The Improvement Programme for England’s Natura 2000 Sites (IPENS) is developing a suite of eleven Theme Plans. These Plans will address the issues that impact on, and affect the condition of, multiple Natura 2000 sites and which are difficult to resolve on a site-by-site basis. The project has identified the need for a Theme Plan on Recreation and Disturbance.
Recreation and disturbance is one of the top ten pressures and threats affecting Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) interest features in England (2013 Article 17 data for England), and is particularly relevant to marine and coastal sites and birds. A technical workshop held on 27 August 2013, focused on prioritisation of the recreational activities that are issues for Natura 2000 sites, looked at cumulative impacts on sites, and explored new mechanisms to deal with this problem.