On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the Natura 2000 Award ceremony took place in Brussels. The European Natura 2000 Award recognizes excellence in the management of Natura 2000 sites and highlights the importance of this network in conserving nature for local communities and the economy in the European Union.
Organizations competed for the Natura 2000 Award in 5 categories:
1. Conservation on Land
2. Marine Conservation
3. Communication Award
4. Working together for Natrure
5. Cross-Border Cooperation
6.* Citizens' Award, is not a category but a public recognition for the favourite finalist.
One of the 26 finalists was Notranjski park with the project LIFE Stržen: Improving the condition of Natura 2000 areas at the intermittent Lake Cerknica by renaturalizing the watercourse Stržen. We competed for the Natura 2000 Award in the category "Conservation on Land," which rewards efforts in land conservation. You can read more about our efforts at this link.
Below are the winners in each category:
1. Conservation on Land
WINNER: Conserving and restoring mire habitats in Estonia,
which achieved the restoration of natural water conditions over nearly 8,000 hectares of mires.
You can learn more about this on their website.
2. Marine Conservation
WINNER: Reforesting the sea: conservation and restoration of “blue forests” in the Sado Estuary, Portugal,
engaging the local fishing community, decision-makers and scientists in conserving and restoring threatened seagrass meadows.
You can learn more about this on their website.
3. Communication Award
WINNER: From the woods to the web and back: communicating to promote community engagement and citizen science in Northern Italy,
protecting the Natura 2000 ‘Boschi di Muzzana’ site, through communications and community action.
You can learn more about this on their website.
4. Working together for Natrure
WINNER: Ground-breaking agri-environment payment scheme for farmers in Natura 2000 areas in Ireland,
an extremely convincing demonstration of how farmers can be paid fairly and effectively to protect Natura 2000 sites and habitats.
You can learn more about this on their website.
5. Cross-Border Cooperation
WINNER: Grazing to preserve Natura 2000 habitats and species: a Pyrenees example from France and Spain,
this initiative has built capacity amongst local authorities and directly restored 1,670 hectares of mountain grassland areas.
6. Citizens' Award
WINNER: Best practices for the conservation and management of the black stork in Poland,
a project that implemented an impressive series of actions to improve the protection of the black stork.
You can learn more about this on their website.
Congratulations to all the winners and other finalists.
The award ceremony in Brussels was also attended by two representatives of Notranjska Park - Irena Likar, LIFE Stržen Project Manager, and Ana Gabrejna Fajdiga, LIFE Stržen Project Coordinator and LIFE Tršca Project Manager. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you who expressed your support and cast your vote.
The implementation of extensive nature conservation projects exceeds the financial capacity of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing by the European Union.
The implementation of large-scale conservation projects exceeds the financial capabilities of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing from the European Union.
