B: Concept of the standards
The starting premise for the standard is that, in general, a permanent loss of habitat types and habitats for species, which are part of the conservation objectives in a Natura 2000 site, should be considered a significant adverse effect on integrity of the site. A certain level of loss could nevertheless be treated as insignificant for some habitat types and species under certain conditions. The guidance provides scientifically agreed criteria and thresholds for determining significance, which are based on qualitative and functional aspects, as well as on quantitative criteria. For an impact to be considered insignificant all the following conditions must be met: No important or special function or variant of the habitat is affected. Specific features of the habitat must remain unaltered; Orientation values of ‘quantitative — absolute area loss’ (defined for each habitat type and for habitats of species) are not exceeded; A ‘relative area loss’ of 1 % of the total area of the habitat in the site is not exceeded; Cumulative effects with other projects do not exceed the above values (B and C); Cumulative effects with other impact factors do also not exceed the above values.
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.