Protected areas#
Last update: 2026-05-12
Purpose and overview#
“According to Article 6 and Annex IV of the WFD, Member States shall ensure the establishment of a register or registers of all areas lying within each River Basin District which have been designated as requiring special protection under specific Community legislation for the protection of their surface water and groundwater, or for the conservation of habitats and species directly depending on water, including the protection of Natura 2000 sites and economically significant aquatic species (e.g. shellfish).” [1] [2]
This section revises the reporting of WFD Protected Areas in the 2nd and 3rd cycle of reporting of the Water Framework Directive River Basin Management Plans (Figure 30), as well as the associated spatial data (Figure 31).
A proposal is presented for the electronic reporting in the 4th cycle.
%%{init: {'theme': 'default'}}%%
classDiagram
class SWB_2022 SWAssociatedProtectedArea["«XSDcomplexType»
SWB_2022::SWAssociatedProtectedArea"] {
«XSElement»
+ euProtectedAreaCode: FeatureUniqueEUCodeType
+ protectedAreaType: ProtectedAreaType_Enum
+ protectedAreaObjectivesSet: ProtectedAreaObjective_Enum [0..1]
+ protectedAreaObjectivesMet: YesNoNoInformation_Union_Enum [0..1]
+ protectedAreaComment: String1000Type [0..1]
+ protectedAreaExemption: ExemptionType_Enum [1..*]
}
class SurfaceWaterBody["«XSDcomplexType»
SWB_2022::SurfaceWaterBody"] {
}
class GWB_2022 GWAssociatedProtectedArea["«XSDcomplexType»
GWB_2022::GWAssociatedProtectedArea"] {
«XSElement»
+ euProtectedAreaCode: FeatureUniqueEUCodeType
+ protectedAreaType: ProtectedGWAreaType_Enum
+ protectedAreaObjectivesSet: ProtectedAreaObjective_Enum [0..1]
+ protectedAreaObjectivesMet: YesNoNoInformation_Union_Enum [0..1]
+ protectedAreaComment: String1000Type [0..1]
+ protectedAreaExemption: ExemptionType_Enum [1..*]
}
class GroundWaterBody ["«XSDcomplexType»
GWB_2022::GroundWaterBody"]{
}
SWB_2022 SWAssociatedProtectedArea "0..*" <-- SurfaceWaterBody: +SWAssociatedProtectedArea
GWB_2022 GWAssociatedProtectedArea "0..*" <-- GroundWaterBody: +GWAssociatedProtectedArea
Figure 30 GWAssociatedProtectedArea and SWAssociatedProtectedArea - 3rd cycle - Obsolete#
---
config:
class:
hideEmptyMembersBox: true
layout: dagre
theme: default
---
classDiagram
class ProtectedArea["«FeatureType»
ProtectedArea"] {
+ geometry: GM_MultiSurface
+ inspireIdLocalId: String254LeadingLetterOrNum
+ inspireIdNamespace: String254LeadingLetterOrNum
+ inspireIdVersionId: String25Type [0..1]
+ thematicIdentifier: FeatureUniqueEUCodeType
+ thematicIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme
+ beginLifespanVersion: WiseDateTimeType [0..1]
+ endLifespanVersion: WiseDateTimeType [0..1]
+ predecessorsIdentifier: String254LeadingLetterOrNum [0..1]
+ predecessorsIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme [0..1]
+ successorsIdentifier: String254LeadingLetterOrNum [0..1]
+ successorsIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme [0..1]
+ wiseEvolutionType: WiseEvolutionTypeValue
+ nameTextInternational: String254Latin
+ nameText: String254Type
+ nameLanguage: WiseLanguageCode_Enum
+ designationPeriodBegin: WiseDateTimeType
+ designationPeriodEnd: WiseDateTimeType [0..1]
+ zoneType: ZoneTypeCode
+ specialisedZoneType: SpecialisedZoneTypeCode [0..1]
+ specialisedZoneIdentifier: String254LeadingLetterOrNum
+ legalBasisName: String254LeadingLetterOrNum [0..1]
+ legalBasisLink: URLType
+ legalBasisLevel: LegislationLevelValue
+ relatedZoneIdentifier: FeatureUniqueEUCodeType [0..1]
+ relatedZoneIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme [0..1]
+ sizeValue: PositiveDecimalType [0..1]
+ sizeUom: UomSize [0..1]
+ link: URLType [0..1]
}
class FeatureCollection ["«FeatureType»
FeatureCollection"] {
}
ProtectedArea "1..*" <-- FeatureCollection : + featureMember
Figure 31 ProtectedArea spatial datasets - 3rd cycle - Obsolete#
Spatial data - 2nd and 3rd cycle#
The WFD Protected Area spatial data reporting requirements were stable during the 2nd and 3rd cycle of electronic reporting (Table 39).
