Descrizione 1
Pierangela Angelini, Laura Casella, Emanuela Carli, Alessandra Grignetti
The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) is one of the main pillars of the European Union's nature conservation policy. This indicator is based on data provided by Italy for the periodic reporting required of Member States under Article 17 of the Directive. The report provides a general summary of the Italy’s Fourth Report, referring to data from monitoring activities conducted by regions and autonomous provinces during the 2013–2018 period. Specifically, it highlights the overall conservation status observed for terrestrial and inland water habitats across the national territory, as well asthe distribution of conservation status across the Italian biogeographical regions. Additionally, the report outlines the number of assessments to be conducted by individual regions and autonomous provinces for habitat monitoring, providing an estimate of the expected workload.
The trend compared to the previous reporting cycle is negative, showing a decrease in favorable assessments. Currently, only 8% of cases are classified as having a favorable conservation status, while 49% are deemed inadequate and 40% poor. This indicates a generally critical situation, further distancing Italy from achieving the objectives set by the Directive.
A state indicator that highlights the conservation status of terrestrial and inland water habitats in Italy, protected under Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC, by biogeographical region. The conservation status is defined according to the Directive and assessed using the standards established by the European reporting system under Article 17. The report also includes data on the numerical consistency of the habitats recorded in each region and autonomous province.
A state indicator that highlights the conservation status of terrestrial and inland water habitats in Italy, protected under Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC, by biogeographical region. The conservation status is defined according to the Directive and assessed using the standards established by the European reporting system under Article 17. The report also includes data on the numerical consistency of the habitats recorded in each region and autonomous province.
The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) is one of the main pillars of the European Union's nature conservation policy. According to the Article 1, the overarching objective for the Member States of the European Community is to achieve a Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) for all habitat types listed in Annex I and present within their national territory.
In Italy, the Directive was implemented and regulated through Presidential Decree No. 357 of September 8, 1997 (Official Gazette No. 248, Supplement, October 23, 1997).
A Favourable Conservation Status is a condition in which a habitat thrives in terms of both quality and the extent of the area it occupies, with good prospects for these conditions to remain stable in the future. Therefore, a favourable condition must be defined, achieved, and maintained.
Descrizione 2
Angelini P., Casella L., Grignetti A., Genovesi P. (ed.), 2016. Manuali per il monitoraggio di specie e habitat di interesse comunitario (Direttiva 92/43/CEE) in Italia: habitat. ISPRA, Serie Manuali e Linee guida, 142/2016
DG Environment, 2017. Reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive. Explanatory notes and guidelines for the period 2013-2018. Brussels. & Reporting guidelines Article 17 - Addendum .
Evans D. & Arvela M., 2011. Assessment and reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive Explanatory Notes & Guidelines for the period 2007-2012. Final draft April 2011. European Topic Center on Biological Diversity.
http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/help/habitats_art17
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-dashboards/conservation-status-and-trends
Although significant improvements have been made in the knowledge of habitats, the full data reliability can only be achieved through the standardization of monitoring activities conducted at the local level within a National Monitoring Plan. In particular, the creation and updating of detailed-scale habitat distribution maps require national-level coordination to ensure consistency in interpretation and the integration of data during the reporting process. Further research and monitor are still needed in order to define threshold values for assessing the conservation status of the "structure and function" parameter and to determine favorable reference values, which are essential for evaluations.
The establishment of a National Community Interest Habitat Monitoring Plan that can optimize the work of data collection and processing with a view to efficiency and effectiveness.
Qualificazione dati
Freely searchable and downloadable data from the website were used: https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-dashboards/conservation-status-and-trends
Data from the official Natura2000 database of the MATTM available at: ftp://ftp.minambiente.it/PNM/Natura2000/TrasmissioneCE_dicembre2017/
National, Regional (20/20)
2013-2018
Qualificazione indicatore
The assessment of the conservation status of habitat types listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive is carried out using standardized methodologies at the European level. The overall conservation status of each habitat within each biogeographical region where it occurs is determined by calculating specific parameters, including range, occupied area, structure and functions, and future prospects (for further details, see http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/help/habitats_art17).
The conservation status is determined through the application of an evaluation matrix developed at the European level to standardize results. Each habitat type, for each biogeographical region, is assigned an overall conservation status value from the following categories:
- Favorable (FV)
- Unfavorable-Inadequate (U1)
- Unfavorable-Bad (U2)
- Unknown (XX)
The overall conservation status of terrestrial habitats remains unfavorable. Only 8% of cases are in a favorable state, while 49% of assessments indicate an inadequate status, and 40% a poor status (Figure 1). The Directive’s objective of achieving a Favorable Conservation Status for all habitat types listed in Annex I within the national territory remains unmet and is unlikely to be achieved in the short term.
The trend is negative compared to the previous reporting cycle, with a decline in favorable assessments from 22% to 8% and an increase in cases of poor conservation status from 28% to 40% (Figure 4). The indicator highlights a generally critical situation, further complicating efforts to achieve the objectives set by the legislation. The low number of unknown assessments (3%) suggests that knowledge gaps have significantly decreased during the reference reporting cycle.
Dati
Figure 1: Overall conservation status of terrestrial habitats of Directive 92/43/EEC: number of reporting forms and percentage distribution, out of the total number of assessments conducted, of the 4 conservation status classes (2019)
Data from the 4th Italian Report ex art. 17 (www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-dashboards/conservation-status-and-trends)
Figure 2: Habitat conservation status: number of reporting forms by conservation status category in each Biogeographic Region (2019)
Data from IV Report Italiano ex art. 17 (www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-dashboards/conservation-status-and-trends)
Figure 3: Number of terrestrial habitats of Directive 92/43/EEC reported in each autonomous region and province
ISPRA elaborations on data from the IV Report ex art. 17 tratti da: https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-dashboards/conservation-status-and-trends
Figure 4: Comparison of the conservation status of terrestrial habitats in the last 2 reporting cycles (percentage values calculated on the number of assessments)
Data from III e IV Report Italiano ex art. 17
As shown in Figure 1, during the period 2013-2018, a total of 89% of terrestrial habitats of community interest in Italy were in poor (40%) or inadequate (49%) conservation status, while only 8% were in a favorable conservation status. In 8 cases (3%), it was not possible to assess the overall conservation status.
Analyzing the data by biogeographical region (Figure 2), the highest number of assessments classified as poor conservation status (U2) is found in the continental region (40). However, in this region, the number of inadequate assessments (U1) (35) is lower compared to the other biogeographical regions. Overall, unfavorable assessments are more numerous in the Mediterranean region, with 33 poor and 51 inadequate assessments.
The data presented in Figure 3 provide insight into the numerical consistency of habitat types and the expected monitoring effort at the regional level. These figures highlight the need for a comprehensive action plan for habitat monitoring, considering the complexity of different territorial contexts. It is evident that regional territories overlapping multiple biogeographical regions require greater monitoring efforts, as assessments for the same habitat need to be repeated based on different territorial frameworks. Lazio and Abruzzo emerge as the regions most involved in habitat monitoring activities, with 173 and 164 assessments, respectively. Other regions exceeding 150 assessments include Tuscany, Piedmont, and Liguria.
Improving conservation status is a key priority in the new EU initiatives for nature conservation. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, developed as part of the European Green Deal economic plan, aims to integrate conservation into the overall EU economic growth strategy. This Strategy sets ambitious targets, such as: protecting 30% of the European territory; improving the conservation status of at least 30% of habitats and species currently in an unfavorable state.
This will be achieved both through the more effective implementation of existing policies and a significant, dedicated funding program focused on environmental restoration and recovery.
The reported data highlight serious challenges in habitat conservation; however, they can serve as a starting point for a necessary change of course to achieve these objectives. This shift will allow for more effective and efficient planning of policies and local resources, contributing to the broader EU conservation goals.