Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are strictly protected
sites designated under the EC Habitats Directive. Article 3 of the
Habitats Directive requires the establishment of a European network
of important high-quality conservation sites that will make a
significant contribution to conserving the 189 habitat types and
788 species identified in Annexes I and II of the Directive (as
amended). The listed habitat types and species are those
considered to be most in need of conservation at a European level
(excluding birds). Of the Annex I habitat types, 78 are believed to
occur in the UK. Of the Annex II species, 43 are native to, and
normally resident in, the UK.
Details of the process of SAC selection and
designation are available on JNCC's SAC selection
pages. Also provided is a full list of sites within
the UK or each country within the UK (England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland, Wales), with links to site descriptions including
details of qualifying features for designated SACs, SCIs or
candidate SACs, and summary information for possible SACs.
Downloadable data available includes a summary spreadsheet, GIS
boundary data and copies of site documentation for designated
sites.