The following generic principles were applied [1] [2]:
If the spatial data was already reported under a specific dataflow (e.g. for bathing waters, sensitive areas, nitrate vulnerable zones, or Natura 2000 protected sites), then the spatial data was neither required nor accepted under the WFD.
If no specific dataflow existed (e.g. for drinking water protection areas, freshwater fish designated areas and shellfish designated areas), then the spatial data was reported under the WFD.
Several issues affected the reporting, causing redundancies and inconsistencies:
For the protected area types under case 1), not all the data models followed the basic requirements of the WFD ProtectedArea data model.
For example, the nitrate vulnerable zones do not have a unique identifier consistent with the syntax of the WISE identifiers.For protected area types under case 2), the majority of the issues affected the reporting of the drinking water protection areas. If the drinking water protection area matched the entire water body and the identifier was the same,
then it was not required to report the geometry of the protected area.
However, this approach was not followed consistently by Member States.For the Natura2000 protected sites, the association to one or more WFD water bodies is not reported in the original dataflow. Therefore, the association must reported under the WFD descriptive (i.e. non-spatial) data reporting.
For the remaining types of WFD Protected Areas, the association to a WFD water body was an optional attribute (e.g. bathing waters, sensitive areas, etc).
Therefore, the association between the protected area and the water body was requested again in the WFD descriptive data reporting. This approach created redundancies and potential inconsistencies due to the different reporting timelines.
Reporting requirements |
zoneType and specialisedZoneType values |
|---|---|
Drinking water protection areas |
|
Freshwater fish designated waters |
|
Shellfish designated waters |
|
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones |
|
UWWTD Sensitive Areas |
|
Bathing Waters |
|
Habitats and Birds Directives protected sites |
«not applicable» |
These issues are addressed in the simplification of the reporting for the 4th cycle:
The same spatial data model is used for all the WFD ProtectedArea dataflows and datasets, guaranteeing the existence of WISE unique identifiers
The association between protected areas and water bodies is reported only once, in the ProtectedArea spatial dataset (i.e. removing it from the WFD descriptive data reporting)
These principles (same model, unique identifiers, report only once) were applied for all WFD protected area types, except Natura2000 protected sites.
Spatial data - 4th cycle#
In keeping with the approach taken in the 3rd cycle, the reporting of spatial data related to WFD protected areas in done under the dataflows pertaining to the legal instruments under which the protected areas were defined (Table 40)
Acronym |
Name and ELI |
Obligation |
|---|---|---|
WFD |
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy |
ROD (reporting under revision) |
Shellfish Directive |
Directive 2006/113/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006
on the quality required of shellfish waters |
(included under WFD) |
Fish Directive |
Directive 2006/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006
on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life |
(included under WFD) |
BWD |
Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006
concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC |
|
DWD (recast) |
Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020
on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast) |
ROD (reporting under revision) |
NITRATES |
Council Directive of 12 December 1991
concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC) |
ROD (reporting under revision) |
UWWTD (recast) |
Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024
concerning urban wastewater treatment (recast) |
ROD (reporting under revision) |
Birds Directive |
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009
on the conservation of wild birds |
|
Habitats Directive |
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992
on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora |
The WFD Protected Area spatial data reporting requirement for the 4th cycle of electronic reporting are detailed in (Table 41)
The reporting of drinking water protection areas is moved to under Article 8 of the recast DWD, on the risk assessment and management of catchment areas for abstraction points of water intended for human consumption.
The data model for the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones reporting is aligned with the model used for the other protected areas (except Natura 2000 protected sites).
The reporting of the association between the protected areas and the water bodies is done only once – in the spatial data reporting (except Natura 2000 protected sites).
