CLIENT:
Cork City Council
PROJECT NAME:
Appropriate Assessment Screening Report
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) guidelines for ecological impact assessment (2016) define: an ecologically significant impact as an impact (negative or positive) on the integrity of a defined site or ecosystem and/or the conservation status of habitats or species within a given geographic area; and the integrity of a site as the coherence of its ecological structure and function, across its whole area, which enables it to sustain the habitat, complex of habitats and/or the levels of populations of the species for which it was classified. The Habitats Directive requires the focus of the assessment at this stage to be on the integrity of the site as indicated by its Conservation Objectives. It is an aim of NPWS to draw up conservation management plans for all areas designated for nature conservation. These plans will, among other things, set clear objectives for the conservation of the features of interest within a site. SSCOs have been prepared for a number of European Sites. These detailed SSCOs aim to define favourable conservation condition for the qualifying habitats and species at that site by setting targets for appropriate attributes which define the character habitat. The maintenance of the favourable condition for these habitats and species at the site level will contribute to the overall maintenance of favourable conservation status of those habitats and species at a national level. Favourable conservation status of a species can be described as being achieved when: ‘population data on the species concerned indicate that it is maintaining itself, and the natural range of the species is neither being reduced or likely to be reduced for the foreseeable future, and there is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain its populations on a long-term basis.’ Favourable conservation status of a habitat can be described as being achieved when: ‘its natural range, and area it covers within that range, is stable or increasing, and the ecological factors that are necessary for its long-term maintenance exist and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future, and the conservation status of its typical species is favourable’.
Generic Conservation Objectives for SACs have been provided as follows:
• To maintain or restore the favourable conservation condition of the Annex I habitat(s) and/or the Annex II species for which the SAC has been selected.
One generic Conservation Objective has been provided for SPAs as follows:
• To maintain or restore the favourable conservation condition of the bird species listed as Special Conservation Interests for this SPA.
EC guidance 4 outlines the types of effects that may affect European sites. These include effects from the following activities:
Land take;
•
• Resource Requirements (Drinking Water Abstraction Etc.); • Emissions (Disposal to Land, Water or Air);
4 Assessment of plans and Projects significantly affecting Natura 2000 sites: Methodological guidance on the provisions of Article 6(3) and (4) of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, European Commission Environment DG, 2001.
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