Habitats Directive: Terrestrial Habitat Distribution Maps for Wales

Article 17 reporting maps provide a snapshot of the known extent and location of terrestrial habitat features in Wales. The Government Digital Service maintains these spatial datasets, which are reviewed and updated every 6 years as part of the Habitats Directive reporting process. Since the UK's exit from the EU, the data is now governed by Regulation 9a of the Conservation and Species Regulations 2017.

Use Cases

• Modeling habitat connectivity and fragmentation based on the reported spatial extent of features.
• Assessing conservation policy effectiveness by tracking changes in feature distribution over 6-year reporting cycles.
• Planning protected area networks using the official 10km2 habitat distribution maps.

Strengths

• Data represents the official, most up-to-date spatial snapshot for Habitats Directive reporting.
• Maps are reviewed and updated on a defined 6-year cycle, providing a structured temporal framework.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service, derived from official Article 17 reporting to JNCC.

Collection Method

Spatial data compilation and mapping as part of statutory reporting under the Habitats Directive.

Time Range

Snapshots aligned with the 6-year Article 17 reporting cycle; specific temporal coverage is unknown.

Freshness

Updated every 6 years as part of the reporting cycle; specific last update date is unknown.

Geography

Wales, United Kingdom.