Reporting requirements |
zoneType and specialisedZoneType |
|---|---|
Drinking Water protection areas The spatial data reporting moves to the recast Drinking Water Directive. The new spatial data model is similar to the WFD ProtectedArea model previously used.
• Unique identifiers must be reported, following the WISE identifier syntax. For further information, data providers are referred to the document: |
|
Freshwater fish designated waters The spatial data reporting remains under Water Framework Directive. Reporting is conditional: |
|
Shellfish designated waters The spatial data reporting remains under Water Framework Directive. Reporting is conditional: |
|
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones The spatial data reporting remains under the Nitrates Directive. The new spatial data model is identical to the WFD ProtectedArea model.
• Unique identifiers must be reported, following the WISE identifier syntax. |
|
UWWTD Sensitive Areas The spatial data reporting remains under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The UWWTD dataflows are currently under revision. • Unique identifiers must be reported, following the WISE identifier syntax. • If specialisedZoneType = ‘catchmentOfSensitiveArea’, then the associated ProtectedArea
(with specialisedZoneType != ‘catchmentOfSensitiveArea’) is reported in the relatedZone columns. |
|
Bathing Waters The spatial data reporting remains under the Bathing Water Directive dataflow. The spatial data model is already identical to the WFD ProtectedArea model.
• Unique identifiers must be reported, following the WISE identifier syntax. |
|
Habitats and Birds Directives protected sites |
«not applicable» |
Figure 32 presents the class diagram for the proposed generic ProtectedArea dataset:
Depending on the specific dataflow, different geometry types may be requested/allowed (either point, line or polygon).
The relatedZoneIdentifier and relatedZoneIdentifierScheme are mandatory, and specific constraints will apply depending on the dataflow (i.e. on the type of protected area).
The attribute confidentialityStatus was included (and applies to the drinking water protected areas) to address concerns about the publication of the location of some protected areas.
The attributes sizeValue and sizeUom attributes are no longer requested.
The attributes successorsIdentifier and successorsIdentifierScheme have been kept for clarity’s sake although their value will always be
NULL(the appropriate value will be derived and included in the published WISE datasets that refer to the previous reporting cycles).
---
config:
class:
hideEmptyMembersBox: true
layout: dagre
theme: neutral
---
classDiagram
direction LR
namespace SpatialData {
class ProtectedArea {
+ geometry_polygon: geometry [0..1]
+ geometry_line: geometry [0..1]
+ geometry_point: geometry [0..1]
+ inspireIdLocalId: String
+ inspireIdNamespace: String
+ inspireIdVersionId: String [0..1]
+ thematicIdIdentifier: wiseIdentifier
+ thematicIdIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme
+ beginLifespanVersion: Date
+ endLifespanVersion: Date [0..1]
+ predecessorsIdentifier: comma-separated list of wiseIdentifier [0..1]
+ predecessorsIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme [0..1]
- successorsIdentifier: comma-separated list of wiseIdentifier [0..1]
- successorsIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme [0..1]
+ wiseEvolutionType: WiseEvolutionType
+ nameTextInternational: String
+ nameText: String
+ nameLanguage: Language
+ designationPeriodBegin: Date
+ designationPeriodEnd: Date [0..1]
+ zoneType: ZoneType
+ specialisedZoneType: SpecialisedZoneType
+ legalBasisName: String [0..1]
+ legalBasisLink: URL [0..1]
+ legalBasisLevel: LegislationLevelValue [0..1]
+ relateZoneIdentifier: comma-separated list of wiseIdentifier
+ relatedZoneIdentifierScheme: IdentifierScheme
+ confidentialityStatus: ConfidentialityStatusValue [0..1]
+ link: url [0..1]
}
}
Figure 32 Class diagram for an abstract ProtectedArea dataset – 4th cycle#
Special case - Natura2000 sites#
The Natura2000 dataflows do not include information about the association between protected sites and WFD water bodies. Therefore, a different approach is necessary to simplify the WFD reporting. A provisional prefilled list of “water-dependent” Natura 2000 protected sites will be created, based on the Natura2000 reporting based on the habitat type and species type [3]
A Natura 2000 site should be designated as “water-dependent” if it contains Annex I habitat types or Annex II species (Habitats Directive),or bird species (Birds Directive), whose presence was the primary reason for the area’s designation and that meet the ecological criteria below:
habitats consisting of surface water or occurring entirely within surface water as defined by the WFD
habitats that depend on frequent inundation by surface water or specific groundwater levels
aquatic species living directly in surface waters
species with at least one aquatic life stage dependent on surface water for essential activities such as breeding, incubation, juvenile development, feeding, or roosting.
