May 2020 - LIFE-IP 4 NATURA

Α) Identity of the project

Description/Aim

LIFE-IP 4 NATURA aims at enhancing the protection of natural environment in Greece and strengthening the compliance of the country with the European nature legislation. It is the first integrated and coordinated initiative that supports the implementation of Greece’s Prioritised Action Framework for the Natura 2000 network at national, regional and local level.

More specifically LIFE-IP 4 NATURA aims at:

• improving the conservation status of species and habitats of Community Interest;
• implementing an integrated approach for the management of the Natura 2000 network;
• building capacities of the competent authorities in support of the implementation of EU nature legislation;
• actively involving stakeholders in the conservation and management of Natura 2000 sites;
• raising awareness among Greek citizens of the Natura 2000 network and its significance;
• promoting citizen participation and adoption of positive attitudes towards the Natura 2000 sites and
• supporting the mobilization of complementary funds to meet the objectives of the Nature Directives in Greece.

Β) Best Practices

At Phase Ι of project implementation, a series of important steps have been made within the wider spectrum of stakeholder engagement:

a) the selection of species and habitats for the development of APs, the elaboration of APs specifications and draft APs involved targeted meetings and workshops with experts and with key actors;
b) the panorama of the institutional and social actors has been sketched, and their role, interest, knowledge and perceptions have been recorded, while the public opinion survey captured the state of knowledge and perceptions of the general public;
c) a communication strategy is in place, including the identification of the awareness campaign’s target audiences, as well as strategic and communication objectives;
d) dissemination of results was carried out via participation in pertinent conferences and meetings;
e) the codification of all stakeholders’ capacity needs into thematic cycles and target audiences and the design of the capacity building;
f) the development of the DSS also involved key stakeholders for the identification of user requirements;
g) a dedicated workshop plus communication and meetings at various stages of the drafting of the PAF 2021-2027 involved all competent authorities and
h) coordination of complementary funds relied on the involvement of all authorities that are responsible for the management of funding, via meetings and pertinent communication.

The first ‘Greek LIFE Nature & Biodiversity projects networking event’ were thirteen active LIFE projects were represented, was organized by LIFE-IP 4 NATURA and the Greek LIFE Task Force (Athens, October 2019).

C) Results

The following actions will be implemented on national level:

1. formulation, legal adoption and implementation of action plans for species/habitats of Community Interest;
2. mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES);
3. development and Operation of a Decision Support System (DSS) for NATURA 2000 site management;
4. creation of an interactive and interoperable Public Participation Geographic Information System (ppGIS)/webGIS for ecosystem services visualization and monitoring;
5. identification and mapping of all stakeholders involved in the management of the Natura 2000 sites;
6. launch of a nation-wide communication and dissemination campaign focusing on the celebration of the European Natura 2000 Day;
7. drafting/revision of the Greek PAF 2021-2027 to make better use of European resources for the Natura 2000 areas;
8. monitoring, coordination and mobilization of Complementary Funds.

On a multiregional level the project will:

a) implement Natura 2000 management plans in four Administrative Regions;
b) improve and build on the capacity of involved and key stakeholders and
c) carry out pilot implementation of MAES in four Administrative Regions.

The results for the 1^st phase of project implementation are briefly described below:

Twelve (12) Action Plans have been selected to be drafted, legally approved and implemented during the project, referring to one habitat, three bird species, six fish species, two cetacean species, two terrestrial mammals, one pinniped species, one invertebrate species, one amphibian species, one marine reptile species and one flora species. Eight APs drafts were delivered on November 2019, while four additional APs, will be delivered during the 2^nd phase of the project. The AP for the loggerhead sea turtle was developed in the context of the LIFE EUROTURLES project (LIFE15 NAT/HR/000997) and will be legally approved within the context of LIFE-IP 4 NATURA project.

A methodological framework and a geo-database for storing and integrating all relevant to the Natura 2000 network data were designed and developed.

A Technical-Methodological guide on identification and assessment of the Ecosystem Types within Greece and their Ecosystem Services at the national, regional and local scale, has been drafted and delivered as the guidance document for the MAES implementation in Greece. A technical report on selecting National Set of ES Indicators for MAES studies in Greece was delivered.

Α methodology, a full list of stakeholders on the basis of their interest and influence and a Guidance for stakeholder mapping and analysis, were developed.

The key task of defining the capacity building thematic cycles was heavily based on the extended recording of all relevant stakeholders’ needs, which had been an output of the stakeholder mapping focus groups. A list of 5 thematic cycles was developed and further elaborated in thematic areas and themes of capacity building.

In order monitor the project contribution to the implementation of the Greek Prioritised Action Framework (PAF) 2014-2020, a monitoring protocol including 162 indicators that correspond to the 132 measures of the PAF was elaborated. According to the 1^st monitoring report on the project contribution to the implementation of the PAF 2014-2020 eleven project actions, as well as all 57 projects/operations financed by complementary funds of the LIFE IP-4 Natura have been linked to 63 PAF Measures, covering more than 61% of the PAF measures. Taking into account the European Commission’s request for an early submission of the PAF 2021-2027, the latter’s 1st version, including 269 measures budgeted 2 billion €, was delivered on November 2019.

In the LIFE IP 4 Natura project, complementary funds correspond to 360 M€, 43 M€ from the Cohesion Fund, 78 M€ from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 237 M€ from the European Agricultural Rural Development Fund (EARDF) and 1M € from the Green Fund, following some modifications to the original proposal. As for the progress of implementation of the complementary funding, the granted funds (approved projects) amount to a total budget of € 188,302,723 (53%). Funds of € 61,266,252 (17%) are to be granted (specifications / open calls), while 108,792,547 € (30%) are not yet requested. Ninety one per cent of approved funds (91%) correspond to legal commitments (contracted projects). In total, the amount spent is € 32,734,735 and corresponds to 9% of the € 358M linked with the LIFE IP 4 Natura in the Grant Agreement with the European Commission.

In the frame of Communication and dissemination actions, a nation-wide public opinion survey was undertaken. The design, analysis and planning of the communication campaign resulted in the formulation of a Strategic Plan. The project’s brand guidelines and manual the project’s website and social media were delivered and so were. Printed and audiovisual material was also produced and distributed. A total of 500 people attended the Natura 2000 Day 2019 event, while the first ‘Greek LIFE Nature & Biodiversity projects networking event’ was organized by LIFE-IP 4 NATURA and the Greek LIFE Task Force.

The specifications and methodologies developed and delivered within 1^st phase of the project namely ‘AP Draft Specifications’ (Action A.1), ‘Report on input data protocols and geodatabase structure’ (Action A.2), ‘Technical-Methodological guide on the determination and assessment of the Ecosystem Types in Greece and their Ecosystem Services at national, regional and local scale, National Set of ES Indicators’ (Action A.3), ‘Guidance document on stakeholder mapping and analysis in Natura 2000 sites in Greece’ (Action A.4) are available (www. edozoume.gr) and is expected to be applied to other projects and in other regions and countries. Especially the AP specifications, once legislated, will be used for the preparation of all future APs for species and habitat types in Greece.

On May 21, we will celebrate the European Natura 2000 Day. The event is hosted by Natura 2000 - Εδώ ζούμε and WWF Greece (for more information please visit our facebook page).