A good day for nature in Europe Nearly 25,000 km2 of invaluable
natural expanse have been added to the Natura 2000 network, the
European Commission reports. This network of protected sites is
the EU's primary tool in the fight to conserve Europe’s rich
biodiversity. The Commission has now formally approved the
inclusion in the network of a further 235 sites, proposed by
Member States for recognition as "Sites of Community
Importance". Member States will have six years to put the
necessary measures in place to protect these sites. The latest
update concerns 20 Member States and covers all nine of the
network's bio-geographical regions – the Alpine, Atlantic, Black
Sea, Boreal, Continental, Macaronesian, Mediterranean, Pannonian
and Steppic regions. Natura 2000 now covers 768,000 km2 (17.9 %)
of the EU landmass and more than 217,000 km2 (approx. 4 %) of
its seas. The most significant addition this year is the UK's
designation of Dogger Bank (12,330 km2), a shallow sea area
featuring submerged sandbanks in the c