Best LIFE Nature projects 2012.
Date: 2014-02-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment
Subjects: EU programme, conservation of resources, environmental policy, environmental protection, forest conservation, honour, protected species

Best LIFE Nature

ECTS
projects 2012

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Environment

LIFE Nature

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL

LIFE (“The Financial Instrument for the Environment”) is a programme launched by the European Commission and 
coordinated by the Environment Directorate-General (LIFE Units - E.3. and E.4.).

The contents of the publication “Best LIFE Nature Projects 2012” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the institutions of 
the European Union.

Authors: João Pedro Silva (Nature and Biodiversity Senior Expert), Justin Toland (Editor), Tim Hudson, Wendy Jones, Jon Eldridge, 
Ed Thorpe, Stephen Nottingham (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL), Christophe Thévignot (ASTRALE GEIE- AEIDL, Communications Team Co-
ordinator). Managing Editor: Angelo Salsi (European Commission, Environment DG, LIFE E.3). LIFE Focus series coordination: 
Simon Goss (DG Environment, LIFE Communications Coordinator), Valerie O’Brien (DG Environment, Communications Coordina-
tor). Technical assistance: Cornelia Schmitz,  Aixa Sopeña, Isabel Silva, Camilla Strandberg-Panelius,  Jan Sliva,  Alberto Cozzi, 
Audrey Thenard, Inta Duce and Bent Jepsen (Astrale GEIE). Production: Monique Braem (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Graphic design: 
Daniel Renders, Anita Cortés (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Photos database: Sophie Brynart (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Acknowledge-
ments: Thanks to all LIFE project beneficiaries who contributed comments, photos and other useful material for this report. 
Photos: Unless otherwise specified; photos are from the respective projects. Cover photo: LIFE07 NAT/E/000735.

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013

ISBN 978-92-79-33177-0
ISSN 2315-1412
doi:10.2779/50558

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012       Éva Sashalmi
LIFE Nature “Best of the Best”  
coordinator 2012
Nature conservation expert,  
LIFE+ National Contact Point,  
Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development -  
Department for Nature Conservation, 
Natura 2000 Unit

Foreword
T 

his is the fifth year that the LIFE Nature Best Awards have been granted to the most exemplary 

projects financed within the framework of the European Union’s very successful LIFE programme. 

The selection procedure for the projects completed by the end of 2012 was implemented in a similar way 

to previous years: the external monitoring team evaluated the contenders first and then the European 

Commission compiled the list of the most excellent projects, whose execution, innovative approach and 

design can provide models for other beneficiaries or applicants.

Being the LIFE Programme’s National Focal Point for Hungary, this year I had the honour of coordinating 

the selection of the “Best of the Best” projects among the National Focal Points of the Member States. 

As a result of the review by the Member States and the external monitoring team, two particularly out-

standing projects of eight “Best” projects, chosen from seven different Member States, obtained “Best of 

the Best” status (see p. 5).

I would like to thank the other National Focal Points and members of the external monitoring team for 

their help in assessing the candidates for the Best Awards. I would also take the opportunity to congratu-

late all winners and to thank the exemplary work in support of nature conservation and biodiversity. 

The evaluation process was a very interesting exercise and I learned a lot about some excellent LIFE pro-

jects that targeted a broad range of endangered species and habitats in support of the implementation 

of the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Natura 2000 network.

The two “Best of the Best” projects respectively focused on the restoration of the Obere Drau (Upper 

Drava) river in Austria and the conservation of the Iberian lynx in Spain. In both cases success revolved 

around an integrated approach to project management, incorporating a number of different partners.  

As is now traditional, the LIFE Nature Awards 2012 were presented at a special event held alongside 

Green Week in Brussels in June 2013. The ceremony highlighted the significant value of LIFE, a com-

paratively small funding programme, but one whose projects can have a big impact, leading to long-term 

benefits for nature and society. 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012F
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T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S

The LIFE Best Nature Awards  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ThE “BEsT Of ThE BEsT” PROJECTs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5

Austria: LIFE returns to the Upper Drava . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Spain: Integrating project actions to benefit  
the Iberian lynx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

ThE “BEsT” PROJECTs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .14

Belgium: Habitat restoration in the valley of the Dommel  . . . .15

Denmark: Restoring raised bogs, a unique ecosystem . . . . . . . .18

Hungary: Reviving steppic oak forests   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Italy: Restoring the Friuli Fens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Spain: Linking bear populations in the Cantabrian  
Mountains  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Lithuania: Improving the  status of biodiverse wetlands . . . . . . .30

Available LIFE Nature publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

LIFE07 NAT/E/000735 

Corredores oso   
Corridors for cantabrian brown 
bear conservation

LIFE06 NAT/E/000209 

Introduccion Lince  
Andalucia   
Conservation and reintroduction 
of the Iberian lynx in Andalucia

