A day in Provence - Philip Owen visits LIFE seabird project

25 June 2008 Philip Owen, Head of the LIFE Unit, and members of the Astrale GEIE external team, visited the Frioul island (located a few kilometres off the coast from Marseille in the French Provence/Côte d'Azur region) to view the work of a recently-closed French LIFE project targeting the protection of marine bird species.

The islands in the project house breeding colonies of three marine bird species of European interest: 245-365 pairs of Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea diomedea), 200 pairs of Storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) and three pairs of Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii). The latter two are endemic subspecies of the Mediterranean, for which the Marseille islands are the only French breeding site with Corsica.

The trip to the project “Conservation of marine birds of Marseille islands” (LIFE03 NAT/F/000102) was organised in the context of an annual meeting of the External LIFE team (project monitoring and communication) held in nearby Marseille. Showing their visitors around, the project team explained the different LIFE actions that have contributed to the successful restoration of favourable breeding conditions for these rare sea bird colonies.  

To learn more about the project, take a boat and visit the Frioul island (while of course, respecting the islands’ nature protection regulations). Alternatively, you can view the project’s website or read the project summary.

New models for management of Natura 2000 habitats showcase LIFE Nature projects

25 June 2008 Active management of certain habitats is considered necessary for the conservation of Natura 2000 sites. Models for selected habitats have just been published by the European Commission’s DG Environment nature and biodiversity unit. LIFE Nature projects were major contributors to these models.

Containing detailed descriptions of practical management techniques, the models are designed to help site managers prepare their own site-specific management plans for the habitat types and species targeted, and to implement these "in the field", taking local constraints into account.

For more information, visit the Europa website.

In addition, the LIFE Unit has published the following two management brochures:

• Good practices in managing Natura 2000 sites (2006) and
• Integrated management of Natura 2000 sites (2005).

French Ecology Minister opens Little Bustard breeding centre at Haute-Touche

18 June 2008 The little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) has declined rapidly across European farmland landscapes due to agricultural intensification. In France, the number of breeding males in agricultural habitats has been reduced by 92% over the last 20 years as a result of decreases in insect abundance and nest destruction during harvesting. The most recent estimates suggest that only 3000 individuals of the species are still surviving. The conservation status of this bird is described as "near threatened" and the species figures in annex I of the Birds Directive. One LIFE Nature project, managed by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux - LPO, has focused its efforts on restoring the migratory populations of Little Bustards in France.

The LIFE Nature project "Reinforcement of the migratory breeding populations of the Little Bustard, Tetrax Tetrax in France" (LIFE04 NAT/FR/000091) made the headlines on the 10 June with the inauguration of a breeding centre for Little Bustards by Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the French Secretary of State for Ecology. The centre is based in the Haute-Touche animal reserve which is owned by the National museum of natural history (MNHN), one of the partners in the LIFE project. The reserve is situated in the town of Azay-le-ferron in the Centre of France. Sixteen bird cages (glasshouse tunnel), and twenty individual cages have been built for breeding. Eight more large cages, with a capacity to hold 60 birds, will be installed in the autumn. A research laboratory with the very latest equipment and technologies is also part of the centre. Two methods of breeding have been experimented i.e. forming couples in the cages and artificial insemination. It is hoped that from 2009 on breeding of 100 chicks will take place every year. The results so far are promising: 96 birds have been released and their movements are being recorded by transmitters. In this way, more can be known about the biology of this species and they can be given better protection in situ.

For further information about the project, visit the website and read the project summary.

"Wachau" LIFE project milestones ahead …

17 June 2008 The Austrian LIFE project "Wachau" (LIFE03 NAT/A/000009) has been awarded first prize in the “Milestones – Dr. Erwin Pröll future prize” (MEILENSSTEIN Dr. Erwin Pröll Zukunftspreis) in the "In Unison with Nature” category.

“Milestones” are awarded to outstanding projects and initiatives in five categories: innovation, training, quality of life, neighbourship, and “in unison with nature”. This last category covers projects that protect natural resources and encourage sustainable development. Any initiatives that stimulate the progress and future of Lower Austria are eligible to apply.

One of Austria’s most romantic Danube gorges, the Wachau, is the focus of the successful LIFE Nature project. Run by a local group, the project has been instrumental in carrying out a series of restoration measures to protect the Wachau’s mosaic of river habitats and tributary water systems, dry grassland and species-rich slope woods. The project has not only been honoured with one of the “milestones” but has also received € 10,000.

For more information on the award, visit the website, see the project summary or the "Wachau" project website.

Black stork superstars: Popular Estonian webcam

13 June 2008 In May, over 700,000 viewers watched images from a live webcam of the hatching of five black storks in the Estonian woods. Three of the newly hatched chicks have survived and are now being cared for by their mom "Donna" and their dad "Padis". A diary has been set-up to record the daily adventures of the family and allow those who cannot regularly check the webcam to follow the development of these precious birds.

Since its launch in the context of the EagleLIFE project (LIFE04 NAT/EE/000072), the webcam has already received over 2 million hits from around the world. If you would like to view the live images directly, then please visit the Black Stork camera website.

For an earlier LIFEnews story on ‘Tony and Donna’, a pair of black storks, click here.

LIFE Nature project discovers new species of petrel

12 June 2008 A Portuguese project co-funded by LIFE, (LIFE06 NAT/P/000184), has discovered that the population of the endangered seabird, Fea’s petrel (Pterodroma feae) located on Bugio (one of the Desertas islands, 37 km south of Madeira island) is in fact genetically and physical distinct from the Cape Verde populations, making it a different species entirely.

