Biodiversity Importance - Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs)

SACs and SPAs are UK site-based designations that protect threatened habitats (SACs) and wild birds (SPAs). Together, they form the UK's contribution to the national site network, previously part of the EU's Natura 2000 network.

Overview

Data Type	Polygons of protected areas
Source	JNCC – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK)
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	SAC and SPA data are relevant under CSRD (ESRS E4) as well as under TNFD.

Detailed Specifications

Transformation & Interpretation

Per default, a 5km radius around the site is screened for the occurrence of biodiversity-sensitive areas, including SACs and SPAs. 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 SAC or SPA boundary and the site coordinate
The area of overlap between the 1–5 km search radius and protected sites, expressed in both hectares and as a percentage of the total search area
A link to external metadata on the site, including additional ecological information based on availability

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 SACs and SPAs sites is provided by the JNCC – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK)

Date of publication

2025

Confidence & Accuracy

High. SAC and SPA data are derived from legally designated protected sites, submitted and maintained by UK governmental bodies and coordinated by the JNCC. While spatial accuracy is generally high, some differences in data resolution or update frequency may exist between regions.

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 (formerly including UK’s SACs and SPAs)
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: SAC and SPA spatial data are based on national submissions of protected areas, coordinated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and statutory nature conservation bodies across the UK. Reason for selection: The indicator has been selected to provide information on the proximity of sites to biodiversity-sensitive areas. SACs and SPAs are explicitly recognized under UK legislation as critical for biodiversity conservation. Together, they form the UK's contribution to the national site network, previously part of the EU's Natura 2000 network. Limitations & uncertainties: While SAC and SPA spatial data are based on national submissions and validated by the JNCC, implying high accuracy, they may not cover all categories of legally protected areas. Geographic coverage is limited to the UK, and some differences in data resolution or update frequency may exist between regions.
(b) scope of metric	The SAC and SPA data are applied at the site level, using a 5km radius (per default) to assess proximity to protected areas.
(c) biodiversity component of metric	SACs focus on protecting specific habitats and non-avian species, while SPAs aim to safeguard wild bird populations. Therefore, the data directly relate to species extinction risk and indirectly to ecosystem extent and condition.
(d) covered geographies	The SAC and SPA data cover the United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and UK offshore areas.
(e) integration of ecological thresholds	SAC and SPA designations are based on criteria that consider ecological thresholds relevant to the conservation of specific habitats and species. While not directly linked to planetary boundaries, the designation process inherently considers ecological thresholds pertinent to the protected areas.
(f) frequency of monitoring, baseline condition and period	SAC and SPA data is updated annually.
(g) data type (primary, secondary, modelled, expert judgement	The SAC and SPA data can be considered primary data.

Relevance for TNFD

Proximity to SACs and SPAs areas is a suitable indicator to estimate the criteria Biodiversity Importance within TNFD’s LOCATE step.

Relevance for SBTN

Proximity to SACs and SPAs 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 SACs and SPAs exactly georeferences the extent of protected areas and is updated annually.
Stability and Preservation	✅	SACs and SPAs data is likely to be maintained and preserved long-term as is is provided by the JNCC – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK)
Accessibility	✅	SACs and SPAs data is readily accessible online.
Interpretability	✅	SACs and SPAs data is sufficiently interpretable.
Coverage	❌	SACs and SPAs data only has UK coverage. Additional data on protected areas is required for global coverage.
Authoritative and Accurate	✅	SACs and SPAs spatial data is based on national submissions and validated and provided by the JNCC – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK)