Site Conservation Objectives – a new approach?

• Background

• The Habitats Directive Review Project

• Proposed New Approach

• Air Pollution attributes?

HDIR Report 2012

• Recommendations of HDIR report

– (see executive summary)

• 4 themes:

i. Facilitating nationally significant infrastructure projects

ii. Improving implementation processes and streamlining guidance

iii. Improving the quality, quantity and sharing of data

iv. Improving the customer experience

Report Conclusions

• Need conservation objectives to assess ‘plans or projects’ Article 6(3)

• Objectives should be up-to-date, accessible and allow applicants to assess the impact of their proposed development against them.

• At present, in England, conservation objectives don’t comply• are not readily accessible;• don’t provide sufficient detail

• Adds to uncertainty in terms of defining / assessing data requirements

• Makes life for developers and competent authorities difficult

• Clear conservation objectives are also key in directing site management to maintain, or restore the site to favourable conservation status.

HDIR Report Recommendations

Recommendations

High Level Objectives

Phase 1 30 June 2012

Focussed consultation with key customers and developers Resource calculation (FTE) for delivery;principles on which sites will be prioritised development of project plan and timetable for production of ‘full’ conservation objectives.

Phase 2 30 September 2012wider customer consultation feedback and review of published approachDetermine (initial) target for habitats and species groups.Develop guidance

Phase 3 from January 2014production of ‘full’ Conservation Objectives guided by operational standard, and/or action plans for information improvement.

Draft Plan & Timings

Proposed Approach

Aim

• to produce quantifiable targets at European site level, at an appropriate detail to be useful to the Appropriate Assessment and decision making process; with targets including,

a. Area (ha) of annex 1 habitat

b. Populations of qualifying species (groups).

c. Structure/ function targets – quantifiable where we have sufficient knowledge or qualitative if not.

• Supported by

Mapped distribution of habitats and species within sites

• Aspiration - Conservation Objectives Standard?

• Links also to Art 17 and Art 12 reporting.

Attribute: Air quality

Target:

“Maintain or, where necessary, restore concentrations and deposition of air pollutants to at or below the site-relevant

critical load or level values given for the designated features of the site on the Air Pollution Information System

(www.apis.ac.uk)”.

Air Pollution Information System

“Site-relevant critical loads”

SAC feature

UNECE critical load

Site-relevant critical load

Annex I habitat type

EUNIS class

Per featurePer SAC

Challenges

• Critical load as a range (modifying factors)

• Habitats without a critical load

• Wetland sites that receive nitrogen from atmospheric and aquatic pathways

• Animal features

• Achievability of CL non-exceedance

• Setting quantitative thresholds of acceptable change (WG6)