Birds and Habitats Directives

The Birds Directive¹ and the Habitats Directive² together form the cornerstone of the EU’s nature conservation framework, providing the legal basis for protecting Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats.

The Birds Directive establishes the EU’s core legal framework for the protection of all naturally occurring wild bird species and their most important habitats. Its objective is not only to halt population decline but also to ensure the long-term recovery and conservation of bird species across their natural ranges. Member States are required to protect all wild bird species and to preserve, maintain, restore, and re-establish sufficient habitat diversity and area. To support consistent implementation, the European Commission maintains a reference list of all regularly and naturally occurring wild bird species in the EU.

The Habitats Directive complements this framework by providing legal protection for over 1,000 species, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, and plants, as well as 230 habitat types of European importance. Its overarching objective is to ensure that these species and habitats are maintained or restored to a favourable conservation status throughout the EU.

For species requiring special conservation measures, Member States must designate Special Protection Areas³ (SPAs) for the 197 bird species and subspecies listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive, as well as for regularly occurring migratory species, with particular attention to wetlands of international importance. In parallel, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are designated under the Habitats Directive.

Together, SPAs and SACs form the Natura 2000 network, which constitutes the largest coordinated system of protected areas in the world. Natura 2000 is designed to ensure the long-term conservation of Europe’s most threatened species and habitats, while allowing for sustainable human activities compatible with conservation objectives.

Find a Natura 2000 site by Birds Directive Sites or Habitats Directive Sites.⁴