NatConnect2030

The NatConnect2030 project is a project co-funded by the European Union under the Strategic LIFE Programme for Nature.

It is aimed at the conservation of biodiversity, through the development of the actions defined in the Prioritised Action Frameworks 2021-2027 (PAF) for the Natura 2000 Network, in parallel with the implementation of other plans or strategies adopted at international, national, multi-regional or regional level for environment and development.

The project, with a duration of 9 years (2024-2032, divided into three phases), sees the participation of 16 partners.

Territorialarea: territory of the Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions and of the Autonomous Province of Trento. with a total of 843 Natura2000 sites located in the Alpine, continental, Mediterranean and marine Mediterranean biogeographical regions.

The project area hosts arich wildlife and more than 840 Natura2000 sites, in an area of 100,000 square kilometres, characterised by the presence of the Alpine Arc and the Po River and with more than 24 million inhabitants (one of the most densely populated areas in Europe).

The Autonomous Province of Trento will be involved above all in actions related to ecological connection and environmental restorationin particular for the rehabilitation of watercourses and wetlands, the protection and conservation of the native crayfish and of bat and amphibian species present in the territory.

The objective of the project is the consolidation of an integrated management system of the Natura 2000 network to guarantee the achievement of the conservation objectives of the Habitats and Birds Directives.
It will be pursued through the implementation of a set of actions considered strategic among those identified as priorities in the 5 relevant PAFs.

LIFE NatConnect 2030 also includes various multi-target and multi-level communication activities and capacity building actions.

The 5 strategic lines underpinning the project are:

1. ecological restoration of habitats and species of conservation interest
2. strengthening the connecting elements of the ecological network
3. climate change mitigation and adaptation
4. reducing the impact of invasive alien species
5. strengthening the governance of the natura 2000 network and connecting areas

Expected impact

The ambition of LIFE NatConnect2030 is to have an impact at national and European level by demonstrating the feasibility of implementing 5 PAFs and contributing substantially to the objectives of the Green Deal:

• Expected impact 1: mobilising the necessary funds for the full implementation of the PAFs, following the end of the project
• Expected Impact 2: Favour, in the long term, an improvement in the Conservation Status of species populations and habitats of community interest and the ecosystem services they provide
• Expected Impact 3: Improvement of the ecological conditions and connectivity function of the Po River
• Expected impact 4: long-term improvement and strengthening of the role of the Regional Biodiversity Observatories in collecting, systematising, analysing and sharing data on habitats and species of community importance (art. 11 and 17 of the Habitats Directive), both inside and outside the Natura 2000 Network.

14 March 2024: kick-off meeting in Milan

The project is organised into 9 Work Packages (WP) and 61 tasks

WP 1: project coordination and management activities

WP 2: habitat and species restoration

WP 3: strengthening the ecological connection elements of the Ecological Network

WP 4: climate change impact reduction

WP 5: reducing impacts from IAS

WP 6: strengthen the governance of Natura 2000 Network and connecting areas

WP 7: communication and stakeholder involvement

WP 8: sustainability, replicability and exploitation of project results

WP 9: monitoring, coordination and mobilisation of complementary funds and integration with other policies.

• 60% EU co-financing: about 28 M€
• 40% co-financing by partners: over 17 M€
• Co-financing by Fondazione Cariplo: 1.300.000 €.

Results