PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Spain is one of the most biodiverse countries in the European Union, but its biodiversity is under threat. Achieving the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and addressing the global emergency facing biodiversity will require an improvement in environmental governance and the identification of effective tools.
One important strategy for nature conservation and restoration is land stewardship. Land stewardship uses strategies and instruments involving landowners (public and private), users and other stakeholders in the conservation and sustainable use of natural, cultural and landscape values and resources. The approach involves voluntary agreements between landowners and land stewardship entities, such as land trusts, which are used to maintain or restore the natural environment.
Land stewardship has been developing in Spain for more than 20 years but greater collaboration between public administrations, the private sector (landowners, companies, land managers) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for nature conservation and restoration could lead to a structural increase in biodiversity conservation and restoration.
OBJECTIVES
The overall aim of the LIFE Stewardship project is to use land stewardship-based approaches to boost collaboration involving public and private entities as well as civil society for nature conservation and restoration in Spain, in the framework of the Europe Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and international agreements.
The specific, interrelated objectives of the project are to:
- foster innovation alongside the generation and promotion of good practices for nature conservation, applied to land stewardship
- promote public policies with a special focus on greater legal certainty for land stewardship agreements and the promotion of incentives linked to the effectiveness of the agreements in the conservation and restoration of biodiversity
- encourage collaboration involving public and private entities as well as civil society
- improve capacities, communication and resources for nature conservation and restoration
- improve the quality, monitoring and evaluation of land stewardship agreements to measure their effectiveness in biodiversity conservation
- mobilise public and private financing for nature conservation
- maximise, replicate and scale up the project´s results at an international level, consolidating existing networks
- improved and expanded governance for nature conservation and restoration, with a clear strengthening of land stewardship as a relevant tool
- define, actively implement and mobilise a diversified public-private financing model for conservation and restoration stewardship, including the strategic use of European Funds
- improve stewardship uses at administrative and policy level, and for biodiversity monitoring at national and international level
- develop a new scenario of resource centres, knowledge exchange and permanent training opportunities for land stewardship professionals, public sector officials, private actors and any other interested parties.
RESULTS
The expected results of the LIFE Stewardship project are:
- achievement of more than 500 new land stewardship agreements in Spain, with over 60% of current and new agreements in national and international registries
- conservation impact on 15 habitats of interest and 5 bird species from Annex I of the Birds Directive
- contact at least 50 national and 5 international policy actors, including 10 national/regional governments and 20 municipalities which will improve stewardship policies, registries and legislation
- hold 3 policy transfer events at the EU level
- creation of a new national model for financing conservation with 25 innovation projects across 15 provinces, impacting more than 5 000 hectares
- engage 300 staff from 80 companies, 50 public bodies and 80 land stewardship organisations in the development of the framework and the implementation of the roadmap
- 3 new funding calls linked to European funds for stewardship objectives, with at least 20 projects approved
- 10 land stewardship organisations involved in Horizon Europe proposals up until 2027, with a minimum budget of €1 million
- 15 capacity-building modules for 250 participants, massive online open courses (MOOC)-style training for over 1 000 users, and at least 10 seminars for more than 100 expert participants
- hold 10 Eurosite European working group meetings with more than 12 participants from 12 EU countries
- 3 policy briefs on stewardship at 3 European events
- representation in at least 5 international networks and 8 international conferences
- reach of over 750 000 people, with 400 published pieces and 50 media professionals involved
- 1 000 participants in the national stewardship focal point
- more than 5 000 visits to the resource centre website
- creation of a portfolio of transferable innovations disseminated to over 3 000 potential users from more than 50 countries globally and across all Spanish regions.