The LIFE project beneficiary - Parque Natural da Madeira - visited Cape Verde in January 2007 to collect blood samples from the local petrel population for genetic analysis. The results showed that – as suspected - the Madeira and Cape Verde populations are in fact different, but closely related, species. These results will be published in a scientific journal later this year. The authors have also submitted a new name for one of the species.

The Madeira population of the petrel (60-120 individuals) nests in an area of less than 20 ha on Bugio. Its future survival is greatly threatened by three factors: disturbance and destruction of nests by rabbits; habitat degradation caused by the introduction of goats; and competition with other seabirds.

The LIFE Nature project (”Urgent measures for the recovery of Bugio’s petrel, Pterodroma feae, and its habitat”) is taking a number of actions to safeguard the future of the species. These include: optimising conditions for the recovery of the bird’s breeding habitat, promoting its expansion into new areas with available breeding habitat on Bugio and on other islands of the Deserta Grande archipelago, identifying the important areas at sea during its life cycle, and encouraging public support for the conservation of the species and its habitat.

For further information about the project see the project summary, visit the project website or read this newspaper story (in Portuguese).

New award to make cities "fit for life"

12 June 2008 Attention all urban-related LIFE projects! A declaration establishing a new European Green Capital Award was signed during a launch event in Brussels on 22 May. Starting in 2010, one European city will be selected each year as the European Green Capital of the year.

The award will be given to a city that: has a consistent record of achieving high environmental standards; is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development; and can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices.

Any European city with a population of more than 200,000 can apply for the award, which is intended to help European cities become more attractive and healthy places – "fit for life".

For more information visit the European Green Capital website.

“And the winner is….” – LIFE Environment Best Projects 2007-8

06 June 2008 Philip Owen, Head of the LIFE Unit, was very pleased to welcome representatives from LIFE-funded projects across the European Union for the second annual LIFE Environment Best Projects award ceremony, which took place at the Residence Palace in Brussels on Wednesday the 4th of June. The event showcased the top five LIFE Environment projects 2007-2008 (“The Best of the Best” projects).

Mr Owen congratulated all the innovative projects present for their “impressive results”. “This event is very important, showing what a few Euros invested can do for the environment and for the people,” he said, adding that “[The awards ceremony] gives tomorrow’s projects something to aim for. More importantly, it gives them the chance to spread their information, their knowledge, their ideas around Europe and hopefully the world.”

The five ‘Best of the Best’ LIFE projects were selected from a long-list of 21, following a first evaluation by the Commission’s monitoring team. Each of these 21 projects was then further evaluated by two Member States. Evaluation criteria included environmental, economic and social benefits achieved, relevance, level of innovation and transferability. The five ‘Best of the Best projects 2007-2008’ came from Italy, Greece, Sweden, Finland and Hungary.

“Being one of the five Best of the Best LIFE projects feels like winning an Oscar,” said Ingrid Ciabatti, representative of the Italian PROWATER project, which developed methods to increase waste water recycling in the textile wet industry. Serkos Haroutounian from Greece outlined the huge interest in his project’s integrated management of grape pomace (the solid waste from grape pressing), indicating that DIONYSOS’s achievements are both sustainable and transferable.

Gergely Czirbesz from the Hungarian RETOXMET project was surprised but delighted to have been selected among the ‘Best of the Best’. This innovative project very successfully removed heavy metals from waste water using yeast. Tommy Norén, from the Swedish ART project, emphasized the importance of LIFE funding enabling the realisation of a more efficient and safer reactor technology for the chemical industry.

Pekka Harju-Autti, from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, stepped in to receive the award for the ENVIFACILITATE project from Finland, whose members were unfortunately unable to attend. The project developed high-quality tools for sharing environmental spatial information.

Mr Owen thanked both Nicole Kerkhof, from Senter Novem, the agency assisting the Dutch Ministry of Economics Affairs and responsible for finalising this year’s selection of the "Best of the Best" projects, and Robbie Craig from the UK Ministry DEFRA who began the process.

“These LIFE projects and their outstanding environmental and economic achievements well deserve such a platform,” added Simon Goss, communications coordinator in the LIFE Unit, “We from the LIFE Unit are already looking forward to welcoming next year’s winners here in Brussels in 2009.”

You may wish to view a short video of the awards ceremony (the ceremony is featured about 2/3 along).

Life after LIFE: Rare bird species recovering in Belgium

05 June 2008 Ornithologists have reported some exciting findings this spring in the area that was rehabilitated by the beneficiary of the LIFE Nature project “Rehabilitation of peat and wet habitats on the Saint-Hubert Plateau” (LIFE03 NAT/B/000019).

No less than 15 breeding pairs of Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) have been identified. This species, on the red list in Wallonia, was close to extinction 10 years ago with only two known pairs in the extreme south of Belgium. This impressive comeback can mainly be attributed to the  large open areas (more than 650 ha) created by the restoration work of the LIFE project and the great number of tree stumps that provide the rare bird species with ants to feed on.

The ornithologists have also noticed an increase in the number of breeding pairs of black storks (Ciconia nigra). Five occupied nests were found in the close surroundings of restored sites. Two of the nests have been found only 1,300 m apart, the closest distance between two simultaneously-occupied nests ever observed in Belgium and most likely in Western Europe. The storks are nesting in the beech forests but they feed in rivers or small ponds.

During the course of the LIFE project, three rivers were opened by cutting back spruces an average of 100 m on both sides of the rivers. The result is that more than 10 km of those three valleys have become very interesting spots for the large birds to fish.

The LIFE project also offered the opportunity to create more than 2,500 ponds. The population of frogs, tritons and aquatic larva has greatly increased and this offers another important source of food for the black storks and their chicks.

For more information visit the project website, see the project summary, or send an e-mail to Gerard Jadoul.