Article 6(1)

• Pages: 15-23

15

2. Article 6(1)

Clarif‌ication of the concepts of necessary conservation measures;

conservation objectives; ecological requirements; management

plans; and statutory, administrative or contractual measures.

.. T

‘For special areas of conservation, Member States shall establish the necessary conservation measures

involving, if need be, appropriate management plans specif‌ically designed for the sites or integrated

into other development plans, and appropriate statutory, administrative or contractual measures which

correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in

Annex II present on the sites.’

.. S

Article6(1)lays down a generalconservationregime whichhas to be establishedby the Member

States for all Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).

Article6(1):

● provides for positive conservation measures, involving, if need be, management plans, and

statutory, administrative or contractual measures, which correspond to the ecological requirements

of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present on the site. In that regard,

Article6(1)isdistinguishedfromthethreeotherparagraphsofArticle6whichprovideforpreventive

measures to avoid deterioration, disturbance and signif‌icant ef‌fects in the Natura 2000 sites;

● has a value of reference forthelogicandtheoverallunderstandingofArticle6anditsthreeother

paragraphs;

● establishes a general conservation regime which applies to all SACs in the Natura 2000 network

without exception and to all the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present

on the sites, except for those identif‌ied as non-signif‌icant in the Natura 2000 Standard Data Form

(SDF)21;

● concerns the SACs specif‌ically:Article6(1)doesnotapplytotheSpecialProtectionAreas(SPAs),

unlikeArticle6,paragraphs2,3and4.Inthisway,thelegislatorestablished:

– a regime laying down ‘special conservation measures’ for the SPAs classif‌ied under the Birds

Directive, according to its Articles 3 and 4, paragraphs 1 and 2;

– a regime laying down ‘necessary conservation measures’ for the SACs designated under the

HabitatsDirective,accordingtoitsArticle6(1);

● also applies to SCI for which the six years period has expired and which have not yet been designated

as SAC in breach of Article 4(4). In other terms, the obligation to establish the necessary conservation

measures applies at the latest by the time the six years period has expired;

21 Commission Decision 2011/484/EU concerning a site information format for Natura 2000 sites http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?

uri=OJ:L:2011:198:0039:0070:EN:PDF

15