Approaches to assessing the impact of new plans and projects on Natura 2000 sites (theme 1): Background document

The Habitats Directive provides a high level of protection to the Natura 2000 network by taking a precautionary approach to permitting “plans or projects” which may have a likely significant effect on a site. Article 6.3 of the directive provides a mechanism by which plans and projects can only be permitted if they are shown to have no adverse effect on a Natura 2000 site. Emissions of nitrogen are considered to be a significant threat to sensitive habitats across Europe. Many countries have adopted approaches to assessing these threats which include the use of critical load thresholds, the appraisal of the conservation objectives, and the determination of site specific conditions. These decisions include the need to understand and develop approaches for answering questions such as: what is a likely significant effect on the site; what is a significant contribution of a pollutant load to the site; and how to judge whether a project or plan will have an adverse effect on the integrity of a Natura 2000 site? This background paper looks at Article 6 of the Habitats Directive focussing in particular on Article 6.3. An introduction to the requirements of Article 6.3 is given, followed by a consideration of the assessment of nitrogen deposition impacts in relation to these requirements. The paper compares the assessment and decision-making approaches taken by a number of EU Member States.