National Parks and Wildlife Service - Site Specific Conservation Objectives for EU Annex 1 Habitats - Points

Conservation objectives for Natura 2000 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) have to be set for the habitats and species for which the sites are selected. These objectives are used when carrying out appropriate assessments for plans and projects that might impact on these sites. Site-specific conservation objectives outline attributes with targets, which define favourable condition for a habitat or species at a particular site. They are used for appropriate assessment of plans or projects. In addition, they can provide useful information for conservation management planning. The maintenance of habitats and species within Natura 2000 sites at favourable conservation condition will contribute to the overall maintenance of favourable conservation status of those habitats and species at a national level. This is a national dataset. Site-specific conservation objectives aim to define favourable conservation condition for Habitats Directive Annex I habitats and Annex II species at a site level. This project relates to the following Annex I habitat at specific sites:

• Annual vegetation of drift lines (1210),
• Perennial vegetation of stony banks (1220),
• Juniperus communis formations on heaths or calcareous grasslands (5130),
• Calaminarian grasslands of the Violetalia calaminariae (6130),
• Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion) (7220),
• Submerged or partially submerged sea caves (8330).

Favourable conservation condition of a habitat is achieved when: - its natural range, and area it covers within that range, is stable or increasing, and - the ecological factors that are necessary for its long-term maintenance exist and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future, and - the conservation condition of its typical species is favourable Habitat mapping is used to help define the area and range parameters for conservation objectives