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Marine Habitats

 

Marine habitats occurring around the UK are protected under various international, European and national legislative frameworks such as the EC Habitats Directive and conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

 
In 1992, the UK signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The UK government is discharging its duties under this agreement through the launch of Biodiversity: the UK Action Plan in 1994. A UK Biodiversity Steering group was then set up and published Biodiversity: the UK Steering Group Report: Meeting the Rio Challenge. Habitat Action Plans (HAPs) exist for various broad and priority marine habitats and these are currently under review. Refer to Conventions and Legislation for further details.
 
The EC Habitats Directive sets out a framework of protected sites within Europe called Natura 2000. UK marine habitats are listed in Annex I of the EC Habitats Directive whose conservation require the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). JNCC provides advice, and contributes to, various initiatives and programmes all involved in different implementation aspects for marine monitoring of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).
 
Reports can be downloaded from the UK Marine SACs project website detailing:
 
  • information on the ecology, sensitivity and management of subtidal brittlestar beds, maerl, Zostera, intertidal reef biotopes, biogenic reefs, circalittoral faunal turfs, infralittoral reefs with kelp, intertidal sand and mudflats, subtidal mobile sands, sea pens and burrowing megafauna; and
  • ecological requirements and sensitivity characteristics for the conservation and management of marine SACs (the Marine Habitat Reviews)
  • information and good practice guidelines for activities which may impact on European marine sites
 
Marine habitats are also being considered for protection under the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (' OSPAR Convention') which was opened for signature at the Ministerial Meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions in Paris on 22 September 1992. Under the OSPAR Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Ecosystems and Biological Diversity of the Maritime Area (Reference number: 1998-19), the signatory countries of the OSPAR Convention agreed to "identify those marine species, habitats or ecosystems that need to be protected, conserved or restored". JNCC is currently contributing to work within OSPAR's Biodiversity Committee to identify habitats (and species) in need of protection. This is being undertaken using the Texel-Faial Criteria.
 
The marine habitat classification for Britain and Ireland provides a tool to aid the management and conservation of marine habitats. It is one of the most comprehensive marine benthic classification systems currently in use, and  provides a common language for describing biological character.