Overview
Article 9 of the NEC Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2284) requires Member States to monitor the impact of air pollution on the ecosystems in their territory.
Member States need to develop and implement a monitoring system that:
- Identifies negative impacts of air pollution on ecosystems (acidification, eutrophication and ozone damage)
- Covers a network of monitoring sites that is representative of the Member State’s habitats and ecosystem types
Annex V to the Directive lists optional indicators that Member States can use for this monitoring. Every four years, Member States must report information about their monitoring sites and monitored parameters to the Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Member States reported this information for the first time on 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019, respectively.
This work on ecosystem impacts is carried out, as appropriate, in cooperation with the Working Group on Effects, a subsidiary body of the UNECE Air Convention. There are also synergies with the Commission's work on the Biodiversity Strategy and with the monitoring done under the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive.
Tools
To support this monitoring, several tools are available for Member States:
- Commission Guidance notice on ecosystem monitoring
- Guidance on monitoring site selection (2022)
- Reporting template - updated in 2022 for the second reporting cycle in 2022-2023
These tools have been developed in collaboration with Member States, the EEA and colleagues from the Air Convention Working Group on Effects.
- Consultant's report on 2023 national ecosystem monitoring data and summary of the reporting cycle 2022/2023
- Consultant's report on 2022 national ecosystem monitoring sites and parameters selected by Member States
- Consultant's report on 2019 national monitoring data submitted by Member States
- Consultant's report on 2018 national ecosystem monitoring networks and the indicators and monitoring protocols selected by Member States