Luxembourg

% of land is covered by protected areas.
species and habitats are protected under EU law

Luxembourg is land-locked country bordered by 3 other countries, with an terrestrial area of close to 2 600 km², making it the second smallest country in the EU. The highest point is Kneiff at 560m. Luxembourg has a population of 613 000 people and a population density of 235.1 people per km².

Protected areas

% of land

There are a total of protected areas in Luxembourg, Natura 2000 sites - Special Protection Areas (Birds Directive) and Sites of Community Importance (Habitat Directive) - as well as sites designated under national laws.

% of the network is protected only through national laws

% of the network consists solely of Natura 2000 sites

% consist of and overlap between the two.

The average size of protected areas in Europe is lower compared to other regions of the world. This largely reflects the high degree of fragmentation of the land in Europe due to urbanisation, infrastructure and general intensification of land use. At a EU level 50% of protected areas have an area of less than 1 km². The 10 largest marine sites account for 68% of the marine area, while the 10 largest land sites account for 41% of the land area covered by protected areas

Size distribution of Luxembourg's land protected areas network

Natura 2000 sites in Luxembourg cover species and habitats from the nature directives. The number of species and habitats protected in each site varies depending on the location of the site, the biodiversity in the region, the designation being used, and the features the site is being created to protect. For sites there is only 1 feature being protected with sites having more than 20 features.

Protected species

Species protected in Luxembourg under EU law are protected under the Habitats Directive and under the Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive has a total of 2 500 species on its list, the Birds Directive has a total of 500 species of wild birds protected.

species protected under EU law in Luxembourg

species are unique to Luxembourg

species under the Habitats Directive

species under the Birds Directive

Conservation status: Habitats Directive

% of species are considered to be Good

% of species are considered to be Poor

% of species are considered to be Bad

% of species are considered to be Unknown

Conservation Status by Taxa

Protected species composition by Taxa

Protected habitats

Habitats protected in Luxembourg under EU law are protected under the Habitats Directive. The Habitats Directive has a total of 233 habitats on its list.

habitats protected under EU law in Luxembourg.

Conservation status: Habitats Directive

% of habitats are considered to be Good

% of habitats are considered to be Poor

% of habitats are considered to be Bad

% of habitats are considered to be Unknown

Conservation Status by Group

Habitat composition by Group

Ecosystems

Policy

MAES in Luxembourg:

The Environment Department of the Ministry for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure launched the development of a methodological guide for the implementation of the MAES in Luxembourg at the end of 2013 (final version delivered in march 2014 by the contractor). Based on this guide, the minister in charge prioritized 12 ecosystem services to be mapped by the end of 2014.

Green infrastructure in Luxembourg:

The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure (Ministère du Développement durable et des Infrastructures) is responsible for policies related to transport, public works, environment and regional planning. Sectoral policy decisions should be in line with the principles of sustainable development and consistent with the priorities and objectives set out in the Second National Plan for Sustainable Development (Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, n.d.). In order to implement a responsible and sustainable spatial planning policy, priority should be given to regional and decentralized developments by promoting proximity between housing, work, supply, leisure and recreation for a better quality of life (ibid.).

National Biodiversity strategy for Luxembourg:

To report on progress to the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy, the European Commission extracted relevant information from the EU Member States’ 5^th national reports to the CBD. Of the 5 countries which had not finalized their national reports at the time of the synthesis (26^th of August 2015), Greece, Malta, Portugal and Lithuania provided information to be included in the synthesis.