The provisional prefilled list will be provided to Member States, for validation purposes:
If missing, additional Natura 2000 protected site identifiers may be added (from the reference list already reported under the Natura 2000 dataflows).
If incorrect, Natura 2000 protected site identifiers present in the provisional list may be flagged for removal from the WFD register of protected areas.
For the Natura 2000 sites to be included in the WFD register of protected areas (because where the maintenance or improvement of water status is a critical factor for their protection), the association to water bodies should be reported.
Descriptive data - 4th cycle#
Specific objectives may be set for the water body due to an associated protected areas.
This only applies for the following types of protected areas:
Shellfish designated waters
Drinking water protection areas
Natura 2000 protected sites included in the WFD register of protected areas
For Freshwater fish designated waters, the WFD good ecological status fully integrates the integrate Fish Directive (2006/44/EC) objectives. Similarly, the WFD good status integrates the Nitrates Directive and UWWTD objectives related to eutrophication. Therefore, no information on specific objectives is requested or expected for these types of protected area or for bathing waters.
The analysis of the 3rd cycle reveals that no specific objectives were set for Nationally Designated Areas (NatDA, formerly known as CDDA). Information about this type of protected sites will no longer be requested.
Figure 33 illustrates the reporting for protected areas associated with surface water bodies:
For shellfish designated areas, report only if specific objectives have been set.
For drinking water protection areas, report only if specific objectives have been set.
For Natura2000 sites, report if specific objectives have been set or if the Natura2000 site is not part of the “pre-filled” list (to be provided).
%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
classDiagram
class SWAssociatedProtectedArea{
+ euSurfaceWaterBodyCode : wiseIdentifier
+ euProtectedAreaType : ProtectedAreaType
+ euProtectedAreaCode : wiseIdentifier [0..1]
+ protectedAreaObjectivesSet : YesNo
+ protectedAreaObjectivesMet : YesNoUnknown
}
class ProtectedAreaType{
<<enumeration>>
shellfishDesignatedWater
drinkingWaterProtectionArea
natura2000
}
Figure 33 Surface water body associated protected area - 4th cycle - partial diagram#
Figure 34 illustrates the reporting for protected areas associated with surface water bodies:
For shellfish designated areas, report only if specific objectives have been set.
For drinking water protection areas, report only if specific objectives have been set.
%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
classDiagram
class GWAssociatedProtectedArea{
+ euGroundWaterBodyCode : wiseIdentifier
+ euProtectedAreaType : ProtectedAreaType
+ euProtectedAreaCode : wiseIdentifier [0..1]
+ protectedAreaObjectivesSet : YesNo
+ protectedAreaObjectivesMet : YesNoUnknown
}
class ProtectedAreaType{
<<enumeration>>
shellfishDesignatedWater
drinkingWaterProtectionArea
}
Figure 34 Groundwater body associated protected area - 4th cycle - partial diagram#
With regard to exemptions related to associated protected areas, see:
Annexes - Data analysis - 3rd cycle#
This section contains some of the exploratory data analysis that supported the revision of the data model.
It is not relevant for the understanding of the proposed model, but may be informative for data providers involved in the testing phase of the 4th cycle dataflows.
About the EEA discodata service
The example queries can be executed interactively in the EEA discodata service.
Note that some queries may timeout.
If you need to analyse the entire European dataset, download it in CSV format.
For example, the link https://discodata.eea.europa.eu/download/WISE_WFD/v2r1/GWB_GroundWaterBody
downloads the data of the [WISE_WFD].[v2r1].[GWB_GroundWaterBody] table.
The data reported for the 3rd cycle can be used to estimate the impact of the simplification of the descriptive data reporting:
46% of the 84560 records reported for groundwater associated protected areas would not have been reported.
72% of the 71726 records reported for surface water associated protected areas would not have been reported.
References#
Warning
The original document containing this revised model can still be downloaded but should not be used.
See PROPOSAL - Version 2026.02.13 PDF