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LIFE ForestLife
The project LIFE ForestLife (LIFE14 GIE/GR/000304), “Building cooperation, developing skills and sharing knowledge for Natura 2000 forests in Greece” is implemented by the Goulandris Natural History Museum / Greek Biotope - Wetland Centre (MGFI-EKBY) in cooperation with the General Directorate for the Development and Protection of Forests and Agro-environment / Ministry of Environment and Energy. ForestLife aims to strength cooperation, support the exchange of best practice and the development of skills of state and non-state forest managers and other personnel working in forests within Natura 2000 sites in Greece, improve access of forest visitors and other users of the forest to information and motivate them to visit and protect the forests, especially those in Natura 2000 sites and to disseminate to the public the benefits of forest conservation. To achieve all these ForestLife will develop and put into operation an online “Collaboration Platform for Forests”, will organise training and dissemination actions and will develop an application for mobile devices for the Greek forests, emphasising those in Natura 2000 sites, which will provide information to the visitors of the forests.
LIFE ElClimA
The LIFE Nature project “Conservation measures to assist the adaptation of Falco eleonorae to climate change” (LIFE13 NAT/GR/000909) aims to facilitate Eleonora’s falcon adaptation to the on-going and future climate change by the implementation of a series of conservation actions. The Eleonora’s Falcon is one the most important bird species in Greece, sinece the country and particularly the islands of the Aegean Sea host more than 85% of its global breeding population. More specifically, the project main objectives are: the improvement of the species’ breeding performance by (a) reducing egg losses and mortality rates of nestlings, (b) improving the quality and the availability of nesting sites, and (c) improving prey availability and quality. the improvement of the species’ conservation status at its foraging areas both within its breeding and wintering range by (a) identifying foraging areas utilized by the species, (b) assessing the quality and impact of land use in these areas, and (c) networking among experts and organization of workshops to help design and promote efficient mitigation measures. The project utilizes the expert capacity of the project partnership and the experience, knowledge and know-how gained through a previous successful LIFE project on Falco eleonorae (LIFE03 NAT/GR/000091), as well as, relevant ongoing LIFE projects (LIFE10 NAT/GR/000637 & LIFE09 NAT/GR/00323) to establish the project’s conservation measures a model for the conservation of other raptor and migratory bird species in relation to climate change.
LIFE project on “The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment”
The LIFE project on “The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment” (LIFE14/GIE/UK/000043 – LIFE-ENPE) is a multi partner project that will improve compliance with EU Environmental Law by addressing uneven and incomplete implementation across Member States through improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of prosecutors and judges in combating environmental crime. ENPE was submitted for a grant to the European Commission (EC) and in 2014 won a funding grant as part of the LIFE+ Programme, the EC tool designed to finance environment-related projects. The running of this project is led by the England-based Environment Agency (EA) in Bristol and involves a consortium of 4 other partners; The European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE); The Irish EPA; The Office for Serious Fraud and Environmental Crime of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office (FP, Netherlands) and The National Environmental Crimes Unit at the Swedish Prosecution Authority (REMA). The duration of the project is from 16-JULY-2015 to 17-JULY-2020, with a total budget of €1,072,400, and it has the following objectives: Build a self-sustaining network to provide a platform for trans-national cooperation, sharing best practice and disseminating intelligence and expertise between public bodies charged with prosecuting environmental crime; Improve the collation and dissemination of information on environmental crime, its prosecution and adjudication, building a shared EU-wide knowledge resource permanently maintained by the ENPE network to improve understanding of the issues, barriers and multilateral dimensions of environmental crime; and Improve capacity and consistency in Europe for combating transnational waste, wildlife and chemical pollution crimes, by convening 4 working groups to prepare training packages demonstrating best practice in prosecuting crime. Please do get in touch through our contacts page for information about this exciting project. https://www.environmentalprosecutors.eu/
LIFE Natura 2000 Value Crete
The project LIFE Natura 2000 Value Crete: The ecological services, social benefits and economic value of the ecosystem services in NATURA 2000 sites in Crete, aims to the design, development and implementation of an environmental awareness campaign targeted to specific stakeholders, but also to the broader local society of Crete, regarding the ecological, economic and social values of ecosystem services of the NATURA 2000 network in Crete. The main objectives of the environmental communication actions are the following: Provide information about the ecological significance of the NATURA 2000 sites for the conservation of biodiversity, the obligations that originate from the NATURA 2000 Network in all human activities taking place in non-urban zones, as well as the funding opportunities for the development of “green” economy in rural areas. Change the attitude of local societies regarding protected areas, so that these areas will not continue to be considered as an inhibitory factor but as a motive for sustainable local development. Provide targeted audiences (tourism professionals, media employees, students) with the appropriate skills to engage in biodiversity preservation and value environmental sustainability as a significant opportunity for local development. Finally, the project aims to provide guidance to other NATURA 2000 site managers in Greece on how they can develop an information and communication strategy in other areas of NATURA 2000 Νetwork. A special Communication Guide will be publicized regarding the ecological, social and economic value of ecosystem services in the NATURA 2000 Network. http://www.ecovalue-crete.eu
ECOLEX LIFE
Project EcoLex Life is aiming to raise awareness on the Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC (ELD). ELD was designed to reduce damage to natural resources (protected species and natural habitats, water and land). It sets out an environmental liability framework to prevent damage or to restore it to pre-damage (baseline) condition where the damage has been caused by an occupational activity, based on the »polluter-pays« principle. The results of the analysis conducted by the project EcoLex Life have revealed shortcomings as regards the implementation of the ELD in Slovenia. National legislation has had a limited effect on preventing and remedying environmental damage as there is a lack of awareness and training among enterprises (especially for SMEs) and national authorities responsible for the enforcement of environmental liability requirements. Project EcoLex Life has created an online platform with four interconnected tools. Its main objective is to provide operators with tools for identifying and managing their risks of causing environmental damage. EcoLex tools are complemented by workshops, which each addresses a specific environmental area. Visit project's website at: ecolexlife.si
LIFE FORBIRDS
The project “Improving lowland forest habitats for Birds in Cyprus” (LIFE13 NAT/CY/000176, LIFE-FORBIRDS) is being implemented since October 2014 within the framework of LIFE+ program of the European Union (EU). Coordinating beneficiary is the Department of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus. Associated beneficiaries are the Cyprus Forest Association, the Frederick University and the Game & Fauna Service (Game Fund) of the Ministry of Interior of Cyprus. The project has three major objectives: (a) to implement conservation / management measures that will substantially improve ecological conditions for selected bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive occurring in the Natura 2000 (SPA) sites Kavo Gkreko (CY3000005), Koshi – Pallourokampos (CY6000009) and Stavrovouni – Potamos Panagias Stazousas (CY6000007); (b) through the implementation of these pilot conservation management measures to demonstrate to the Cypriot foresters and other stakeholders, the benefits of adopting a more holistic forest management approach that will address the needs of birds dwelling in or visiting the forest; and (c) to contribute towards, enhancement of public awareness on the need to conserve wild birds and combating bird crime within the broader project area.