Natura 2000 online public viewer launched

With the assistance of the European Environment Agency, the European Commission has developed a public Natura 2000 viewer which makes it possible to explore Natura 2000 sites in every part of the EU at the press of a button. Built on state of the art GIS (Geographical Information System) technology, the public viewer is an interactive and user-friendly tool that allows the user to travel seamlessly through the Natura 2000 sites over different types of backgrounds (street maps, satellite imagery, bio-geographical regions, Corine Land Cover, etc.) and to quickly locate sites and related information on species and habitats of interest.

It is the first time that all sites are made available on an EU scale, encompassing the Natura 2000 Network as a whole and offering a panorama of what is now the largest coordinated network of conservation areas in the world. The tool is intended to help raise awareness of Natura 2000’s rich assets amongst the general public as well as provide a useful instrument for developers, land use planners, landowners, government authorities, NGOs, researchers and educationalists, amongst others.