14 September 2011

Data on biodiversity are published under agreement with the data providers - partners that are also responsible for the data quality. Eurostat does not receive any of these data from the Member States. Eurostat's role is to check data quality, give feedback to the data providers and publish the data it deems to be reliable. Eurostat should therefore NOT be quoted as the source.

The topics covered and data providers are:

Fish: The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The data are presented in much greater detail (downloadable) on the website of the European Environment Agency

Protected areas: The European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment; the European Environment Agency and its European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity

Birds: The European Bird Census Council (EBCC) and its Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) programme

Fish: The five indicators relate to the catches of a number of stocks (populations) that have been assessed to be outside of safe biological limits. In general, it is considered that a stock is within safe biological limits if its current biomass is above a value set by a precautionary approach advocated by ICES. Further details on the way ICES formulates advice in precautionary terms can be obtained from the ICES website.

Protected areas: The EU policy on nature conservation is part of the EU biodiversity strategy. It is mainly based on the implementation of two Directives: Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive) and Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (Birds Directive).

The Natura2000 network consists of sites designated by Member States under the Birds Directive (special protection areas = SPA) and the proposed sites of Community importance (pSCI) that are subsequently designated under the Habitats Directive (special areas of conservation = SAC).

For each Member State of the European Union, there is one indicator for protected terrestrial area (km² and percentage of national territory) and one for protected marine area - if applicable (km² and percentage of national territory).

The sufficiency index measures progress in the implementation of the Habitats Directive only. It indicates the proportion of habitats and species by biogeographical region and country that are deemed to be sufficiently represented in the list of sites proposed by Member States, in relation to the number of species and habitats on the EU reference list of habitat types and species in all the biogeographical regions. The EU organises scientific seminars  to determine whether the habitats and species of a country are sufficiently represented in a proposal. The index for a Member State is calculated by summing up the indices for each biogeographical region in the country, weighted by the proportion of the region's area that lies within that country. Information is also available at the 'Natura 2000 Barometer'.

Birds: Three composite EU indicators cover common farmland birds, common forest birds and all common birds - which include both farmland and forest birds plus a number of other common species. National indicators for common farmland birds are also provided.

Not applicable for habitats; agriculture and forestry for the common birds indices; fisheries for the fish.

Annual data on fish catches from stocks considered to be outside of 'safe biological limits', protected areas under the Habitats Directive, and populations of common birds.

Fish: The indicator is based on fish catches taken from stocks in the Northeast Atlantic (FAO Major Area 27) that are considered to be outside of safe biological limits. For more information, see Eurostat's structural indicator 'Fish stocks in European marine waters'.

Protected areas: The indicator is based on sites proposed by countries to be designated for the protection of natural and semi-natural habitats of wild fauna and flora according to the Habitats Directive. For more information, see Eurostat's structural indicator 'Protected areas under the Habitats Directive'.

Birds: Each of the three EU indicators is a composite indicator of the relative abundance of selected common bird species associated with specific habitats or simply all common species. No rare species are included. One indicator is for farmland birds (36 species), one for forest birds (33 species) and the third covers both farmland and forest birds plus 76 other common species (145 in total). These are the maximum numbers of species, from which the countries select the species relevant to them, see the lists in the annex under "Lists of species, composite and national indicators".

We also publish the national farmland bird indicators, as provided by the countries to the EBCC. In the above annex, please find the current list of species selected by each country to monitor their farmland birds; it is noteworthy that only one species, the skylark Alauda arvensis, is common to all the lists. 

Not relevant for protected areas and for common birds; for fish: fishing vessels and the waters where they operate.

Fish: Sampling of fish from different heights in the water column of the Northeast Atlantic (FAO Major Area 27), methods see ICES website.

Protected areas: List of sites agreed with the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment.

Birds: Sample of the national populations of 145 species of common birds, see the EBCC website. The number of species covered has changed over time, as has the number of countries.

Fish: The data cover the fishing areas of the Northeast Atlantic (FAO Major Area 27) which are managed autonomously or jointly by the EU. They include catches by third countries in these areas. Arctic stocks managed by Norway or Russia are excluded.

Protected areas: Until 2004, the statistics cover the territory of EU-15 countries. From 2005-2006, they cover the EU-25 and from 2007 onwards, they should also cover Romania and Bulgaria.

Birds: Coverage has increased from nine to twenty EU Member States over the period 1990 to 2009. Data from Norway and Switzerland are also available, but are excluded from the EU indicators. It should be noted that countries joined the scheme at different times that are in no way linked to their joining the EU.

Fish: From 2001

Protected areas: From 2003

Birds: From 1990. Eurostat considers this to be the first year with a sufficient geographic coverage for the EU as a whole.

Only applicable to the birds: the data are presented with four different bases:

- the national base year for the national farmland bird indicators

- 1990, when data quality became acceptable

- 2000, the base year for the sustainable development indicators and the rural development indicators

- 2008 or the latest year available, as a good base for the national farmland bird indicators   

Not applicable because these are indicators.

Calendar year

Gentlemens' agreements for the fish and the birds.

