Proposals for improvement of Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC: Sardinia

Abstract

The ‘Habitats’ Directive (HD 92/43/EEC) is one of the primary legal tools aiming at conserving nature in Europe. Due to the complex iter to revise it, the habitats listed in the Annex I have been seldom updated after the HD adoption. Basing on already available information and expert knowledge, this paper presents a preliminary list of relevant habitats occurring in Sardinia, not yet considered and worth to be placed in the Annex I. Two new habitat proposals, one habitat new for Italy, and nine new subtypes of already existing HD habitats are here described. Most of the proposed new habitats and subtypes have a limited distribution range, due to the high number of narrow, often endangered, endemic species that characterize them. Being neglected, they are consequently poorly investigated, inconstantly monitored and unprotected. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to promote their conservation through implementation of HD and its interpretation manuals.

Relevant but neglected habitat types by the Directive 92/43 EEC in southern Italy

“…In our proposal, we refer also to centuries-old olive groves sometimes terraced and bordered by dry stone walls, that are currently cultivated, even if using the traditional techniques and that constitute an integral and significant part of the Mediterranean culture and environment. It partially matches the new habitat type, proposed by Fois et al (2021) for the Sardinia region, "Mediterranean wooded pasturelands", subtype 2 "wooded pasturelands dominated by wild olive and carob trees". Traditionally cultivated and abandoned centuries-old olive groves are two aspects of the same vanishing landscape (Vos and Meekes 1999), both of which risk disappearing either through intensification of agricultural practices or total abandonment of cultivation.…”

“…To fill this knowledge gap, in the framework of the third report on the monitoring of species and habitats of the EEC directive 42/93, Biondi et al (2014c) highlighted the need to consider new habitat types to be included in Annex I to the Directive and provided descriptive data sheets. More recently, new habitat types or new subtypes have recently been proposed for central Italy (Casavecchia et al 2021), Sardinia (Fois et al 2021), and Sicily (Guarino et al 2021). In this paper, new habitat types suitable to be included in HD are proposed and described for southern Italy based on the expert knowledge of the authors and supported by both relevant phytosociological literature and new field investigations.…”

The Endemic Vascular Flora of Sardinia: a Dynamic Checklist with an Overview of Biogeography and Conservation Status

“…Further efforts in conservation planning and policy might complete the optimistic aim of preserving this unreplaceable heritage for the future generations. In this sense, we underline once again the lack of a regional law for the protection of the Sardinian flora [e.g., 19,158], and the need of a more updated and inclusive international legal framework [159][160][161][162].…”

The Endemic Vascular Flora of Sardinia: A Dynamic Checklist with an Overview of Biogeography and Conservation Status

“…Further efforts in conservation planning and policy might complete the optimistic aim of preserving this irreplaceable heritage for future generations. In this sense, we underline once again the lack of a regional law for the protection of the Sardinian flora (e.g., [ 19 , 158 ]), and the need of a more updated and inclusive international legal framework [ 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 ].…”