Biodiversity Importance - Protected Areas Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a European initiative aimed at safeguarding biodiversity through a network of legally protected areas.

Overview

Data Type	Polygons of protected areas
Source	European Environment Agency (EEA)
Spatial Resolution	Spatially explicit
Temporal Resolution	Yearly updates
Interpretation	Per default, a 5km radius around the site is screened for the occurrence of protected areas.
Concern Level	Very Low = no BSAs area detected within 5km of the site Low = BSAs area detected within 5km of the site Moderate = BSAs area detected within 3.5km of the site High = BSAs area detected within 1.5km of the site Very High = BSAs area detected within 0.5km of the site
Framework Relevance	Natura 2000 data is relevant under CSRD (ESRS E4) as well as under TNFD.

Detailed Specification

Explanation

Natura 2000 is an instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. It is an ecological network of legally 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. Businesses should be aware of protected areas near operational sites as proximity to a protected area can imply specific regulations and restrictions. CSRD specifies Natura 2000 explicitly as biodiversity-sensitive areas.

Transformation & Interpretation

Per default, a 5km radius around the site is screened for the occurrence of biodiversity-sensitive areas, including Natura 2000. Closer biodiversity-sensitive areas mean a higher concern level according to the following default logic:

Distance to biodiversity-sensitive area	Concern Level
> 5 km	Very Low
3.5 - 5 km	Low
1.5 - 3.5 km	Moderate
0.5 - 1.5 km	High
≤ 0.5 km	Very High

Additionally to the proximity analysis and resulting concern level, the following contextual information is provided:

The exact distance between the Natura 2000 area and the site coordinate
How much of the search area (1-5km radius) is covered by Natura 2000 sites. The coverage is provided in absolute (ha) and relative terms (how much percent of the search area is covered by the Natura 2000 site)
Link to external meta data on the protected site, including ecological information, protection status and site management

Please note that the same biodiversity-sensitive area can have multiple official designations, which is why the same area name may appear under different BSA categories in Nala. For example, a Ramsar Site may also be part of a Natura 2000 area or a Natura 2000 area may be protected under both the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. Because each designation has a different legal meaning, Nala shows all applicable designations separately which can result in the same area name beign featured multiple times in the list of nearby biodiversity-sensitive areas.

Source

The spatial data on Natura 2000 sites is provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Date of publication

2022

Confidence & Accuracy

High. Natura 2000 spatial data is based on national submissions and validated and provided by the European Environmental Agency implying high accuracy of the data. Note, that Natura 2000 does not cover all categories of legally protected areas and geographic coverage is limited to Europe.

Relevance for CSRD

CSRD requires companies to identify operational sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas that negatively affecting these areas.

Biodiversity-sensitive areas (BSA) are defined as:

Natura 2000 network of protected areas
UNESCO World Heritage sites
Key Biodiversity Areas (‘KBAs’)
other protected areas

Biodiversity-sensitive areas are relevant under:

ESRS Article	Disclosure or application requirement
ESRS E4 DR 16 (a) (i)	list of material sites in its own operations specifying activities negatively affecting biodiversity sensitive areas
ESRS E4 DR 16 (a) (iii)	specifying the biodiversity-sensitive areas impacted
ESRS E4 DR 19 (a)	sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas and activities related to these sites negatively affect these areas
ESRS E4 DR 35 (a)	number and area (in hectares) of sites located in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas that negatively affect area
ESRS E4 AR 7 (d)	list of locations where the undertaking is interfacing with biodiversity-sensitive areas
ESRS E4 AR 8 (c) (i)	percentage of its suppliers’ facilities located in risk prone areas
ESRS E4 AR 8 (c) (ii)	percentage of procurement spend from suppliers with facilities located in risk prone areas

CSRD requires companies to consider and describe the data used in their analysis (ESRS E4 AR 27). For convenience, here a description of for the relevant criteria:

ESRS Data Criteria	Comment
(a) methodology, reason for selection, assumptions, limitations & uncertainties	Methodology: Natura 2000 spatial data is based on national submissions of protected areas. Reason for selection: The indicator has been selected to provide information on the proximity of sites to biodiversity-sensitive areas. Natura 2000 is explicitly listed as biodiversity-sensitive area under ESRE E4. Limitations & uncertainties: Natura 2000 spatial data is based on national submissions and validated and provided by the European Environmental Agency implying high accuracy of the data. Note, that Natura 2000 does not cover all categories of legally protected areas and geographic coverage is limited to Europe.
(b) scope of metric	The Natura 2000 data is applied at site level applying a 5km radius.
(c) biodiversity component of metric	The Natura 2000 data does not directly relate to a biodiversity component. However, with the objective of ensuring the survival of Europe's most valuable species and habitats, Natura 2000 data indirectly relates to both species extinction risk and ecosystem extent and condition.
(d) covered geographies	The Natura 2000 data covers Europe.
(e) integration of ecological thresholds	The Natura 2000 data does not relate to a specific planetary boundary even though the process of designating valuable species and habitats under Natura 2000 naturally does consider ecological threshold relevant to the protected area.
(f) frequency of monitoring, baseline condition and period	Natura 2000 data is updated annually.
(g) data type (primary, secondary, modelled, expert judgement	The Natura 2000 data can be considered primary data.

Relevance for TNFD

Proximity to Natura 2000 areas is a suitable indicator to estimate the criteria Biodiversity Importance within TNFD’s LOCATE step.

Relevance for SBTN

Proximity to Natura 2000 areas is not directly relevant as a State of Nature indicator for Step 1: Assess and Step 2: Interpret & Prioritize. Nevertheless, the proximity of protected areas provides additional qualitative information on an areas biodiversity importance and integrity which can complement other biodiversity State of Nature indicators.

SBTN Data & Tool Criteria	Evaluation	Comment
Relevance	❌	Proximity to protected areas is not directly relevant to SBTN methodology for State of Nature Assessments.
Representative	❌	Proximity to protected areas is not directly applicable to SBTN’s quantification of the State of Nature Assessments.
Spatial and Temporal Resolution	✅	Spatial data on Natura 2000 exactly georeferences the extent of protected areas and is updated annually.
Stability and Preservation	✅	Natura 2000 data is likely to be maintained and preserved long-term as is is provided by the European Environmental Agency.
Accessibility	✅	Natura 2000 data is readily accessible online.
Interpretability	✅	Natura 2000 data is sufficiently interpretable.
Coverage	❌	Natura 2000 data only has European coverage. Additional data on protected areas is required for global coverage.
Authoritative and Accurate	✅	Natura 2000 spatial data is based on national submissions and validated and provided by the European Environmental Agency.