May 2015: The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a technical report, titled ‘State of Nature in the EU: Results from reporting under the nature directives 2007–2012,’ which draws on the reports from Member States under the Birds and the Habitats directives and on subsequent assessments at EU or EU biogeographical levels.

This is the second report under the Habitats Directive to provide information on the conservation status of habitats and species listed in the annexes to the directive. In addition to an overview of the current standing of species and habitats, both at national and EU levels, this report takes an ecosystem approach and reviews the status of the Natura 2000 network and its possible contributions to the status of species and habitats. The report also provides results on progress towards Targets 1 (fully implement the Birds and Habitats Directives) and Target 3 (increase the contribution of agriculture and forestry to biodiversity) of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy.

According to its findings, the status of species and habitats is generally more positive for those associated with “woodland and forest” ecosystems than for those associated with “agricultural” ecosystems, though results are varied between countries. Progress towards Target 1 and Target 3 is, however, not substantial. The relatively high proportion of “deteriorating” assessments indicate that substantial conservation efforts need to follow to reverse current trends, particularly through common agriculture and land use policies. [EU Publication Page] [Publication: State of Nature in the EU] [IUCN News] [Publication: The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020]