Habitats Regulations Reporting

For over thirty years, JNCC has coordinated the production of UK Article 12 and 17 reports for submission to the European Commission. These reports tracked progress towards meeting the objectives of the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive. Though the UK left the European Union in 2020, equivalent reporting was retained in updated UK law to ensure continued protection of important habitats and species.

Under the updated UK laws, separate reports must be produced covering England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with offshore areas currently integrated into the country reports, every six years. The Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) are currently preparing country reports covering the first reporting period (2019 to 2024) for publication in 2026.

Within two years of publication of the country reports, a combined UK report will be published by JNCC in 2028.

What were the European Union reporting requirements?

Under European Union (EU) law, member states must report on the conservation status of species and habitats (Habitats Directive, Article 17) and birds (Birds Directive, Article 12) every six years. These reports include information on pressures, protection measures and their effectiveness.

Before the UK left the EU, JNCC compiled these reports in collaboration with the UK country nature conservation bodies (CNCBs). The Article 17 report covered habitats and species, while the Article 12 report focused on birds. Both reports were sent to the EU for inclusion in the EU State of Nature Report.

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How does this relate to Bern Convention reporting?

The EU use the Article 12 and 17 data to submit reporting to the Bern Convention (resolution 8) on behalf of its member states. The UK is a signatory to the Bern Convention but will no longer have its reporting requirements met through EU reporting. A separate report for the Bern Convention will be created using the data from the new Habitats Regulations reports and will be published in 2026.

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How has the reporting legislation changed?

Since leaving the EU, the UK no longer needs to report on habitats and species to the European Commission. However, understanding the condition of these habitats and species is still important for UK biodiversity.

To continue this work, the UK and devolved governments retained the reporting requirements by amending existing laws in England and Wales (The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, regulation 9A), Scotland (The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019, regulation 3Z), Northern Ireland (The Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, regulation 3ZA) – often collectively referred to as the Habitats Regulations.

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What are the reporting requirements under the amended Habitats Regulations?

Under the amended Habitats Regulations, the appropriate SNCBs must produce a public report every six years for England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and offshore areas (integrated into country reports) respectively. These reports must include:

• the current condition of habitats and species (excluding birds) of national interest (Annex I habitats, Annex II, IV, and V species);
  • how their condition has changed and their future prospects;
• the current trends and population of naturally occurring UK bird species;
• measures taken for the conservation of these habitats and species (including birds – naturally occurring, Annex I, and regular migrants); and
• the effectiveness of these measures.

A combined UK report must be published within two years of country report publication. The UK report must include:

• an evaluation of progress in maintaining and/or restoring listed habitats and species; and
• an assessment of how the National Site Network contributes to this progress.

Previously, this information was assessed by the EU and published in the EU State of Nature report.

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How will the Habitats Regulations reports differ from Article 12 and 17 reports?

The main differences are:

• SNCBs in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will now produce country reports (including offshore areas) every six years, which will be aggregated into a single UK report by JNCC within two years.
• The UK report will now include roles previously handled by the EU (see above).
• Instead of separate reports for birds (Article 12) and habitats and species (Article 17), the new reports will cover both.

Countries will try to coordinate their data collection and reporting approaches for consistency, but there may be differences due to variations in data availability and reporting priorities.

The format and content of the UK report will also change. JNCC is working on a new format for the 2028 publication.

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