Evaluation Study to support the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives Draft Final Report 4 January 2016

Disclaimer: The information and views set out in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Commission. This Draft Final Study to support the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives has been prepared by a consortium led by Milieu Ltd, and also comprised of the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEЕР), ICF International and Ecosystems Ltd. for the European Commission’s Directorate General Environment under Service Contract number: ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0014. Milieu Ltd. (Belgium), Chaussée de Charleroi, 112, B-1060 Brussels, tel: +32 (0)2 506 1000; web address: www.milieu.be.

Table of Contents Executive summary ..........................................................................................13 Acronyms and abbreviations ..............................................................................14 1

2

3

4

5

Introduction ...............................................................................................15 1.1

Purpose of the evaluation .......................................................................15

1.2

Scope of the evaluation ..........................................................................15

1.3

Structure of this report...........................................................................16

Background to the Directives ........................................................................17 2.1

Purpose of the Directives ........................................................................17

2.2

History and evolution .............................................................................17

2.3

Intervention logic ..................................................................................19

State of play ..............................................................................................29 3.1

Introduction ..........................................................................................29

3.2

Effective Status of implementation: key objectives ....................................29

3.3

Implementation and Enforcement of the Nature Directives .........................36

Methodology...............................................................................................49 4.1

Evaluation questions ..............................................................................49

4.2

Evidence gathering ................................................................................51

4.3

Collation and evaluation of evidence ........................................................59

4.4

Research limitations, challenges and lessons learned .................................65

Evaluation and analysis of effectiveness questions ..........................................69 5.1 S.1 - What progress have Member States made over time towards achieving the objectives set out in the Directive and related policy documents? Is this progress in line with initial expectations? When will the main objectives be fully attained? ...70 5.2 S.2 - What is the contribution of the Directives towards ensuring biodiversity? In particular to what extent are they contributing to achieving the EU Biodiversity Strategy Objectives and Targets? ....................................................................95 5.3 S.3 - Which main factors (e.g. implementation by Member States, action by stakeholders) have contributed to or stood in the way of achieving the Directive’s objectives?..............................................................................................