Natura 2000 Awards
CEPF Policy Advisor, Hélène Koch, represented the Natura 2000 Users Forum in the High-level Jury of the Natura 2000 Award. She joined Director-General of DG Environment, Florika Fink-Hooijer, Member of the European Parliament, César Luena López, Member of the Committee of the Regions, Roby Biwer, and Luna Milatović from CEEweb Biodiversity Network representing the European Habitats Forum.
Ms. Koch announced the winner of the ‘socio-economic benefits’ category with Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. This award was given to the LIFE Stop Cortaderia project, which provides a win-win solution by promoting capacity-building and social integration of people with disabilities whilst providing concrete conservation benefits by removing an invasive alien species from five coastal Natura 2000 sites in Spain.
Information on all winner projects of the 2022 Natura 2000 Awards can be found here.
Life Awards
The 2022 LIFE Awards were announced during the EU Green Week. LIFE Awards highlight projects in three categories: nature protection, environment and climate action.
Out of four outstanding nominees in the category “Nature”, a forest-related project won. LIFE-KEDROS aims at enhancing conservation status and resilience of cedar forests in Cyprus, which are at risk from climate change. For this, the project built on best practices, especially in a protected, highly natural area. These were: controlled grazing for reducing fire risk; establishment of a new population of a tree species in another area; silvicultural treatments in cedar stands; and the management of fauna to promote the reproduction success of the core species of Cyprus cedar forests.
