Special Area of Conservation

A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. They are to protect the 220 habitats and approximately 1000 species listed in annex I and II of the directive which are considered to be of European interest following criteria given in the directive. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the State Members and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat.^[1]

SACs complement Special Protection Areas and together form a network of protected sites across the European Union called Natura 2000. This, in turn, is part of the Emerald network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) under the Berne Convention.

Assessment methodology in the United Kingdom

Prior to being designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), sites are assessed under a two-stage process set out by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The value of the proposed site is considered in relation to the whole national resource of each habitat type and of each species.

Stage one

Firstly, assessment of the relative importance of sites containing examples of the individual habitat types. Four criteria are used:

the degree of representativity;
the area;
the degree of conservation of habitat structure and functions;
restoration possibilities and a global assessment of conservation value (i.e. an overall assessment).

Secondly, species assessment evaluates population size and density, the degree of conservation of the features of the habitat that are important for the species and restoration possibilities, the degree of isolation of the population in relation to the species' natural range and a global assessment of conservation value.^[2]

Stage two

This stage is often informally referred to as 'moderation'. The criteria used in Stage 2 are intended to be used to assess the sites at the level of the nine biogeographical regions and the EU as a whole. The Stage 2 criteria may be summarised as:

relative value of the site at national level;
relationship of the site to migration routes or its role as part of an ecosystem on both sides of one or more Community frontiers;
total area of the site;
number of habitat types and species present;
global ecological value of the site at the level of the biogeographical region and/or EU as a whole.

References

External links

Conservation of species

Conservation biology	Conservation behavior Conservation dependent species Conservation ethic Conservation genetics Conservation status Ex-situ conservation Extinction threshold In-situ conservation Latent extinction risk Marine conservation Species translocation Threatened species

Conservation areas	Conservation designation Conservation development Conservation district Conservation easement Ecoregion conservation status Environmental protection Gap analysis Habitat conservation High conservation value area Landscape-scale conservation Marine protected area National conservation area Open space reserve Riparian buffer Roadless area conservation Roadside conservation Site-based conservation Special Area of Conservation

Restoration	Assisted natural regeneration Ecosystem restoration Island restoration Reforestation afforestation Rewilding

By taxa	Amphibians and reptiles Birds burrowing owls raptors Insects bumblebees butterflies Land mammals bats bats 2 bears cheetahs cheetahs 2 gorillas painted dogs slow lorises small cats tigers tigers 2 wolves Marine Antarctic seals cetaceans cetaceans 2 manatees migratory sharks salmon sea otters sea turtles sturgeons Plants forests fungi medicinal plants orchids

By country	Australia Belize Brazil Hong Kong Iceland India Bhopal Ireland Italy New Zealand Papua New Guinea Uganda United Kingdom United States

Other	Biodiversity Conservation agriculture Conservation finance Conservation grazing Conservation management system Conservation movement Conservation officer Conservation organisations Conservation photography Conservation psychology Conservation refugee Conspicuous conservation De-extinction Myth of superabundance NatureServe conservation status Planetary boundaries

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