Sufficiency of Member States proposals for sites designated under the Habitats Directive:

- Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds

- Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

- Commission Decision of 18 December 1996 concerning a site information format for proposed Natura 2000 sites

- Commission Decision of 28 December 2001 adopting the list of sites of Community importance for the Macaronesian biogeographical region, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC (notified under document number C(2001) 3998)

Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Alpine biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2003) 4957)

- Commission Decision of 7 December 2004 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Atlantic biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2004) 4032)

- Commission Decision of 7 December 2004 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Continental biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2004) 4031)

- Commission Decision of 13 January 2005 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Boreal biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2004) 5462)

- Commission Decision of 19 July 2006 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2006) 3261)

- Council Directive 2006/105/EC of 20 November 2006 adapting Directives 73/239/EEC, 74/557/EEC and 2002/83/EC in the field of environment, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania

- 05/02/2008: Commission Decision of 25 January 2008 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, a first updated list of sites of Community importance for the Macaronesian biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2008) 286) Macaronesian region

Fish: The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The data are presented in much greater detail (downloadable) on the website of the European Environment Agency

Protected areas: The European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment; the European Environment Agency and its European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity

Birds: The European Bird Census Council (EBCC) and its Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) programme

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

Not applicable

Once a year, but with no particular calendar. The bird indicators usually become available in Q3.

Not applicable

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Dissemination format') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.

Birds: yearly

Habitats and fish: as they become available.

Not applicable

Eurostat publications:

- Forestry in the EU and the world (2011)

- Food: from farm to fork statistics (2011)

- Environmental statistics and accounts in Europe (2010)

Please consult free data on-line.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Birds: The methods were developed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council. Further information can be found at the EBCC website. The programme TRIM (TRends and Indices for Monitoring data) used as a standard tool to analyse time series was developed by Statistics Netherlands, van Strien et al. (2001).

Birds: see the EBCC website.

Birds: Note that each time series is re-calculated from the first year onwards every time new data are produced by EBCC. This is a modelling exercise, not merely a matter of adding the latest year onto a time series. Eurostat checks the quality of successive data deliveries by comparing them, see in the Annex "Comparison of successive deliveries, composite data".

Birds: The common bird indicators are published by the EBCC as of 1980, but Eurostat only considers the data to be sufficiently representative  for the EU as of 1990. By 1990, nine of today's EU Member States plus one region of Belgium had joined the scheme, while in 2009 twenty EU countries contributed data (although it is noteworthy that Estonia and Italy are missing from the data provided in 2011). Switzerland and Norway also produce such data; adding those data or leaving them out does not change the overall result much; the 'European' data are not much different from the EU data. 

By looking at the national farmland indicators, one can see when each country joined the scheme. The annex "Comparison of successive deliveries, composite data" shows that the forest bird indicator is the one that changes most between one data delivery and another, by up to 7% (base = 1990). This indicator is still being worked on by the EBCC. There have recently been changes to the species covered and the time series for several countries. The fluctuations between model runs show that small rises or falls in the indicator should not be regarded as anything real and that is is best to look only at the change between 1990 and the latest available year.  

Fish and birds: These indicators are used as sustainable development indicators and structural indicators (for the Lisbon strategy).

The indicator on common farmland birds is used as a baseline indicator of the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Rural Development Policy and as an agri-environmental indicator.

The indicator on protected areas and the common bird indicators are used to assess the state of biodiversity in the EU.   

Not available

Fish: only the Member States that fish the NE Atlantic are implicitly covered

Protected areas: all Member States

Birds: the missing countries are Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania and Slovenia

Not available

Not available

Birds: areas that are difficult to access may not have been sampled in all participating countries.

Usually current year minus two.

Not well defined, since data delivery depends on the organisation providing the data.

Protected areas and birds: good between countries

Birds: as shown in the annex, good for all common birds and farmland birds; not so good yet for forest birds.

Not applicable

Birds: as shown in the annex, good for all common birds and farmland birds; not so good yet for forest birds.

Only significant at country level for the bird indicators.

Not applicable

Birds: complete revision every year.

Fish: sample surveys and processing by ICES

Protected areas: administrative data, processed by country and EU 

Birds: National data collection and processing, plus processing by EBCC

Yearly

Birds: field observation of singing males on a fixed route (transect route or point source). These population counts are carried out by a network of volunteer ornithologists coordinated within national schemes.

Birds: this is national work, using the TRIM programme.

Birds: Indices are first calculated for each species independently at the national level by producing a national population index per species. Then, the national species indices are combined into supranational ones. To do this, they are weighted by estimates of national population sizes. Weighting allows for the fact that different countries hold different proportions of the European population of each species. In a third step, the supranational indices for each species are then combined on a geometric scale to create a multi-species aggregate index  at European level.  

The national indices are complied by each country using a common software (TRIM). The supranational indices are compiled by Statistics Netherlands in conjunction with the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring scheme (a joint project of the European Bird Census Council, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife International, and Statistics Netherlands).

Not available

Not applicable