Information and Advsiory Note Number 66, November 1996
1.1 The European Environment Agency (EEA) was formally established in October 1993 and is based in Copenhagen. It is independent of the European Commission and has been created to provide objective, reliable and comparable information for those concerned with the implementation and further development of European environmental policy. It also aims to ensure that the public is properly informed about the state of the environment.
1.2 The EEA’s mission, as defined in its Multi-annual Work-programme for 1994-1999, is to collect data, validate it and to provide the European Commission with the necessary information for the preparation and monitoring of environment policies, according to the Fifth Environmental Action Plan. The EEA is not a policy-making or regulating body, but will assist with the assessment of the impact of EC legislation and provide information to the Commission about compliance with legislation in each of the Member States.
1.3 The European Environment Agency (EEA) carries out its Work Programme through contractors, known as Topic Centres, and through the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET). For further information on the EEA, refer to Information and Advisory Note No. 12.
2.1 The first set of European Topic Centres (ETCs) were established in 1994, following a call for tender. New Topic Centres have been appointed since then. They are appointed by the EEA, for a three-year period, to execute 23 of the projects identified in the EEA’s Multi-annual Work Programme. The current list of 8 ETCs is:-
2.2 Each Topic Centre is itself a consortium of several different organisations in several countries, with one organisation acting as Lead Partner. The ETCs have a number of partner organisations in addition to the Lead organisation. The ETC is advised by an Advisory Committee of 9 members from 9 countries.
3.1 The ETC for Nature Conservation (ETCNC) was established in December 1994. Its role is to help provide the flow data from Member States to DGXI in support of the Wild Birds Directive 79/409 and Habitats and Species Directive 92/43. The Consortium comprises 15 institutions from 12 countries, led by the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. The MNHN is also the legal contractor. The UK members are the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (JNCC) Peterborough and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) Monkswood. Other members of the consortium are:-
3.2 The partner organisations were not selected to function as national representatives, but as partners working on a specific project at an European level of interest, each contributing to the work from a background of special expertise. Not all EEA member countries are included in the consortium, but all will work with the ETC through their National Reference Centres or other Main Component Elements (MCE). SNH is an MCE. (See Information and Advisory Note No. 12).
Through the European Centre for Nature Conservation, there are close links to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC).
3.3 The ETCNC is financed by the European Environment Agency contract and contributions from the partners and the Ministry for the Environment in France.
4.1 Each ETC is on contract for a three-year period. The Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris employs a central team of 6 staff for this contract, led by Juan Manuel de Benito.
4.2 There is a Management Board including all partners, chaired by Claus Stuffmann (formerly head of the Nature Conservation Unit of DGXI). The Committee meets twice per year.
4.3 Since the Management Committee is large, there is also a Steering Committee, with seven partners taking turns to assist the central team. The Steering Committee meets when necessary. For specific tasks, ad hoc groups are formed.
5.1 This Topic Centre is providing support to DGXI (the European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection) via the EEA, to compile the data and information required for Natura 2000. This will then be developed in stages with other modules into the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) which will provide integrated information on species, sites and habitats relevant at the European level.
5.2 There are three main tasks for the ETCNC for the first three years:-
The work has two co-ordinated directions: (a) support to the European Commission on information related to legal requirements, (including handling of incoming data from member states on Habitats Directive sites for NATURA 2000), and (b) initiation of work concerning Europe’s nature in a broader sense to provide a fuller picture for future policy development and assessment and to inform the public.
5.3 Each of the main tasks is further divided into sub-tasks, which are sub-contracted to one of the members of the consortium. The sub-projects undertaken in 1995, and the sub-contractors for each, are as follows:-
5.4 Each of these sub-projects will resulted in a report, summarising the work carried out and making proposals for further work. Reports must first be approved by the EEA before issue.
The following reports are likely to be published by ETCNC in 1996/97:
Reports will be obtained for the SNH Library.
5.5 A number of workshops have also been held in support of the ETCNC work-programme:
5.6 The work-programme for 1996 was agreed in mid-1996. The five main tasks are:
5.7 Monitoring is to be a key priority for the 1997 work programme, which will include a workshop on:
In support of this the Topic Centre has offered contracts to the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) in Denmark and to SNH to provide background papers on biodiversity indicators and monitoring standards respectively.
6.1 The ETCNC will input data on Natura forms, using software developed by Cray Systems. The data will form the basis for reviewing the gaps in the sites put forward by Member States. All NATURA 2000 data submitted to the European Commission will go straight to the ETCNC in Paris, the ETC/C is therefore likely to have a major influence on the way in which Habitats and Species Directive data are evaluated and presented.
6.2 At the core of the EUNIS database will be the information necessary to support the NATURA 2000 network. In addition there is a requirement for more general information on the state and changes in nature as a context or reference for NATURA 2000 and as a measure of impacts of EU sectoral policies. Information is to be organised and presented on the basis of biogeographical zones. The immediate priority is to develop the core system and respond to DGXI’s requirements for evaluation of NATURA 2000 sites.
7.1 The UK Government is represented on the ETCNC by the Department of the Environment. It also has the role of the National Focal Point (NFP); it is therefore the first call for information for all the Topic Centres.
7.2 The NFP produces a newsletter to inform UK organisations about the work of all Topic Centres and the European Environment Agency. See 10.3.
7.3 The main area of concern to the UK Government are that there is often a lack of clarity in the requirements set out by (i) the European Environment Agency, (ii) the European Commission, and (iii) the ETCNC in drawing up project specifications.
7.4 In addition, there is concern among partner States about the high level of support which ETCNC appears to be providing toDGXI.
8.1 The JNCC acts as the National Reference Centre for all information required; this means that it co-ordinates and collates responses from other agencies (eg SNH), to any questionnaire or other request made by any of the contractors or sub-contractors of the ETCNC.
Requests for information on behalf of the ETCNC are usually handled by the Environmental Audit Branch via the JNCC.
or Ed Mackey
Environmental Audit Branch, address and telephone number as above.10.2 All contact with the ETCNC should be via the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough.
DGXI European Commission Directorate
General for the Environment,
Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection
EEA European Environment Agency
EIONET European Environment Information and Observation Network
ETC European Topic Centre
EUNIS European Nature Information
MCE Main Component Element
ETCNC Nature Conservation Topic Centre
NRC National Reference Centre
NFP National Focal Point, Department of