       BEST AWARD WINNERS 2012

BEST OF THE BEST PROJECTS

BEST PROJECTS

LIFE05 NAT/DK/000150 

RERABOG-DK  
Restoration of raised bogs in 
Denmark with new methods

LIFE07 NAT/LT/000530 

WETLIFE  
Restoring Hydrology in Amalvas 
and Žuvintas Wetlands

LIFE05 NAT/B/000091 

Dommeldal  
Transboundary habitat restoration 
in the valley of the Dommel

LIFE06 NAT/H/000098 

HUNSTEPPICOAKS  
Conservation of Euro-siberian 
steppic woods and Pannonic 
sand steppes in “Nagykörösi 
pusztai tölgyesek” pSCI

LIFE06 NAT/A/000127 

LIFE Obere Drau II   
Life in Upper Drau River

LIFE06 NAT/IT/000060 

LIFE FRIULI FENS  
Conservation and restoration of 
calcareous fens in Friuli

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  The LIFE Best Nature Awards 

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The LIFE Best Nature Awards 2012 illustrate the LIFE programme’s  demonstration 

value,  its  long-term  impact  and  its  vital  contribution  to  nature  conservation  in 

Europe. 

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he  objective  of  the  LIFE  Nature  Awards  programme 
is to help improve the transmission of project results 
by using a set of criteria to identify those projects with the 
highest  potential  for  long-term  maintenance  of  “favour-
able” conservation status of natural habitats and species, 
and  support  for  the  implementation  and  management  of 
the Natura 2000 network. Thus, for the last five years, EU 
Member  States  represented  on  the  LIFE  Committee  and 
the  European  Commission’s  LIFE  Unit  have  acknowledged 
those  projects  that  are  just  a  little  bit  more  outstanding 
than  the  rest  by  awarding  them  “Best  of  the  Best”  and 
“Best” project status. 

Projects are judged against a set of criteria developed by 
the  Commission  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States. 
These  include:  Short-term  improvement  in  conservation 
status; short-term leverage effect; long-term sustainability 
of improved conservation status; long-term leverage effect; 
and long-term regional / national / international impact.

The  eight  winning  projects  all  contribute  to  LIFE  Nature’s 
main objectives: supporting the implementation of the EU’s 
Birds  Directive  and  Habitats  Directive  and  the  establish-
ment  and  management  of  the  Natura  2000  network  of 
protected sites.

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Exemplary actions

The  two  most  exemplary  projects  were  awarded  the  title, 
“Best of the Best” LIFE Nature Project 2012. These focused 
on the restoration of the Obere Drau (Upper Drava) river in 
Austria  and  the  conservation  of  the  Iberian  lynx  in  Spain. 
Obere  Drau  II  (LIFE06  NAT/A/000127)  combined  water 
engineering, nature conservation and flood defence, in the 
process defining innovative management solutions to a set 
of challenges identified by an earlier LIFE project. The Intro-
duccion  Lince  Andalucia  project  (LIFE06  NAT/E/000209) 
made an important contribution to the survival of an em-
blematic, endangered large carnivore through by priming a 
strategic programme of nature conservation works. 

Actions  carried  out  by  the  six  “Best”  LIFE  Nature  Projects 
2012  ranged  from  the  conservation  of  individual  species 
to  projects  targeting  several  species  and  habitats  across 
one  or  more  sites.  For  instance,  the  DOMMELDAL  project 
restored  a  range  of  habitat  types  in  Belgium’s  Dommel 
Valley, in the process creating a series of stepping stones 
for species migration. The RERABOG-DK project in Denmark 
helped restore a unique ecosystem of raised bogs and also 
enabled  the  beneficiary  to  build  nature  conservation  ca-
pacity.  Other  projects  provided  support  for  the  revival  of 
Hungary’s steppic oak forests, an important fen habitat in 
north-east Italy and biodiverse wetlands within a Lithuani-
an biosphere reserve. Another emblematic large carnivore 
-  the  brown  bear  –  was  the  subject  of  a  “Best”  project  in 
northern  Spain  that  pioneered  a  new  approach  to  solving 
problems of human-bear coexistence. 

In  presenting  the  awards,  the  retired  Dutch  MEP,  Hemmo 
Muntingh, who played a key role in the creation of the first 
LIFE Regulation in 1992, explained the 15-year genesis of 
this  European  environmental  fund.  “I  am  pleased  to  see 
the very good work it has been doing for nature conserva-
tion. I can only hope that this continues in the future,” he 
added.

Winners of the LIFE Nature Awards 2012

 
 
 
 
 
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Building on an earlier LIFE Nature project, this river restoration project demonstrates 

the successful cooperation between water engineering, flood protection and nature 

conservation. Importantly, it gained the approval of the local community.

