European Marine Habitats red List – IUCN & EU

For the first time, a comprehensive assessment of European habitats has been carried out, providing a clear picture of the state of the 490 habitats in 35 countries across Europe, from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea, and in neighbouring coastal waters of the North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Seas. Over 300 experts have contributed their knowledge and expertise to produce an assessment of the level of threat of European habitats. The European Red List of Habitats was funded by the European Commission and coordinated by a partnership formed by Wageningen Environmental Research (Alterra), IUCN, NatureBureau and consultants Susan Gubbay and John Rodwell.

In all our neighbouring seas, mussel beds, seagrass beds and habitats in estuaries are everywhere threatened. In the Mediterranean Sea, almost a third of all habitats are at risk of collapse; in the North-East Atlantic, nearly a quarter. Also of great concern is the large number of marine habitats about which we still know too little, particularly in the Black Sea. Further information on the Red List can be found at this site