and functions
restoration possibilities and a global assessment of conservation value (i.e. an overall assessment

2- Species assessment evaluates population size and density, the degree of conservation of the features of the habitat that are important for the species and restoration possibilities, the degree of isolation of the population in relation to the species' natural range and a global assessment of conservation value.

Stage two criteria

Assessment of the overall importance of the sites in the context of the appropriate biogeographical region and the EU as a whole. This stage is often informally referred to as 'moderation'. The criteria used in Stage 2 are intended to be used to assess the sites at the level of the nine biogeographical regions and the EU as a whole. The Stage 2 criteria may be summarised as:

Relative value of the site at national level;
Relationship of the site to migration routes or its role as part of an ecosystem on both sides of one or more Community frontiers;
Total area of the site;
Number habitat types and species present;
Global ecological value of the site at the level of the biogeographical region and/or EU as a whole.

External links

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Assessment methodology UK

Assessment

Stage one criteria

Stage two criteria

See also

External links