{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-210/annex/division-3/division-3.2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-210/annex/division-3/division-3.2.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2018/210",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/210 of 12 February 2018 on the adoption of the LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020 (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-210",
  "path": "annex/division/3/division/3.2",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "3.2",
  "heading": "Priority area Nature and Biodiversity",
  "text": "Pursuant to Article 11(a) of the LIFE Regulation, the project topics corresponding to this priority area and the related thematic priorities listed in Annex III to the LIFE Regulation, shall pursue the specific objective ‘to contribute to the development and implementation of Union policy and legislation in the area of nature and biodiversity, including the Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, and Council Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, by applying, developing, testing and demonstrating approaches, best practices and solutions’.\nLIFE has been a key tool supporting the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives during the past 25 years and has been instrumental and in some cases crucial to ensure the establishment of the Natura 2000 network. The Nature Directives' fitness check and the Action plan for nature, people, and the economy underline the need to increase funding for this priority area, which is catered for by the Delegated Regulation amending Article 9 paragraph 4 of the LIFE Regulation. LIFE Nature and Biodiversity will continue to focus its financial resources on Natura 2000 to ensure full delivery of the commitments concerning target 1 of the Biodiversity strategy, and, at the same time, promote projects addressing targets 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020.\nLIFE Nature and LIFE Biodiversity projects are intended to complement each other and, where relevant, other nature- and biodiversity-related thematic priorities, e.g. when a project targets Natura 2000, where relevant, it should also address invasive alien species. Thus, in order to avoid inconsistencies, principles applying under one of the thematic priorities also apply under the complementary one. If projects implementing Targets 2, 3, 4 and/or 5 of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 take place (even partly) in Natura 2000 sites, the measures proposed must be in line with the site's conservation objectives, the site's management plan or equivalent instruments and/or the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designation act. In addition, LIFE projects targeting forests should also provide data on the relevant indicators under criteria 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Updated Pan-European Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management.\nThe following project topics contributing to Target 1 of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 to fully implement the Birds and Habitats Directives are given priority:\n1.. Improvement of the conservation status of habitat types or species of Community Interest under the EU Birds and Habitats directives, targeting Natura 2000 sites proposed or designated for these habitat types or species .\n2.. Projects aimed at improving the conservation status of habitat types or species of Community Interest, provided, their status is not ‘favourable/secure and not declining’ or ‘unknown’ according to the most recent overall assessments that Member States have provided at the relevant geographic level according to Article 17 of the Habitats Directive or to the most recent assessments according to Article 12 Birds Directive and EU-level bird assessments.\n3.. Implementing the marine component of the Habitats and Birds Directives and related provisions under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive descriptor 1, where such projects focus on one or several of the following actions:\ncompleting and finalising national inventories for setting up the offshore marine Natura 2000 network of sites,\nrestoration and management of marine Natura 2000 sites, including the preparation and implementation of site management plans,\nactions addressing species-, habitat- or site-related conflicts between marine conservation and fishermen or other ‘marine users’, as well as actions which combine conservation measures with a sustainable use of Natura 2000 sites, and/or\ndemonstrative or innovative approaches to assess or monitor the impact of human activities on critical marine habitats and species and their application as a tool to guide concrete conservation measures.\nThe following project topics focus on the implementation of Targets 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, in as far as they primarily target the general and specific objectives pursuant to Articles 3 and 11of the LIFE Regulation and thus can be funded under the LIFE programme.\nPriority will be given to the project topics listed below:\n1.. Development and implementation of Green Infrastructure plans and actions improving the condition of ecosystems and the services they provide and/or the connectivity between Natura 2000 sites and/or other protected areas.\nDevelopment and application of Green Infrastructure-related widely replicable methods and/or techniques that effectively mitigate the negative impacts of energy or transport infrastructure on biodiversity by enhancing connectivity. These techniques and/or methods should be more cost-effective than qualitatively equivalent solutions already offered on the market, and, where relevant, lead to free shared solutions or the development of technical standards.\n2.. Development and application of tools aimed at integrating biodiversity into financial and business decisions so as to ensure, through the conservation and restoration of biodiversity carried out during the project, no net loss of biodiversity and/or enhanced income delivering ecosystem services .\n3.. Targeting threatened species or habitats that are not included in the annexes of the Habitats Directive but have a status of ‘endangered’ or worse in the European species or habitats Red Lists or, for those species not covered by the European Red Lists, in the IUCN Red List.\n4.. Addressing Invasive Alien Species by testing and implementing the following three steps on an appropriate spatial scale within a comprehensive framework:\npreventing the introduction of invasive alien species, in particular by tackling the priority pathways of their introduction,\nestablishing an early detection and rapid eradication system, and\neradicating, controlling or containing established invasive alien species.\nThe projects should be set up to improve existing — or introduce new — technical, administrative and/or legal frameworks on the relevant level, in particular in relation to, but not limited to, the species included on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern pursuant to Article 4(1) of the Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council.\nExplanatory note: Where a step has already been addressed independently of the project or it is not possible to address it in the project context, the project actions shall at least be clearly situated in a broader framework that links all three steps.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2016) 472 final of 16 December 2016‘Fitness-check of the EU Nature Legislation (Birds and Habitats Directives) Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds and Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Fitness-check of the Birds and Habitats Directives’)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "Communication COM(2017) 198 final of 27 April 2017 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘An Action Plan for nature, people and the economy’."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "Madrid Ministerial Declaration of 22 October 2015, as adopted by the Forest Europe Expert Level Meeting, 30 June-2 July 2015, Madrid, Spain, http://foresteurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/III.-ELM_7MC_2_2015_MinisterialDeclaration_adopted-2.pdf#page=5"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f6",
      "text": "The reference to the term ‘Community interest’ used in this context is to be understood as ‘Union interest’."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f7",
      "text": "The relevant Priority Action Framework, habitat and/or species action plans are implementation tools for this project topic."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f8",
      "text": "Green Infrastructure (GI) is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. It incorporates green spaces (or blue if aquatic ecosystems are concerned) and other physical features in terrestrial (including coastal) and marine areas. On land, GI is present in rural and urban settings. See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52013DC0249"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f9",
      "text": "http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/ecosystem_assessment/pdf/MAESWorkingPaper2013.pdf"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f10",
      "text": "For examples see, e.g. the Business and Biodiversity Platform http://ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/business/resources/index_en.htm"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f11",
      "text": "http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/redlist/index_en.htm"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f12",
      "text": "http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/redlist_en.htm"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f13",
      "text": "http://www.iucnredlist.org/"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f14",
      "text": "Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 35), and under Target 5 of the Biodiversity Strategy or in view of contributing to reaching the level of protection set out in descriptor 2 — Non-indigenous species, Annex I(2) Directive 2008/56/EC."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f15",
      "text": "The list is regularly updated, e.g. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 of 13 July 2016 adopting a list of invasive alien species of Union concern pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 189, 14.7.2016, p. 4)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2018/210/annex/division/3/division/3.2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:13:11.900980+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}