Red list of European Habitats Project

Under contract from the European Commission, DG Environment, a project is being carried out for assessing the Red List status of European terrestrial and marine (semi)natural habitats. The geographical scope of the project is the EU28 and Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the Balkan countries for terrestrial habitats and the EEZs and territorial waters for marine habitats. The main product is a fact sheet on which information on a habitat type is given, including the Red List status. The project is co-ordinated by a consortium of Alterra, IUCN, NatureBureau, John Rodwell ecologist and Susan Gubbay marine ecologist, while more than 50 subcontractors from different countries are co-operating as subcontractors. For the typology the EUNIS level 3 is the basis for terrestrial habitats. It will be adapted where EUNIS-types overlap, are very broad in their definitions or where splitting corresponds better with HD Annex I habitat types. For marine habitats EUNIS level 4 habitats are the basis. The result is a red list typology for this project. The project works with thematic Working Groups for terrestrial habitats (coastal, freshwater, mires/bogs/fens, heathlands/shrubs/tundra, grasslands, forests, rocks/screes) and regional working groups for marine habitats (Northsea/Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black Sea). The experts in these terrestrial working groups will be provided with national data on status and trends in habitat types, from territorial experts. The working groups will prepare a draft fact sheet and assessment for each red list type, which will be reviewed in a later stage, in order to guarantee consistency between assessments. The criteria will cover negative trends in quantity, negative trends in quality and small distribution ranges in combination with threats and negative trends. The project will end in spring 2016. During the EVS-workshop an example of an assessment of a habitat type will be presented.