Published : Oct 23,
2012 Last modified : Oct 22, 2012 01:07
PM
More than 21 % of the land has some kind
of protected status in the 39 countries
which work with the European Environment
Agency (EEA). However, only 4 % of the sea
controlled by countries of the European
Union is included within the Natura 2000
network of protected areas, according to
a new report from the EEA.
Despite a huge growth in protected areas
in recent years, many of Europe’s species
still face an uncertain future. Europe as
a whole has seen more habitat fragmentation
than any other continent. So we need to
work harder to conserve species in the wider
countryside.
EEA Executive Director
Jacqueline McGlade
A ‘protected area’ can be any area of land
or water designated primarily for nature
conservation. There are 105,000 nationally
designated protected sites in EEA member
and cooperating countries, ranging in size
from the 1.3 million hectare (ha) Vatnajokulsthjodgardur
National Park in Iceland down to individual
trees, such as the Kaèja smreka in
Godovic, Slovenia.
Protected areas are
important havens for biodiversity and vital
to preserving some of Europe’s most threatened
species, according to ‘Protected areas in
Europe – an overview’, which looks at the
status of national parks, nature reserves,
biosphere reserves and other protected areas,
including the EU’s Natura 2000 network.
These areas can place very different limits
on human activity. For example, some allow
building, fishing and industry, while others
are closed to most human intervention.
“Europe has a far-reaching
network of protected areas which can provide
refuge to some of the most threatened species,”
EEA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade
said. “However, despite a huge growth in
protected areas in recent years, many of
Europe’s species still face an uncertain
future. Europe as a whole has seen more
habitat fragmentation than any other continent.
So we need to work harder to conserve species
in the wider countryside.”
The EU has a target
for 10 % of its seas to be designated as
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), although
this aim has not yet been achieved. Habitats
further out at sea are particularly under-represented
in Europe’s protected areas, the report
notes.
Protected areas in Europe
cover a huge variety of natural environments,
across eleven distinct biogeographic regions,
from the Arctic polar deserts and the boreal
forests in the North to the arid or dense
mattoral shrubland in the south. Vast tracts
of steppe in Eastern Europe contrast with
extensive heathlands in the West.
This year marks the
20th anniversary of the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity and also the Habitats
Directive. The Habitats Directive led to
the Natura 2000 network of protected areas,
which has been a major driver in creating
and maintaining key areas for biodiversity.
Biodiversity under pressure
The EU aims to halt the loss of biodiversity
and degradation of ecosystem services in
the EU by 2020, and also work to slow biodiversity
loss at the global level. Protected areas
are important for meeting this target because
they can provide a better environment for
wildlife, which is increasingly under pressure
in many parts of Europe.
The European landscape
is increasingly fragmented by roads, railways
and towns, blocking migration and dividing
species into unsustainably small populations.
Between 11000 and 2006, the area of Europe
covered by artificial surfaces increased
by around 8 %. Most dams prevent migratory
fish species from reaching many inland river
basins.
Agriculture has also
intensified in many parts of Europe, leading
to increased pollution from nitrates and
other substances in some regions. This affects
many species of plants and animals which
are dependent on low-intensity farming.
Other environmental
changes come from climate change, invasive
alien species, overfishing and pollution.
All these pressures can have a cumulative
effect, in the worst cases pushing species
and ecosystems into irreversible decline.
The benefits of protected
areas
The earliest motives for protecting an area
were probably to safeguard its spiritual
significance or its importance as a hunting
ground. What were once viewed as islands
of wilderness are now increasingly perceived
as parts of wider networks, involving and
benefiting local communities. However, the
intrinsic value of preserving nature is
still a major motivating factor for setting
up protected areas.
There are many other
benefits of protected areas alongside protecting
biodiversity. The report cites many positive
side-effects, including economic benefits
– for example, Natura 2000 sites receive
between 1.2 and 2.2 billion visitor days
every year, generating additional income
of €50-85 billion.
Protected areas can
also provide health benefits, education
opportunities, clean water and air, and
tourism. Marine Protected Areas can also
increase the yields of nearby fisheries.
A recent study by the European Commission
estimated that the benefits of the Natura
2000 network to be 3-7 times the cost of
setting it up.
Europe still playing
catch-up on air pollution, despite reduction
successes Published : Oct 18, 2012 Last
modified : Oct 19, 2012 03:02 PM
Topics: Air pollution
, Environment and health , Environmental
technology ,
The European Union appears to have met several
objectives to reduce the impacts of air
pollution, according to the original scientific
understanding used to set the objectives.
