PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Hundreds of LIFE projects have taken actions to improve the structure and composition of forests and/or increase their suitability for protected species. Despite many good results, there has been little exchange of experiences between projects. To improve networking, the European Commission launched the Natura 2000 biogeographical process in 2012. This cooperation initiative is designed to improve the implementation, management, monitoring, funding, and reporting of the Natura 2000 network. Further exchange of forestry good practices will add to the impact of the biogeographical process.
OBJECTIVES
The main project objectives were:
- collection of Good Practices (GPs) extracted from LIFE projects in the forest sector, and their implementation in a specific database;
- their dissemination through a wide range of training activities for the Italian forestry sector, with the involvement of a significant number of managers, professionals, technicians and operators;
- establishment of a demonstration network of GPs
in Italy; - setting up of a "National Network Table" (NNT) to promote cooperation between stakeholders in the forest sector, through the drawing up of a specific document, which can also contribute to a better planning of future actions, according to the RDP (2021-2027);
- dissemination of project findings and the GPs on forest management in N2000N, both at Italian and European level;
- laying the foundations for the development of a European training system for N2000 site managers, beginning with the forestry sector.
RESULTS
For each of the items listed above, the following quantitative results were achieved:
273 Good Practices from more than 140 LIFE projects in 22 EU countries were collected and uploaded in the Database https://www.lifegoprofor-gp.eu/. The GP DB has been consulted by 7 002 users, with 234 accredited users, who downloaded a total of 795 documents. As added value, at the end of June 2023 the DB was included in the FERM Platform, the ‘UN Decade Digital Hub of the FAO Task Force on Best Practices' in the framework of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Furthermore, the DB and the GPs hosted are included in the Knowledge Platform managed by the Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE),
The dissemination of 60 selected GPs in Italy https://www.lifegoprofor.eu/en/multimedia/good-practice.html passes through the creation of a multimedia kit, consisting of an informative summary, a video interview and all the links to detailed information and the technical material related to the GP DB. The 60 GPs are also georeferenced to facilitate the visits in the application areas and supported by the GoProFor App, released on Google Play and the Mac App Store. Since some video interviews concern more than one GP, 60 GPs correspond to 51 videos, for a total of 316m 11s of video recording. By the end of the project the video interviews registered 93 941 views and 1 599 likes
The training activities were concentrated in 2021 through 12 training modules addressed to technicians and operators, as well as a wider target of learners. For the Course Level 1, four modules were organised in a theoretical – online sessions due to the emergency of COVID-19 - and practical training package. Course Level 1 was launched with four online editions, followed by 624 people, and 21 sessions of practical exercises. 510 participants successfully concluded the practical activities, obtaining the final certification of “Expert of Level 1”. A training platform, not foreseen by the Project, has been released https://www.lifegoprofor-training.eu/it to host the remaining eight training modules, adapted as e-learning courses (Course Level 2), with a total of 26h of recorded video lessons. Furthermore, the platform was used for learners’ registration to courses and sharing training material. By 31/03/2023 the platform registered a total of 1 054 subscribers, with 814 e-learning courses completely attended and 755 courses passed through the final positive test, for a total of 44 “Expert of Level 2”, who are those who have carried out ALL the proposed training activities. The Potential Biodiversity Index (IBP) manual and field sheets have been adapted and translated into Italian and represented one of the most effective and appreciated training topics. In the framework of this action, five other training areas were set up in Veneto, Lazio, Molise, Sicily, and Sardinia, with the implementation of four additional marteloscopes, thus allowing to reach a greater number of trainees throughout the national territory.
The cooperation between actors of both forestry and conservation has been fostered at Italian level through the establishment of a National Network Table (NNT). The main output at this level was the preparation of a “Guideline Document for forest management within the Natura 2000 Network”, with proposals and solutions to integrate forest management and biodiversity conservation. In this activity the project received the full support of Ministero dell'Agricoltura, della Sovranità Alimentare e delle Foreste – Dipartimento Foreste (MASAF - DIFOR) and Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE), which are important players of Italian N2000 governance. The Guideline Document was presented at the final conference of the project (Florence, 20/03/23) and further shared in Regional Conferences, at Basilicata Region on 10/05/23 and at Lazio Region on 15/06/23.
At regional level, the project produced three planning documents specific for each of the three regions involved in this activity and formally adopted by each Region. In particular, for Regione Lazio a regional training system, addressed to the local forest sector, was developed and implemented; for Regione Molise a methodology integrating the IBP diagnosis with the development of forest cutting plans was developed; for Regione Toscana a methodology that integrates the IBP diagnosis with forest planning was prepared and officially approved by the regional Government.
At European level, the project promoted itself and its achievements thanks to the organization of EU conferences (Palermo, 2019; online, 2022) and relevant networking activities: a) with more than 30 LIFE projects, b) with organisations and institutions from all over Europe (the Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process, FAO, Integrate Network, EFI, Eurosite, Elo, Egnos, the Bulgarian National Forum, EIP-AGRI, ERIAFF, Seimas Committee on Environment Protection (LT), etc). Furthermore, the project organised a Workshop for the development of a training system (Palermo, 12/11/2019), establishing a network among 11 EU countries. This was the starting point of a participatory process, which resulted in the addition of the topic "Network of training activities for Natura 2000 sites managers" in the 2020 Call for proposals for preparatory projects. Finally, the project also contributed with a specific document to the development of the new EU strategy on climate change adaptation, the Green Deal. Promotion at EU level was also supported by the realisation of three thematic bulletins, translated into 10 EU languages reaching at least 860 stakeholders.
Through the various communication and dissemination activities the project reached a wide audience, far exceeding the initially predefined objectives. By the end of the project, the website registered a total number of 25 089 users, for a total of 42 072 sessions and 113 324 page views. The FaceBook profile has 1 700 followers, 1 553 likes on the page, 242 posts with 32 583 interactions, and a total of 236 633 people reached. During the entire project, 76 Newsletters were published, addressed to 1 155 Italian contacts. The videos reached a total of 110 583 views and 1 891 likes. The Italian launch conference was held in Rome (12/04/2019), while the final conference took place in Florence (20-21/03/23), with a total number of 259 participants.
