PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The European Green Deal emphasises conservation and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity as one of the key elements of the transition towards a sustainable future. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets a goal to achieve at least 30% of the land and sea to be protected and 10% to be strictly protected in the EU. In order to contribute to this goal, Lithuania has already committed to designate 20% of its territory as protected and 5% as strictly protected by 2024.
At the moment, protected areas in Lithuania make almost 18% and strictly protected less than 0.6% of the land area. In 2018, the European Commission noted that the country has to make additional efforts to ensure adequate protection of habitats and species by designating protected areas. Since 2018, Lithuania has implemented a LIFE-funded Integrated Project which aims to respond to the weak implementation of Natura 2000 requirements. The project is filling in the gaps in the Natura 2000 network through inventories of rare species, improving management of already designated protected areas, and establishing protection for species and habitats that are underrepresented within the network. It aims to increase the area under protection by 2% mostly covering currently proposed Natura 2000 sites that have no legal protection. The process of establishing new protected areas or stricter regulations is hindered by opposition from parties representing economic interests, and demands for compensation from private land owners. The country needs to develop a clear strategy on how to achieve the set goals that contribute to the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
OBJECTIVES
The LITPAS for LIFE project aimed to prepare a proposal for the development of the protected areas network in Lithuania, in order to contribute to the achievement of the goals set in the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.
More specifically, the project sought to assess existing shortcomings, and the application of multiple criteria, including provision of key ecosystem services, in decision making processes. It also aimed to ensure extensive consultation with different stakeholders, to better reflect the different needs of society and increase public acceptance of the proposed expansion of the terrestrial protected areas network.
RESULTS
The project prepared a proposal for the development of protected areas network in Lithuania in order to contribute to achievement of the goals set in the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. The proposal was based on the following results achieved during the project implementation:
- distinguished national protected areas for conservation of biodiversity and their identification as “protected” and “strictly protected”;
- assessment of the shortcomings of established measures to ensure conservation of target habitats and species within protected areas;
- evaluation of the sufficiency of representation and connectivity of natural habitats within and among protected areas;
- assessment of the spatial distribution of relevant ecosystem services and carbon-rich ecosystems;
- identification of key damaged ecosystems and target biodiversity hotspots in the country;
- preparation of maps indicating the proposed changes in the network of protected areas (scale 1:100 000 interactive and scale 1:350 000 static) for biodiversity conservation that cover 15.5% of the total land area. Including already established protected areas focusing on biodiversity conservation, this constitutes 28% of the total land area with proposed strictly protected areas making up to 2.8% or 3.4% including current nature reserves;
- assessment of legal shortcomings and preparation of proposals of amendments of legal acts that would support successful implementation of the proposed development of the network of protected areas;
- technical consultations conducted with 126 representatives of various stakeholders and responsible organisations about problems of the existing system of protected areas and needs for further developments;
- achieved 3 000 visitors of the project website and ensured active participation of general public and stakeholders via access to interactive web mapping application where 76 new territories for protection and valuable areas have been marked, including proposals for 12 new territories received from general public;
- produced various dissemination material, including animated video clip highlighting the necessity of development of protected areas network for conservation of biodiversity, 3 articles on the main news internet portal, a publication about project results and outputs and the final conference attended by 77 participants.
