Premio Natura 2000 - Nessun progetto italiano

Danimarca, Germania, Spagna, Francia ed un progetto transfrontaliero che coinvolge nove Paesi danubiani

La Commissaria Europea all'Ambiente Karmenu Vella ha annunciato i vincitori del Premio Natura 2000 che riconosce le migliori azioni per la protezione della natura in Europa per il beneficio della qualità della vita della popolazione e  dell'economia. Tra i sei vincitori, nessun progetto italiano. Per maggiori informazioni http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/awards/application-2015/award-winners/index_en.htm

And the winners in the other five categories are….

The Conservation Award went to the Blue Reef project in Kattegat, Denmark. Developed by the Danish Nature Agency together with partners Aarhus University and DTU Aqua, the project succeeded in restoring rare cavernous boulder reefs, ensuring the return of typical key fish such as cod, hake as well as other and other marine species like sea anemone.

Vultures: Providing Gains for Nature and Communities in Gorges du Tarn et de la Jonte, France won the Socio-Economic Benefits Award for demonstrating that nature conservation and economic development can go hand-in-hand. Since 2008 the Hunting Federation of Lozère has been promoting actions that support local biodiversity by combining tourism and extensive farming. The project has attracted 30 000 visitors, using the vultures as a brand.

The Communication Award went to the Long live life! Biodiversity meets communities project, implemented by Naturefriends from Bodanrück and Westlicher Bodensee in Germany, for improving public knowledge with 40 Natura Trails in Baden-Württemberg that receive 45 million day hikers each year, a Natura 2000 exhibition ‘Es lebe das Leben’ and Natura 2000 Days in more than 30 sites.

The Reconciling interests/perceptions Award goes to the Favourable social environments for bear conservation project from Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias in Spain. In order to reduce the conflict between humans and bears, Fundación

Oso Pardo brought stakeholders together to preserve bears. More than 4,500 hunters signed agreements to reconcile hunting with bear conservation, and help to farmers and beekeepers has been provided. As a result, the Cantabrian bear population has grown from 70 to over 230 bears.

The DANUBEPARKS project bridging Natura 2000 sites along the Danube won the Cross-border Cooperation and Networking Award. Representing 30 Natura sites in nine Danube countries, the project enabled the managers of all relevant Danube Protected Areas to systematically tackle common challenges on a Danube-wide scale.