Selection process

Site designation

The ten Natura 2000 sites in the EEZ are designated under the European Union’s two nature conservation directives – the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. The procedure to be followed differs between the two directives.
Two of the sites are designated under the Birds Directive. This meant they could be placed under protection by order of the Environment Ministry / Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (sollen wir in der Broschüre immer schreiben) after nomination to the European Commission. These two sites became nature conservation areas under German law and Special Protected Areas (SPAs) under EU law in September 2005.
Habitats Directive sites are assessed by the European Commission to ensure coherence in the Natura 2000 network. The eight marine protected areas under the Habitats Directive in the German EEZ were adopted by the EU in November 2007. They consequently became Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) in January 2008. Germany must now place these sites under the protection of national law and compile management plans for them. By doing so, Germany is not only making an important contribution to the Natura 2000 network, but to the global network of marine protected areas to be established by 2012 as agreed at the Johannesburg World Summit in 2002.