A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the

(EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting ...

and certain particularly threatened birds. Together with Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), the SPAs form a network of protected sites across the EU, called Natura 2000. Each SPA has an EU code – for example the North Norfolk Coast SPA has the code ''UK9009031''.

In the United Kingdom

As at 21 September 2006, there were 252 classified SPAs and 12 proposed SPAs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 implement the terms of the Directive in Scotland, England and Wales. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, SPAs (and SACs) designated on land or in the intertidal area are normally also notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

as Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs). For example, the Broadland SPA in eastern England is a conglomeration of some 28 SSSIs. SPAs may extend below low tide into the sea, and for these areas SSSI notification is not possible. In Scotland, some SPAs have been classified without any underpinning designation by SSSI.

In Poland

''Special Protection Areas'' for

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

are called OSOPs ( pl, Obszar Specjalnej Ochrony Ptaków). As of 2005, there were 72 OSOP Areas designated as such.

In Portugal

The

Castro Verde SPA Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is ''chester''. I ...

extends into six municipalities of Baixo Alentejo Subregion: Aljustrel, Almodôvar Municipality, Beja Municipality, Castro Verde Municipality, Mértola and Ourique Municipality, a total area of 79,007 hectares (790 km ²).

In Spain

The Spanish term is ''ZEPA''. There were 658 Spanish sites as at 2021.

In the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic uses the term ''Ptačí oblast'' (PO, bird area) for SPAs. Between 2004 and 2009, 41 bird areas were declared by government directives.Ptačí oblasti – nařízení vlády
/ref> They cover 9% of the state area.

References

External links

{{commons category, Special Protection Areas
Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979
Protected areas