TEN-T and Natura 2000: the way forward

P. Malczewski Construction of Augustow Bypass in Poland threatens the pristine Rospuda Valley wetlands within Augustow Primeval Forest Natura 2000. Lack of proper consideration of biodiversity during the planning of this project has resulted in it being referred to the ECJ. Zoom In

GIS analysis showing potential conflicts between Priority Project 1 railway axis Berlin-Verona-Milan-Bologna-Naples-Messina-Palermo and Natura 2000. Zoom In | Hi-Res

Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)

The TEN-T is the European Union’s Transport Infrastructure Framework. Initially adopted in 1990 it now includes Priority Projects on 30 international axes plus wider transport projects. By 2020 it is envisaged that the TEN-T will include 89,500 km of roads, 94,000 km of railways, 11 250 km of inland waterways including 210 inland ports, 294 seaports and 366 airports.

Natura 2000 is the European ecological network that is one of the cornerstones of the EU’s environmental policy and is a world leading approach to conservation. It is comprised of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the EC Birds Directive and Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) identified under the EC Habitats Directive. When completed, the Natura 2000 network is expected to cover more than 20% of the territory of the European Union.

Transport infrastructure can have a wide range of impacts on Natura 2000 and wider biodiversity. Direct effects such as habitat loss from transport location and development and indirect effects such as water and air pollution, fragmentation and disturbance from the operation of transport. In addition, secondary/induced effects such as the impacts of development ‘encouraged’ by the transport networks and cumulative effects.

The new study found that 379 SPAs (8.0% of all the SPAs in the EU25) and 935 Sites of Community Importance/potential Sites of Community Importance (SCIs/pSCIs) (4.4% of all SCIs/pSCIs in the EU25) are likely to be affected by the twenty-one TEN-T Priority Projects analysed.

Priority Projects are the tip of the ‘TEN-T iceberg’, implementation of the whole TEN-T network could have much more severe impacts, both on individual sites and on Natura 2000 network coherence. With anticipated consequences of climate change if our ecosystems are to survive they will need to be well connected and consideration and assessment of impacts on network coherence and fragmentation in Europe – already the world’s most fragmented continent - will become even more important.

Publications

Click here to download the full report 'TEN-T and Natura 2000: the way forward'
Click here to download the leaflet of the full report with a summary of the main findings

Contact

Dr. Helen Byron - helen.byron@rspb.org.uk