PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Similar to many EU Member States, Belgium has suffered a severe deterioration of biodiversity in recent decades. Despite a national biodiversity strategy, the three regions and federal authority were not able to counter the loss of biodiversity in full, despite undertaking many concrete measures, including many LIFE Nature projects. The integrated LIFE project BNIP is being carried out over the period, 2015 to 2023. The main expected outcome of this nationwide project is a concrete set of measures that can boost the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. Moreover, the project is expected to mainstream the existing funds and programmes, identify priorities for restoration and put in place species protection programmes and action plans with an adequate governance. The LIFE-BNIP project is demonstrating the effectiveness of an integrated approach. However, it is already clear that this project should not be an end point but the beginning of a new even more ambitious project: a Strategic Nature Project. The timing is ideal: the LIFE BNIP will cease its activities on 31 December 2022. Starting up a SNaP as a successor of BNIP will ensure that the built network and governance structures are maintained and that the mainstreaming of financial instruments to achieve the EU biodiversity targets for 2030 continue. Belgian biodiversity is deteriorating due to different environmental pressures. While making significant progress by implementing Natura 2000 in Belgium, a more general action plan is necessary to meet the EU biodiversity strategy fully. This project will set up a process to draft such an action plan in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
OBJECTIVES
The main goal of the PreBiodiv 2030 project is to set up an action plan to implement the biodiversity goals for 2030. The drafted action plan will be part of the full proposal for the SNaP.
To achieve this goal, the project aims to:
RESULTS
Expected results: The final result will be an action plan for addressing all relevant biodiversity issues in Belgium. To this end, the project will produce:
These will contribute to a blue print on how to achieve the goals set in the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030. By involving all stakeholders from the very beginning of the project, biodiversity will also be put on the agenda of these stakeholders. This will facilitate integrating biodiversity in different policies and be the basis for mainstreaming the current and future financial instruments (regional and EU-funded ones). Biodiversity is at the heart of the Green Deal, and this project will represent a first step in implementing this Green Deal at the national and regional level and is thus of added value for the EU. This biodiversity strategy will also contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
