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On 12 May, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the EU Birds and Habitats Directives to gather input for an upcoming stress test. Both citizens and stakeholders can voice their opinions and provide feedback on the current state of the Directives. 

The EU Nature Directives are the foundation of the EU's nature conservation framework. The Birds Directive protects all naturally occurring wild bird species and their most important habitats. The Habitats Directive safeguards more than 1,000 animal and plant species, as well as around 230 habitat types. Together, the two pieces of legislation underpin the Natura 2000 network, the world's largest coordinated network of protected areas.

The stress test is part of the EU Commission's wider initiative on simplification, aimed at boosting competitiveness while safeguarding economic, social and environmental goals. The main purpose of the test is to assess whether the directives can achieve their objectives to protect nature in the EU in a cost-efficient way. Additionally, it helps identify potential areas for simplification and opportunities to reduce unnecessary administrative burden while maintaining the directives’ ambition and high standards of nature protection.

The consultation is also relevant for efforts to improve biodiversity monitoring across the EU, which plays a key role in implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives and managing Natura 2000 sites. BMD supports this objective by developing a framework of plug-and-play image-, sound- and eDNA-based monitoring devices and AI-powered taxon identification services, helping to generate the high-quality biodiversity data needed for evidence-based conservation decisions. 

You can voice your opinion here until 4 August and help improve the Directives.