A method for integrating criteria has not yet been adopted, nor has it been considered possible to integrate the condition in relation to populations of breeding and wintering birds of the same species.

No integration

For this evaluation, no integration of the parameters filling the D1C2 criterion is carried out. The other criteria are not evaluated, so there is no integration of parameters.

Methods for integrating parameters to assess the status of the D1C2 criterion are not yet defined at European level. The other criteria are not assessed, so there is no integration of parameters.

When there is information from different colonies or sub-populations for the same species, within a marine demarcation, the representativeness of each enclave has been assessed when integrating, based on expert criteria. As a precaution, whenever an enclave considered as important for a certain species presents a negative BEA, a negative BEA is defined at marine demarcation level, even if in other enclaves the situation seems more favourable. However, if the enclave evaluated negatively is considered marginal and/or not very representative, the species can be evaluated with a positive BEA if it is defined as such in other enclaves. In cases of doubt, the evaluation of the OAB has been left in "amber" (i.e., as a precaution it is considered that the OAB is not reached, although the situation is not clearly unfavorable).

A method for integrating criteria has not yet been adopted, nor has it been considered possible to integrate the condition in relation to populations of breeding and wintering birds of the same species.

The criteria were assessed at the level of individual species. A species is in good condition if all criteria meet the relevant thresholds. At the level of the groups of species, the criteria are no longer taken into account.

No integration

The integration rule is being developed in the framework of the Joint OSPAR/HELCOM/ICES Working Group on Seabirds.

As indicated above, little weight is given to the species groups, as the proposed classification does not seem to be adequate to define the species in the Spanish sea basin districts. It is also not considered appropriate for integration at the level of all seabirds, as evaluation elements deserve specific attention, whether or not they are considered to be the whole bird community in BEB.
As regards the integration of the different criteria in order to provide a joint assessment of BBE by species, the ICES recommendations have been followed (ICES 2018 (a)), with the amendments recently incorporated by the JWGBIRD (ICES 2018b). In a nutshell, any species that do not comply with the BBE for a primary criterion would be considered not to comply with the BEA at the level of the Demarcación Marina. In this regard, criterion D1C3 on C1D2 has been given priority in this case, for the reasons set out above.

For assessment and integration of environmental status it is essential to collect a wider/diverse set of data, filling gaps for a precision assessment. the suggested integration rule OOAO (WG BEA, 2017) could offer a reliable and robust integration method if the status of each element, criterion, indicator could be assessed with a very high degree of confidence, this is rarely the case.