Nature
Emerald Network constitution process
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In June 1989 the Standing Committee to the Bern
Convention held an extraordinary meeting exclusively
devoted to habitat conservation within the Convention.
At the meeting the Committee adopted an interpretative
resolution [Resolution No. 1 (1989) on the provisions
relating to the conservation of habitats] and three
operative recommendations [Recommendations Nos. 14, 15
and 16 (1989)] aimed at the development of a network of
areas under the Convention.
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A further recommendation [Recommendation No. 25 (1991) on
the conservation of natural areas outside protected areas
proper] was adopted at a later meeting of the Committee.
In Recommendation No. 16 (1989) "on Areas of Special
Conservation Interest" (ASCIs), the Standing Committee
recommended Parties to "take steps to designate Areas of
Special Conservation Interest to ensure that the
necessary and appropriate conservation measures are
taken for each area situated within their territory or
under their responsibility where that area fits one or
several of the following conditions...".
Envisaged as early as 1989, the Emerald Network was given
practical form in 1996 by the Standing Committee to the Bern
Convention with a view to supplementing the Natura 2000
Network, on a similar basis, in non-Community countries,
based on the highest possible methodological synergy. As
well as helping to identify and conserve core areas of the
Pan-European Ecological Network, the Emerald Network, also
facilitates the establishment of national networks of
protected areas. As the European Union is also a Contracting
Party to the Bern Convention, Natura 2000 is considered to
be the EU contribution to the Emerald Network.
In December 2010, an Emerald Network Calendar (2011-2020)
was adopted by the Standing Committee to the Bern
Convention. This document includes clear milestones and
timeframes for the different countries working on the
Network setting-up process, committing them officially to
the finalisation and completion of the Network
establishment. According to the Calendar, the Emerald
Network setting-up should be completed by 2020 and
management and conservation measures put in place in most of
the countries. For more information, please consult the
Emerald Calendar itself:
Calendar for the implementation of the Emerald Network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (2011-2020)
Constitution process of
the Emerald Network
The Emerald Network constitution process consists of three different stages or “Phases” of implementation:
- Phase I: Participating countries assess their natural resources and identify species and habitats to be protected according to the relevant resolutions of the Bern Convention.
They subsequently select potential sites which are suitable for ensuring the long-term survival of the “Emerald” species and habitats and they send a database containing
scientific information on the proposed sites to the Bern Convention’s Secretariat. The proposed sites can be officially nominated candidate Emerald sites by the Standing Committee,
as provided for in Recommendation No. 157 (2011) on the status of candidate Emerald sites and guidelines on the criteria for their nomination.
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Phase II: An evaluation of the efficiency of the proposed
sites is done on a species by species and habitat by habitat
base for each biogeographical region. Once the scientific value
of the proposed sites is assessed, the candidate Emerald
sites are submitted to the Standing Committee and will
eventually be approved so to formally integrate the Emerald
Network.
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Phase III: Consists of the national designation of the adopted ASCI’s and the implementation of management, reporting and monitoring measures, under the responsibility of national authorities.
Emerald
Network Reference Portal
A Reference Portal for the Emerald Network was created to
support the practical work of Contracting Parties on the
setting-up of the Network. The Portal gathers all reference
documents (adopted at the level of the Standing Committee to
the Bern Convention) and other support materials (such as guidelines and
user Manuals, complementary to the Emerald Standard Data
Form), useful for the practical implementation of the
Network at national level. The Portal is the main information point for national
experts on the technical and administrative procedures for
Emerald data submission to the Council of Europe and the
Central Data Depository of the European Environment Agency.
Emerald Network reference portal
National activities on the
setting-up of the Emerald Network
The Emerald Network is currently in its implementation
phase. Through the '90 and '2000, the Council of Europe
supported the implementation of the Emerald Network in the
newest EU Member States, which jointed the Union in 2004 and
2007. An extensive programme of national projects was set up
with a view to developing a database including selected
areas representative of the habitat types and species from
the Bern Convention lists found in each country. These
national projects also included the establishment and
appointment of national multidisciplinary teams bringing
together various scientific institutions in the countries
concerned. This work has greatly contributed to prepare
these countries for their EU accession.
Information
on the pilot projects implemented in various Contracting
Parties for the setting-up of the Emerald Network
The Council of Europe currently supports the setting-up of
the Emerald Network in countries outside the EU, continuing to
help the pre-accession efforts in the field of nature
conservation of countries from South-Eastern Europe and the West
Balkans. An Emerald Network development programme was
implemented in 2005/2006 in the region, as a continuation of the
initial pilot projects implemented by the Council of Europe in
the beginning of the '2000. This CARDS/Emerald
programme concerned the following countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Croatia, Montenegro, “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
and Serbia. The programme benefited from a financial
and technical contribution of the European Environmental Agency and represented an important tool contributing to
preparing the countries concerned for the future work on Natura
2000 and for advance compliance with the Habitats and Birds
Directives. A first Emerald biogeographical Seminar was held
for these six countries in November 2011, thus being the first
Emerald biogeographical Seminar ever to take place.
2005-2008: Final report of the CARDS programme in South-East
Europe
Efforts are currently deployed on the setting-up of the
Emerald Network in Central and Eastern Europe and the South
Caucasus. After the successful implementation of a first Joint
Programme on the Emerald Network for seven countries from this
region, in the period 2009-2011, a second project of that nature
was launched in October 2012 for the same seven countries:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova,
Russian Federation and Ukraine. While the first project aimed to
identify and describe the areas in the countries suitable to be
included in the Emerald Network, the second project, to be
implemented in the period 2012-2016, focuses on Phase II of the
Emerald Network constitution process.
Learn more on the 1st EU/CoE Joint Programme on the Emerlad Network in
Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus (2009-2011)
Learn more on the current 2nd EU/CoE Joint Programme on the Emerlad Network in
Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus (2012-2016)
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Contacts
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+33 390 21 58 81
+33 390 21 55 37
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