But when using the improved scientific understanding
of air pollution now available, it becomes
clear that emissions need to be even further
reduced to protect health and the environment.
Member States have even further to catch
up on air pollution when the latest science
is taken into account, showing how important
it is that we keep investing in knowledge.
EEA Executive Director
Jacqueline McGlade
The European Environment Agency (EEA) report
‘Evaluation of progress under the EU National
Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive’ considers
whether the EU has successfully addressed
environmental and health objectives set
out when the Directive was adopted in 2001.
The Directive aimed to reduce acidification
of soil and freshwater, to reduce the area
of ecosystems with excess nutrient nitrogen
(which increase the risk of eutrophication)
and to reduce exposure of humans, crops
and forests to harmful ground-level ozone.
These objectives should have been met by
Member States limiting emissions of four
important air pollutants by 2010, which
would in turn reduce harm to health and
the environment to agreed target levels.
“We published a report
in June on the NEC Directive, showing that
although the legislation has brought down
emissions, broadly in line with its original
objectives, there are still some problems
with attainment,” EEA Executive Director
Jacqueline McGlade said. “But the report
we are publishing today finds that Member
States have even further to catch up on
air pollution when the latest science is
taken into account, showing how important
it is that we keep investing in knowledge.”
The ceilings to limit
emissions were designed to ensure that the
health and environmental objectives were
met cost-effectively. There have been significant
cuts in air pollutant emissions between
11000 and 2010: sulphur dioxides (-82%),
non-methane volatile organic compounds (-56%),
nitrogen oxides (-47%) and ammonia (-28%).
Nevertheless, twelve EU Member States exceeded
at least one of the ceilings agreed for
these air pollutants, as documented in a
report from the EEA earlier this year.
Past and present knowledge
lead to different results
There are many ways of assessing whether
environmental targets have been met. The
new EEA report uses two different approaches
to ensure that results are both impartial
and objective:
Past knowledge: an assessment
using the tools and approaches from the
time the objectives were defined a decade
ago.
Present knowledge: a
state-of-the-art assessment using, as far
as feasible, the latest scientific understanding,
including an advanced methodology and higher
resolution air quality modelling.
Using these approaches,
it becomes evident that the impacts of air
pollutants covered by the NEC Directive
are in most cases more serious than would
have been evident from using past knowledge
alone.
Eutrophication: High
emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia
lead to excessive levels of nutrient nitrogen,
for example in grasslands, heaths and nutrient-poor
lakes. While the objective to reduce areas
at risk of eutrophication was met according
to past knowledge, present knowledge indicates
that eutrophication caused by atmospheric
deposition is still a major environmental
problem.
Source: Areas at risk
of eutrophication in 2010 (right) vs 11000
(left)
Acidification: The EU
has the objective to halve, at least, the
areas at risk of acidification between 11000
and 2010. Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides
and ammonia emitted to the air contribute
to acidification of water and soil.
The objective has been
largely met across the European Union if
the old methodology is used. The risk of
acidification also appears to be markedly
reduced when new methods are applied, but
there are still many areas of Europe where
the acidification objective is not yet met.
This is because the more advanced methodology
takes into account the specific effects
on different ecosystems, for example the
higher rate of acid deposition in forests.
Ozone: Breathing high
levels of ozone can cause respiratory problems
and contribute to premature death. The NEC
Directive’s objective to reduce human exposure
to ozone has been largely met, according
to both methodologies, with the exception
of some parts of southern Europe, particularly
northern Italy.
Ozone also damages vegetation,
such as crops and forests. According to
the modelling results the targets to protect
crops were mostly met, even when using the
newer methodology, with the exception of
Spain and Portugal. However, the objective
to protect forests was clearly not achieved
in most of Europe, with the exception of
the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom.
While the EEA’s latest
report stresses the adverse effects of air
pollutants on the environment, a recent
EEA assessment of air quality in Europe
found that approximately one third of European
city dwellers are exposed to pollutants
above EU limits to protect health.
Next steps
The European Commission is currently reviewing
the European Union’s air policy. Amongst
other initiatives, the Commission is expected
to propose a revised NEC Directive in 2013
at the latest, which is likely to set objectives
for 2020 and beyond for relevant air pollutants.
In the meantime, the NEC Directive remains
in force and requires European Union Member
States to keep emissions below national
ceilings beyond 2010.
