EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

122 NOMINATION DOSSIER "ANCIENT BEECH FORESTS OF GERMANY"
Beside the habitat types and biotopes of the
species being protected within the scope
of the designation of the aforementioned
protected areas, there are specifi c obligations
towards the conservation of other species
mentioned in the Habitats Directive
(annexes IV and V). Th e Birds Directive
applies to all wild bird species and specially
requires protected areas for regularly migrating
species.
Th e protection of “special area of conservation”
is governed by article 6 of the Habitats
Directive. Th e member states are hence
challenged to defi ne the required conservation
activities for the “special areas of conser
vation” and to set up management plans
where appropriate (art. 6 para 1 Habitats
Directive). Moreover, they are obliged
to take “suitable measures” to avoid in the
special areas of conservation any deterio -
ration of habitat types and dis tur bance of
species mentioned in the annexes to the
directives (art. 6 para 2 Habitats Directive).
Th e actions to be taken for the conservation
of natural habitat types and species mentioned
in the directive can be defi ned, for
instance, by means of management plans and
should take into account the ecological
requirements of the habitat types and species.
Actions and goals of conservation have
to be exclusively defi ned according to the
goals of nature conservation of the two
EU directives on nature conservation. With
regard to the objects to be protected, this
calls for the maintenance or restoration
(if applicable) of a favourable conservation
status in the biogeographic region concerned.
As a rule, the concrete measures taken
for the maintenance and development of
the biotopes as well as fauna and fl ora
species to be found in the special areas for
conservation (SAC) and special protected
areas (SPA) (together NATURA 2000
sites) are identifi ed in cooperation with the
local stakeholders.
Article 6, para 3 of the Habitats Directive
stipulates an appropriate assessement of
implications in cases where any plan or
project may interfere with the sites conservation
objectives to a substantial degree.
Furthermore, the member states take suitable
action to prevent, in the respective protected
areas, any deterioration of the natural
habitats and disturbance of species which
the sites have been designated for. Th is
is true in the event that such disturbances
may have a signifi cant impact in terms of
the goals of the directive.
It is an essential responsibility of the member
states within the framework of the Habitats
Directive to submit a report on the conservation
status of the Habitat types and
species (inside and outside of the Natura
2000 areas) to the European Commission
(article 17 Habitats Directive). Based on
the national reports, the European Commission
prepares a composite report with
the conservation status being assessed
using the traffi c light colours: red (unfavourable
– bad), yellow (unfavourable – inadequate),
and green (favourable). Among
others, this includes a rating of the conservation
status of the species and habitat
types of Community interest in the area of
the European Union. Corre spondingly,
the member state reports must contain information
on the conservation status of
the species and habitat types specifi ed in the
Habitats Directive (annexes I, II, IV and
V of the Habitats Directive) that are to
be found in their respective territories. Th e
reports are based on a uniform monitoring
system of the conservation status of species
and natural habitats of community interest
according to article 11 of the Habitats
Directive (chapter 6). Th e fi rst comprehensive
national report on the conservation
status of 230 species and 91 habitat types
in Germany was prepared and submitted to