PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Drainage, eutrophication, acidification and habitat fragmentation are major threats to natural habitats and their wild flora and fauna in Europe. LIFE-Nature projects, as well as other conservation and restoration projects, include measures to combat these threats. The successes, as well as the failures, of restoration projects and their research have resulted in a better understanding of the factors and processes involved in the decline and recovery of Europe’s vulnerable ecosystems. However, it can be difficult for project managers to stay abreast of the latest developments and experiences in all relevant disciplines, especially concerning developments on an international scale. Moreover, it is often quite difficult to integrate all available information on the ecological consequences of measures on vegetation, vertebrates and invertebrates and to apply this information to a specific project area with its specific characteristics. Consequently, project managers may have difficulty in determining the proper measures and the 'fine-tuning' necessary to bring about the desired habitat conservation or restoration in their project area.
OBJECTIVES
This LIFE Co-op project focused on the vulnerable systems of coastal dunes and raised bogs. In order to help optimise conservation and restoration measures across Europe, the project sought to facilitate the exchange of experiences and latest scientific knowledge of different disciplines among European managers of nature reserves. This would be done by the organisation of two international coastal dunes and raised bogs workshops. These would target current and (hoped-for) future LIFE-Nature project beneficiaries and their teams. In addition, a freely-accessible interactive decision support system, would be developed in order to provide nature reserve managers with some practical guidelines for conservation and restoration measures.
RESULTS
The project successfully met its objectives and completed all actions. The beneficiary developed and delivered the promised decision support system. Entitled the PROMME approach, this process provides a checklist of six essential steps for setting up nature restoration projects, as well as practical guidelines for nature restoration and conservation measures. It is available on the project website at: www.barger.science.ru.nl/life/. Also as foreseen two, very successful international workshops were organised. The first was held on 5-8 October 2004 in Aalden, the Netherlands; and the second workshop was held on 22-26 August 2005 in Latvia and Estonia. Together these events attracted more than 140 participants from 13 European countries. Workshop presentations and reports on these events can be viewed at the project website. The practical implications of the project for nature conservation and restoration are difficult to assess at this point, as it remains to be seen to what extent users will make use of them. However, the project partners were successful in bringing people together, and in stimulating discussion and international cooperation between site managers and scientists. The beneficiary has already received responses from organisations and projects that are interested in, or who use the PROMME concept in their work. For instance, as a direct result of the LIFE co-op project, the County of Northern Jutland (Denmark) has organised a PROMME meeting for a sound preparation of mire restoration at Lille Vildmose. The project successfully met its objectives and completed all actions. The beneficiary developed and delivered the promised decision support system. Entitled the PROMME approach, this process provides a checklist of six essential steps for setting up nature restoration projects, as well as practical guidelines for nature restoration and conservation measures. It is available on the project website at: www.barger.science.ru.nl/life/. Also as foreseen two, very successful international workshops were organised. The first was held on 5-8 October 2004 in Aalden, the Netherlands; and the second workshop was held on 22-26 August 2005 in Latvia and Estonia. Together these events attracted more than 140 participants from 13 European countries. Workshop presentations and reports on these events can be viewed at the project website. The practical implications of the project for nature conservation and restoration are difficult to assess at this point, as it remains to be seen to what extent users will make use of them. However, the project partners were successful in bringing people together, and in stimulating discussion and international cooperation between site managers and scientists. The beneficiary has already received responses from organisations and projects that are interested in, or who use the PROMME concept in their work. For instance, as a direct result of the LIFE co-op project, the County of Northern Jutland (Denmark) has organised a PROMME meeting for a sound preparation of mire restoration at Lille Vildmose.