Prioritised Action Framework (PAF) for Natura 2000 in Latvia

The Prioritised Action Framework (PAF) for Natura 2000 in Latvia is a sectoral framework of Latvia. Its main objective is to maintain and restore, at a favourable conservation status, natural habitats and species of EU importance, whilst taking account of economic, social and cultural requirements and regional and local characteristics.
The legal basis for the PAF is Article 8 (1) of the Habitats Directive2, which requires the EU Member States to send, as appropriate, to the Commission their estimates relating to the EU co-financing which they consider necessary to meet their following obligations in relation to Natura 2000 to establish the necessary conservation measures involving, if need be, appropriate management plans specifically designed for the sites or integrated into other development plans; and to establish appropriate statutory, administrative, or contractual measures which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present on the sites.
An essential component of the current PAF format is the required breakdown of the Natura 2000- and green infrastructure-related conservation and restoration measures per broad ecosystem category. The proposed ecosystem typology into eight classes is very largely based on the MAES typology, which was established as a conceptual basis for an EU wide ecosystem assessment9. A comprehensive database allocating individual species and habitat types of EU importance to the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) ecosystems is available for download from the European Environment Agency website10. It is recommended that the allocation of measures and costs to ecosystem types should largely follow this typology.