C. Thresholds for losses of habitats of animal species

The development of tolerable losses of the habitats of protected species was mainly based on the typical size of habitats of species and on a literature review, considering the home ranges, territory sizes and mobility of the individuals and the ranges of the populations. The species were grouped into 8 classes of average home ranges which were defined (according to Bink 1992) as: <1 ha, 4 ha,16 ha, 64 ha, 260 ha,10 km2, 40 km2, 160 km2. The ‘orientation values’ for the significance levels were then determined as 1/100 or 1/1 000 of the class value depending on whether the specific class was chosen for individuals or populations, respectively. For the orientation values also a combination of relative and absolute levels for losses has to be considered. Additionally, the specific habitat use of a species has to be taken into account to determine for which parts of habitats the orientation values may be used. For highly endangered species no orientation value is given; i.e., the threshold for a significant impact is considered to be anything greater than zero. Regarding the 53 species from Annex II, no threshold values exist for 16 of them, nor for 20 of the 98 Birds Directive species. In other words, no loss is likely to be acceptable. All these conclusions/ figures/ thresholds are intended for guidance purposes only. This means that a case-by-case approach for each appropriate assessment is still required.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.