European countries offer a huge variety of terrestrial and marine habitats and are a hotspot of biological diversity. Based on the common task of protecting ecosystems and their communities, EU Member States have made significant efforts to designate protected areas, including but not limited to the world's largest network of protected areas, Natura 2000.
This page contains a series of country profiles with data on protected areas, protected species and habitats, ecosystems and policies. It contrasts data on coverage and overlaps between networks of protected areas under national law as well as Natura 2000, shows details on the extent and size of protection as well as the protection system and conservation status of taxa and habitats, and presents conservation policies and strategies.
Protected areas
Combining protected areas from Natura 2000 and nationally designated areas these pages give you information on the number and coverage of protected areas in each country, information on the distribution of protected areas by size, as well as list the number of Natura 2000 sites in a country that have the highest number of protected species and habitats.
For more information on protected areas in Europe, consult the Protected Areas Digital Report.
Protected species and habitats
Using data collected from EU Member States on the conservation status of protected species and habitats.
For more information on protected species and habitats in Europe, consult the State of Nature Report.
Ecosystems
Using data collected on ecosystems as part of the “Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services project we show the composition of countries by ecosystems as well as the showing the ecosystems protected areas cover.
For more information on ecosystems in Europe, consult the Ecosystems section of this website and the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: The state and trends of ecosystems in the European Union" Report.
To view the country activity on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services, please follow these links:
Policy
Explore the biodiversity related developments in countries.
For more information on biodiversity policy in Europe, consult the Policy section of this website.