On the 19th September, an Ad Hoc Restricted Group of Experts on Reporting on the Emerald Network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest met in Strasbourg. The Group, composed of expert delegates from nine Contracting parties, agreed to establish a deadline for the annual update of the national Emerald Network databases of Contracting Parties and to set the deadline for their submission to 28th of February of each calendar year. This proposal will now reach the Standing Committee of the Convention for a formal approval.

The first Emerald Network reporting exercise will cover the period 2013-2018, as foreseen in Resolution No. 8 (2012) of the Standing Committee on the national designation of adopted Emerald sites and the implementation of management, monitoring and reporting measures.

The draft reporting format which was presented was based on the draft reporting format for Article 17 of the EU Habitat Directive (HD) and Article 12 the EU Bird Directive (BD).  Parties accepted in principle the reporting format as presented at the meeting, provided that the first reporting exercise concerns a limited number of species and habitats (25 to 50). They agreed that the reporting, as envisaged, is a prerequisite for analysing the conservation status of species and habitats at pan-European level, and will be a useful tool to better plan the future development of the Emerald Network.

The Secretariat, with the help of a consultant, will work on the selection of species and habitats, concentrating in particular on bird species. A draft list with concrete proposals is expected in January 2017 and will be sent to the Contracting Parties for comments.

More information on the webpage of the meeting.