Natura 2000 is the key instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. It is an ecological network of protected areas, set up to ensure the survival of Europe's most valuable species and habitats. Natura 2000 is based on the 1979 Birds Directive and the 1992 Habitats Directive. This version covers the reporting in 2020.

Natura 2000 is an ecological network composed of sites designated under the Birds Directive (Special Protection Areas or SPAs) and the Habitats Directive (Sites of Community Importance or SCIs, and Special Areas of Conservation or SACs).

The European database of Natura 2000 sites consists of a compilation of the data submitted by the Member States of the European Union. This European database is generally updated once a year to take into account any updating of national databases by Member States. However, the release of a new EU-wide database does not necessarily mean that a particular national dataset has recently been updated.

The descriptive data in the European database are based on the information that national authorities have submitted, for each of the Natura 2000 sites, through a site-specific standard data form (SDF). In addition to other site-specific information, the standard data form provides the list of all species and habitat types for which a site is officially designated.

The spatial data (outlining the boundaries of sites) submitted by each Member State are validated by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Any problems identified through the above validation procedures in the national datasets are brought to the attention of the Member States concerned. However, it remains up to the Member States to decide whether to submit a revised dataset before the European database is updated. The EEA therefore cannot guarantee that all inconsistences detected in national datasets are removed in the European dataset.

Please note that some Member States have submitted sensitive information that has been filtered out of this database. The following Member States have submitted sensitive information: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. This concerns mainly species associated to specific sites. All reference to these species has been removed from the related sites. If this sensitive information is necessary to your field of research, please contact the Member State administrations individually. You can find a compiled list of national or regional Natura 2000 websites at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/db_gis/index_en.htm#sites

Besides the web service link provided in the metadata, the following services provide information on species and habitat types inside the Natura 2000 sites:

https://bio.discomap.eea.europa.eu/arcgis/rest/services/ProtectedSites/Natura2000Habitats/MapServer

https://bio.discomap.eea.europa.eu/arcgis/rest/services/ProtectedSites/Natura2000Species/MapServer