Key coastal sites for wildlife are designated as special protection areas (SPA) and/or candidate special areas for conservation (cSAC) and form part of the Natura 2000 network of sites throughout Europe.

The Environment Agency, as competent authority in England and Wales, has a responsibility to safeguard the interest features of Natura 2000 sites through its function in regulating a number of activities that take place in and around these sites. In response to this, the Agency has undertaken a review of consents (authorisations to discharge effluent, abstract water, release atmospheric emissions etc.).

In order to carry out this task, the Agency identified that it needed an up to date source of information on scientific knowledge about the sites. This project provided that resource for the following SPA/cSAC in North West England: Morecambe Bay SPA/cSAC, Ribble and Alt Estuaries SPA and Duddon Estuary SPA. (map to follow)

CMACS undertook widespread consultation with scientists, conservation bodies and other stakeholders and produced reports outlining current knowledge, and gaps in knowledge, for each protected site. As a major output of the project, CMACS developed a database of information, the North West Natura 2000 Database, which represents a substantial reference source of information on scientific knowledge of these sites.