According to a new report by the European Commission 65% of habitats and 52% of species are in an inadequate or bad condition.

The report was recently released as part of the reporting requirements under the  Habitats Directive, and examined the success of the conservation of areas protected by the Natura 2000 network, which the directive established.

The habitats under the most pressure are dunes, grasslands and wetlands.  Species in the worst condition were found to be amphibians, fish and arthropods.

The report also found that, across all regions, habitats linked with agricultural had a worse conservation status.

Despite the current status of conservation, the report illustrated that in several instances the Natura 2000 network has made positive progress.  Conservation areas established under the Birds Directive, which are also part of the Natura 2000 network but were established 13 years before the Habitats Directive, have made significant contributions to the conservation of bird species. Furthermore, there was also evidence that some species, such as the brown bear, wolf and beaver are recovering and re-establishing themselves in some areas.

The results in the report have lead the WWF and the European environment bureau to fear that unless the directive is better implemented the EU's goal of stopping biodiversity loss by 2010 will not be achieved.