'LIFE among the olives' now available in three more languages

28 April 2010 The recently published brochure of olive oil production and LIFE's role in improving its environmental impact is now available in Spanish, Italian and Greek. Olive farming has become more intensive in recent decades and olive processing now produces significant and growing volumes of waste. This brochure examines how the LIFE programme is helping both olive growers and olive processors to improve their environmental performance, highlighting good practices and approaches emerging from LIFE projects that could be adopted more widely within the sector. The subject is particularly important for the EU. It accounts for almost 70% of total world output.

Download the brochures

Have your say on the future of LIFE Nature & Biodiversity

22 April 2010 Discussion on the future of LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity has been launched by the European Commission (DG Environment) LIFE Unit, via the new online LIFE Community Forum. The aim is to gather ideas and suggestions from stakeholders as to what has worked well in the current LIFE Nature programme and what should be changed ahead of the next LIFE Regulation. Feedback from forum participants will be used in the upcoming conference ‘LIFE Nature and Biodiversity – preparing the future’ to be held in Brussels on 31 May and 1 June 2010 i.e., just before the EU Green Week 2010 (whose overarching theme is ‘biodiversity’).

The LIFE Unit will begin the discussion process towards the future of LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity by posting questions on the LIFE Forum on a regular basis. In order to ensure the discussion remains focussed and lively, these questions will be organised into distinct strands, topics and threads. Suggestions will be sorted with a view to providing response and/ or comments at regular intervals.

Commenting on the initiative, Angelo Salsi, Head of the LIFE Nature Unit, said: “This is your opportunity to put your views across and help us shape the future nature conservation instrument. We welcome your participation.”

View the Forum.

LIFE partnership launches Belgian nature conservation project

15 April 2010 The LIFE project, “Ecological restoration of the Pond area M-L through a close participation of the private and public landowners and a triple E-approach” (LIFE08/NAT/B/000036) held a press conference in Heusden Zolder (Belgium) on the 26 March, officially launching the project and kick-starting the process of promoting stakeholder awareness and participation.

The event brought together the project partners, other stakeholders and members of the general public to learn more about the project’s plans to restore and conserve habitats (oligotrophic waters, oligo- to mesothrophic standing waters, wet and dry heath, and hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities) and species (bittern (Botaurus stellaris), tree frog (Hyla arborea)) of community importance in the Natura 2000 area of ‘Vijvergebied Midden-Limburg’, in the north-east of Belgium.

This was an important occasion for the project, the success of which is largely dependent on securing the ongoing participation of private landowners and the establishment a close collaboration between all the stakeholders involved in the management of the target area.

Speaking at the event, Mr Thierry de l’Escaille, Secretary General of the European Landowners’ Organization (the coordinating beneficiary), highlighted the common vision of the public and private partners involved in the project and their commitment to working together to realise this vision in the context of Natura 2000. Mr. Arne Vanden Bogaerde, coordinator of the project, also explained the project’s special focus on the synergy between ecology, education and environment (the triple E).

Other speakers included Mr Robert Flies, Advisor at DG Environment, M Iris Lauwaert, representative of Ms Joke Schauvliere, Flemish Minister for the Environment, Nature and Culture, Mr. Eric Smeets, President of OVML (associated beneficiary) and Mr Arne Vanden.

Read further on the project.

Europe’s children introduced to My Friend Boo

12 April 2010 A LIFE Information and Communications project launched its highly innovative animated series ‘My Friend Boo’ across Europe on 22 March. The cartoons aim to help Europe’s children understand key messages about environmental issues in a simple and entertaining way and have been created through the Eco-Animation project (LIFE07 INF/UK/000950).

The launch took place simultaneously in Rome (Italy), Sofia (Bulgaria), Mechelen (Belgium), Lodz (Poland) and Dublin (Ireland), with the main event taking place at the London Wetland Centre (UK). The launch, which took place on World Water Day, focused on three animations looking at water - further animations looking at energy and health have been funded outside the LIFE programme.

Project partners presented the project and the importance of water to an audience which included representatives from televisual media companies, conservation organisations and educational groups. Antonia Mochan, representing the European Commission, talked about the excellent approach of the project in “channelling environmental messages directly to kids and indirectly to their parents.”

A highlight of the day was when a group of 30 schoolchildren aged 7-8 came to watch two episodes of My Friend Boo. The reaction was so positive that the third episode was shown and the kids were clamouring to take home copies of the series. A representative of the girl guides movement in Europe announced that they would use their series as part of their educational activities.

Luigi Petito, project coordinator said: “We were so pleased with how the launch went. We had a discussion with the kids to see what they had learnt and the results were very, very good. We were delighted.” In Rome, the launch was covered by two television companies and a major national newspaper, La Republica, whilst the event in Mechelen also made the Flemish evening news.

One major East European cable channel, Minimax has already signed a contract to broadcast the series in 11 different countries reaching an audience of 10 million. Since the launch, Mr Petito has already had significant interest in using the cartoons. The series can also be watched for free at the dedicated you tube page or on the project website, where more information can also be found.

LIFE success with European Waste Reduction Awards

07 April 2010 The awards ceremony for the LIFE funded European Week for Waste Reduction 2009 took place in Brussels on Monday 15 March 2010, attracting participants from across Europe.

The awards honour exemplary awareness raising actions on waste reduction in 5 categories: administration & public authorities; associations & NGOs; business & industry; educational establishments; and other. This was the first year of the event and awards went to projects from Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

There was also a special Jury’s Favourite Award, which went to the project, “Welcome to Poubellec’h”, a treasure hunt to discovery different actions that encourage waste reduction, which took place in Crozon, Brittany (France).

The European Week for Waste Reduction is a three-year LIFE funded projects that runs until 2011. The aim of the project is to raise the profile of waste prevention by coordinating awareness-raising actions across Europe during a one-week period every year.

The European Week for Waste Reduction 2010 will take place from the 20-29 November 2010. A ‘call for interest’ was launched recently for new national, regional or local authorities who wish to organise an action as part of the 2010 event.

Further details at: www.ewwr.eu