Offshore Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a European network of protected sites developed to maintain or restore natural habitats and species of wild flora and fauna to favourable conservation status within the European Union.

The Natura 2000 programme is driven by two European Council Directives, the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive requires the identification of suitable areas for the protection of habitats and species listed in the Directive, and their designation as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). The Birds Directive requires each Member State to identify the most suitable territories for the protection of bird species listed in the Directive (and regularly occurring migratory bird species), and their designation as Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

The obligations placed on the UK by the Birds and Habitats Directives were initially transposed into UK law in the mid-1990s, through regulations applying only to terrestrial areas and inshore waters (within 12 nautical miles of the coast). Identification of marine SACs within these territorial waters is the responsibility of the relevant country conservation agencies: Natural England (NE), Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW); co-ordinated and reported to the UK Government through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). Identification of marine SPAs within territorial limits is undertaken by JNCC, on behalf of the country conservation agencies. All of the existing marine Natura 2000 sites are coastal or associated with small islands/islets, although several do have substantial subtidal areas.

On 21^st August 2007, new regulations, the Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) Regulations 2007 entered into force, extending the area over which SACs and SPAs need to be designated to the UK offshore marine area (those waters, beyond 12nm, within British fishery limits and the seabed within the UK Continental Shelf Designated Area). JNCC is responsible for identifying offshore SACs and offshore SPAs, and providing guidance and advice to marine stakeholders on conservation matters relating to these new provisions. Further information about the offshore SAC selection process is available.

To date, JNCC has identified seven possible offshore SACs for Annex I Reefs, Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time and Submarine structures made by leaking gases. These sites were subject to a public consultation, which ran from December 2007 to March 2008.