Safeguarding Europe’s Biodiversity Legislation – Scientific Evidence in Support of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives under the 2026 Stress Test
In 2026, the European Commission is conducting a stress test of the Birds and Habitats Directives as part of its broader agenda on regulatory simplification and competitiveness. The exercise aims to assess whether the Directives remain effective, proportionate and fit for purpose, while identifying opportunities to reduce administrative burdens.
The stress test has raised concerns among BiodivRestore Knowledge Hub members: revisiting core elements of the EU’s biodiversity legislation could create legal uncertainty at a time when Member States are implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation and preparing National Restoration Plans.
Drawing on a review of scientific evidence and policy evaluations, several members of the scientific community prepared this White Paper to provide an evidence-based perspective on the current and future implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives.
The paper highlights areas where implementation efforts, data, governance and policy coherence could play an important role in improving conservation outcomes.
Key takeaways
- Assessing effectiveness: Scientific evidence indicates that the Birds and Habitats Directives remain fundamentally fit for their conservation objectives, but their implementation varies widely.
- Assessing socio-economic benefits: Available evidence points to economic and societal benefits associated with the Natura 2000 network and explores how these compare with implementation costs.
- Strengthening funding and governance: Implementation challenges extend beyond the Directives themselves and highlight the need for stronger cross-sectoral approaches.
- Reviewing priorities: Pathways to strenghten conservation outcomes include improved implementation, governance, funding and policy coherence.
Authors
Lead authors: Metodi Sotirov (University of Freiburg, Germany), Vito Emanuele Cambria (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy), Laura Guimaraes (University of Porto, Portugal).
Jennifer L. Anderson (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden), Suzon Bedu (Alliance for Nature, France), Barbara Berardi (PAN, Belgium), Federica Cittadino (Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research, Italy), Kris Decleer (Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Belgium), Lars Dinesen (Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Cloe Durieux (Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité, France), Isabel Fernandes (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland), Gentile Francesco Ficetola (University of Milan, Italy), Judith Fisher (The University of Western Australia), Laura Garzoli (National Research Council, Italy), Ondrej Kusbach (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic), Stefano Mammola (National Research Council, Italy), Els Martens (Jane Goodall Institute, Belgium), Robert Pazur (Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Switzerland), Dimitris Poursanidis (terraSolutions, Greece), Hannah Ostergard Rowsall (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Sweden), Teresa Spantzel (Ecologic Institute, Germany), Magnus Tannerfeldt (Formas, Sweden), Bettina Thalinger (WasserCluster Lunz, Austria), Franziska Wenskus (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany), Ron Winkler (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, The Netherlands).
