JNCC has actively contributed to the development of the marine
sections of the EUNIS classification, since development began in
1996, with both the structure and detail of the marine
classification strongly influenced by JNCC-led work in this area.
The 2004 version of the
National Marine Habitat Classification
for Britain and Ireland together with the
north-east Atlantic classification developed for
the OSPAR Convention in 2004 were fully incorporated to produce the
2004 EUNIS classification. The current 2006 version was
created with additional habitat types and revisions to the
heirarchical structure, and is available
here.
JNCC are continuing work to improve the north-east Atlantic
and Baltic sections as part of our partnership with the European
Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (ETC/BD) in Paris, who work on
behalf of the EEA. Further modifications to the EUNIS
classification are currently being considered, both to add further
habitat types and to consider the hierarchical structure. See the
attached
paper and
pro forma for
more details.
A
correlation table has
been prepared by JNCC which converts the latest EUNIS marine
classification (2006) to the following schemes:
2004 EUNIS classification
Users of the correlation table should be aware that there may
not be a clear relationship between habitats in classification
schemes and lists of protected habitats (Habitats Directive, OSPAR,
BAP), especially as the latter are not always precisely defined.
Caution should therefore be exercised in using and applying the
table.