News: March 2009

New publication - Protecting Europe’s Nature: Learning from LIFE

26 March 2009

This 66-page publication is based on the proceedings of the LIFE Nature thematic conference, “Protecting Europe’s Nature: Learning from LIFE”, which took place in November 2008, in Brussels.

Organised by the European Commission’s LIFE Unit, the conference covered a wide range of nature conservation issues during its three day programme. Delegates from all over Europe attended the event, which focused in particular on tools and techniques for implementing the EU Birds and Habitats directives and the Natura 2000 network.

A series of workshops allowed participants to discuss ‘best practice’ approaches to practical and policy based actions targeting forest, marine, river and grassland habitats, as well as focusing on climate change and invasive alien species. Other sessions examined LIFE experience in areas such as international cooperation on biodiversity protection and work addressing challenges linked to ensuring a favourable conservation status for Europe’s species. This publication introduces these topics, identifies the key issues at European level and presents LIFE case studies and best practices from the conference conclusions.

Download Protecting Europe’s Nature: Learning from LIFE. View the LIFE programme publications page.

Planning for the LIFE+ 2009 call for proposals

11 March 2009 The LIFE+ 2009 call for proposals will be published on 15 May 2009, with a deadline of 15 September for submitting proposals to national authorities.

National authorities will then have until 22 October to submit proposals to the European Commission. Following this, the Commission will begin the process of evaluating the proposals, firstly verifying eligibility, and then assessing them on the basis of the selection and award criteria.

The evaluation process is expected to be completed by the end of February 2010, with a revision stage scheduled from March to June. The final selection of successful projects will then be announced during the summer of 2010.

As previously communicated, the 2009 applications package will be made available on the date the call is published (15 May 2009). However, since there are unlikely to be significant changes with respect to the 2008 call, potential applicants can begin preparing their applications using as a guide, the 2008 applications package. This is available to download from the LIFE website now. In principle, a maximum of EUR 250 million will be available for the 2009 call.

More details at the LIFE+ pages. View the calendar.

First LIFE+ projects get underway

Roman launch for Italian
LIFE+ projects
(photo: Barbara Armanini)

09 March 2009During the week of March 2, the first 143 LIFE+ projects officially got underway, with kick-off meetings held in 10 regional centres across the EU.

The kick-off meetings provided a first opportunity for face to face contact between the new projects beneficiaries and national and European Commission officials, presenting not only an important networking opportunity but also a chance to clarify administrative, contractual and other aspects of the LIFE+ programme. The meetings took place in Athens, Brussels, Budapest, London, Helsinki, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Vienna.

The successful projects were selected from over 700 applications under the programme’s first call for proposals in 2007. Applications were invited from across the EU, covering actions in the fields of nature conservation, environmental policy, and environmental information and communication. In total, the projects selected will oversee a total investment of €367 million, of which the EU will provide €186 million.

Further details at: LIFE+ press releases

LIFE projects from Wallonia showcase themselves

Several LIFE projects
from Wallonia attended the Fair
(photo: Herve Pirard)

06 March 2009 Leaving their natural environment, a large number of the LIFE projects supported in Wallonia participated in a recent Procurement Fair held in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium.

Attracting more than 10 000 visitors, the fair brings together procurement officers, public authorities from different levels and private companies working for the public sector in Wallonia. It aims to raise awareness of the latest products and technical developments so that public money is spent as wisely as possible.

Seven of the LIFE projects from the region took the opportunity to present their work at a designated LIFE stand (visitors included Philippe Courard, Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Administration in Wallonia and André Flahaux, former Belgian Minister of Defense, and many other elected representatives and officials at different levels of government). This gave them the chance to raise awareness amongst a wide range of decision-makers about the innovations carried out in their projects with the hope of improving the take-up, impact and ‘after-LIFE’ of their work.

LIFE projects presented at the fair included: the Rehabilitation of Natural Habitats on the Tailles Plateau (LIFE05 NAT/B/000089), Actions for the Valleys and Turf Moors of Croix Scaille (LIFE05 NAT/B/000087), Rehabilitation of habitats in military camps in Wallonia (LIFE05 NAT/B/000088), Restoration of European otter habitats (Be & Lu) (LIFE05 NAT/B/000085). The most recent LIFE projects also presented their new work.

For more information on the event, visit the website.