The European Commission nominates the NATURA 2000 Award for significant achievements in the protection and management of biodiversity, as well as public involvement in the network of protected areas of European importance NATURA 2000 already for the 10th year. More about the NATURA 2000 Award: HERE.
In 2024, the historical highest number of applications were submitted for the NATURA 2000 Award – almost 100 applications from different initiatives in 25 EU member states. 27 of those were nominated for the final, the applications can be found HERE, including the initiatives of the LatViaNature project.
Experts acknowledged the following LatViaNature activities as significant for the promotion of biodiversity in the award category “Working together for nature”:
- The pilot programmes “Living Forest” and “Blooming Meadows”, which concluded 140 cooperation agreements with private landowners for an area of more than 1,000 ha to facilitate biodiversity in private forests and grasslands also outside NATURA 2000. Thus, an innovative for Latvia form of cooperation in nature protection is being implemented. More>>>
- Demonstration areas for sustainable forest management. During seminars, their owners present best practices in nature-friendly forestry, which can be balanced with economic benefits. 14 seminars were organized, gathering 280 participants – mainly private forest owners, as well as other stakeholders. More>>>
- Educational volunteer events of LatViaNature within the “Let’s do it for nature!” initiative of the Nature Conservation Agency and the WWF-Latvia, where volunteers participate in maintaining protected habitats and eradicating invasive species. Educational function is an important aspect of the events, therefore nature experts, as well as the Mobile Nature Class of the Project also participate there. In total, 23 events were organized, involving 875 participants: company representatives, students, representatives of local municipalities and residents.
The five winners of the NATURA 2000 Award selected by an expert jury will be announced on May 29 during the European Green Week. In addition, each European resident is invited by April 25 to get familiar with the finalists of the NATURA 2000 Award and their activities and to vote for their favourite who will receive the European Citizen’s Award: HERE.
We would like to thank the partners of the LatViaNature project: Nature Conservation Agency, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the WWF-Latvia, Latvian Fund for Nature, Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre, Joint Stock Company “Latvia’s State Forests”, the University of Latvia, the University of Daugavpils, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences.
About the NATURA 2000 network
The NATURA 2000 network is a network of protected areas of European Union importance aiming to ensure long-term protection of the most valuable and threatened habitats and species of Europe. The NATURA 2000 network is legally based on the EU Habitats and Birds Directives and plays an important role in the protection of biodiversity in the European Union. The NATURA 2000 network includes more than 27,000 land and sea areas and covers around 18% of the land area and around 10% of the sea area in Europe. NATURA 2000 is the largest network of protected areas in the world.
This year, we celebrate 20 years since the NATURA 2000 network was introduced also in Latvia.
More about the NATURA 2000 network in Europe: HERE.
About the NATURA 2000 network in Latvia: HERE.
