<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Tworek S., Makomaska-Juchiewicz M., Cierlik G.: How to select potential sites of community importance to the NATURA 2000 network: the issue of criteria. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 33, No. 2, p. 127-137, 2014. </p><p>In this paper, on the basis of experience gained at the elaboration of the Proposal of Natura 2000 network in Poland, we analyse the usefulness of criteria recommended in Annex III of the Habitats Directive (HD) for selecting proposed Sites of Community Importance (pSCI), i.e. potential Special Areas of Conservation. These are sites important for conservation of habitat types and species (except for birds), listed in Annexes I and II of the HD. The recommendations should allow arriving at the estimates of relative value of the selected areas vis-a-vis the national resources of each habitat type and species. These are, however, neither objective and quantified nor easy to apply criteria; because most of them rely on best expert judgement, which is subjective to a great extent. Moreover, the practical usefulness of the criteria is related to the level of knowledge of the distribution and size of resources of the habitat types and species of European importance. Our experience of selecting pSCI at national level indicates that this stage of work calls for more precise criteria than these recommended in the HD. We present our proposal of domestic criteria, which make easier the preliminary selection of pSCI that were tested in work with local experts responsible for regional proposals of sites to the Natura 2000 network in Poland. Because of the far-reaching consequences entailing the designation of Natura 2000, we would like to encourage a widespread discussion on criteria for selecting pSCI.</p></abstract>

Tworek S., Makomaska-Juchiewicz M., Cierlik G.: How to select potential sites of community importance to the NATURA 2000 network: the issue of criteria. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 33, No. 2, p. 127-137, 2014. In this paper, on the basis of experience gained at the elaboration of the Proposal of Natura 2000 network in Poland, we analyse the usefulness of criteria recommended in Annex III of the Habitats Directive (HD) for selecting proposed Sites of Community Importance (pSCI), i.e. potential Special Areas of Conservation. These are sites important for conservation of habitat types and species (except for birds), listed in Annexes I and II of the HD. The recommendations should allow arriving at the estimates of relative value of the selected areas vis-a-vis the national resources of each habitat type and species. These are, however, neither objective and quantified nor easy to apply criteria; because most of them rely on best expert judgement, which is subjective to a great extent. Moreover, the practical usefulness of the criteria is related to the level of knowledge of the distribution and size of resources of the habitat types and species of European importance. Our experience of selecting pSCI at national level indicates that this stage of work calls for more precise criteria than these recommended in the HD. We present our proposal of domestic criteria, which make easier the preliminary selection of pSCI that were tested in work with local experts responsible for regional proposals of sites to the Natura 2000 network in Poland. Because of the far-reaching consequences entailing the designation of Natura 2000, we would like to encourage a widespread discussion on criteria for selecting pSCI.

How to Select Potential Sites of Community Importance to the Natura 2000 Network: The Issue of Criteria

Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland

Ekológia (Bratislava)

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Tworek S., Makomaska-Juchiewicz M., Cierlik G.: How to select potential sites of community importance to the NATURA 2000 network: the issue of criteria....

How to Select Potential Sites of Community Importance to the Natura 2000 Network: The Issue of Criteria

Published Online: Jun 17, 2014

Page range: 127 - 137

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2014-0013

Keywords
criteria for pSCI selection, European importance, best expert judgement, Habitats Directive, Natura 2000, Poland

© by Stanisław Tworek

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to Select Potential Sites of Community Importance to the Natura 2000 Network: The Issue of Criteria

Published Online: Jun 17, 2014

Page range: 127 - 137

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2014-0013

Keywordscriteria for pSCI selection, European importance, best expert judgement, Habitats Directive, Natura 2000, Poland

© by Stanisław Tworek

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
criteria for pSCI selection, European importance, best expert judgement, Habitats Directive, Natura 2000, Poland