Over  60  years  ago,  Herbert  Rittlinger,  an  Austrian 

travel  writer,  wrote  about  his  experiences  paddling 
by canoe in the Obere Drau (Upper Drava) river in Carinthia, 
Austria – a free-flowing glacial river in the Obere Drau Valley. 
In his book, “The soon [to  be] lost paradise”, Rittlinger tried 
to draw people’s attention to the loss and destruction of the 
river and floodplain from imminent structural developments. 

Few  heeded  his  warnings  and  the  Drava  -  once  a  natural 
watercourse, with many side streams and water meadows - 
met  the  same  fate  as  many  other  Alpine  areas:  the  river 
bed was channelled, bends were straightened out, branches 
cut off from the main stream, dams and turbines built and 
intensive farming extended right down to the river banks. 

Catastrophic floods

Eventually,  faced  with  catastrophic  floods,  erosion  of  the 
river bed and a falling groundwater level, people began to 

see the error of their ways: In the early 1990s the authori-
ties started work on an environmentally-oriented hydrologi-
cal development scheme and began restoring the river to a 
semi-natural state. This marked the beginning of efforts to 
preserve and improve what was left of the rich natural en-
vironment, such as the significant surviving grey alder and 
ash  forests  along  the  river  bank,  the  small  populations  of 
Annex II (Habitats Directive) fish species, the Danube salm-
on (Hucho hucho) and crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), 
both threatened with extinction, as well as staging areas for 
migrating birds. 

LIFE has played an important part in the continuation of the 
restoration of the Drava – in partnership with river and flood 
protection authorities and, more recently, joined by new part-
ner,  the  Austrian  Service  for  Torrent  and  Avalanche  Control. 
Following on from an earlier project (LIFE99 NAT/A/006055), 
which ended in 2003, the LIFE Obere Drau II project (2006-
2011)  was  coordinated  by  the  department  responsible  for 

On 27 October 2009, the first water flowed through the new Drau tributary branch near Amlach

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As part of the project’s visitor management actions, the water adventure area at Dellach was opened in 2007

rivers within the regional government of Carinthia, the pro-
ject beneficiary. It used engineering measures such as river 
widening and removal of hydraulic structures and embank-
ments at local river reaches to allow river bank erosion to 
occur and return a targeted stretch of the river to its former 
natural structure; and create new or reactivated old, water 
meadows.

• 

Improved  information  and  visitor  management  on-site; 
and

•  Cooperation  with  specialist  agencies  from  countries 
within the Drava river basin (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and 
Hungary) to propose cross-border strategies to solve wa-
ter management tasks and ecological problems that af-
fect the river. 

The  overall  objective  of  the  Obere  Drau  II  project  was  to 
continue  and  extend  the  successful  river-revitalisation 
measures to establish the Upper Drava as a ‘lifeline’ for the 
region.  Its  efforts  would  be  focused  on  improving  habitats 
that  are  typical  for  alpine  rivers  and  their  adjacent  flood-
plains.  It  also  hoped  to  improve  public  awareness  and  ac-
ceptance of the Natura 2000 site. 

Specifically,  the  project  sought  to  define  innovative  man-
agement solutions to solve the challenges that were recog-
nised, but not yet solved under the first LIFE project. These 
included: 
•  Further  stabilisation  of  the  river  bed  and  groundwater 
level through increasing the input of bed load material;
•  Continuation  of  management  measures  for  improved 

river habitats; 

Public  relations  work  (see  box)  was  also  important  as  the 
project team wanted people to see for themselves the posi-
tive aspects of their work. According to hydrologist Norbert 
Sereinig, the project coordinator, a key aspect is that “peo-
ple were at the centre of this project”. This was not just a 
project  for  nature  conservation,  he  explains,  but  one  that 
would  also  provide  a  real  benefit  for  the  community  –  for 
farmers, local residents and schoolchildren and visitors. 

Achievements

The project was successfully completed, not only meeting, 
but even surpassing its original objectives. For example, ac-
tions  to  improve  the  river  course  along  a  total  length  of 
5  km  benefitted  both  the  river  ecology  and  flood  protec-
tion. It also helped extend the Natura 2000 site, which was 

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LIFE NATURE    |   B E s T   L I f E   n a T U R E   P R O J E C T s   2 0 1 2

enlarged  by  470  ha  along  a  river  section  and  now  covers 
almost 1 000 ha. 

Popular PR tools 

The  project  purchased  or  swapped  some  50  ha  of  land  - 
20 ha more than originally planned - to enable interventions 
to be carried out in key locations. These focused on replac-
ing hard embankments with gravel banks, restoration of a 
sediment retention dam, river widening and the connection 
of side channels, oxbows and standing waters in key places. 

In total, some 42 ha of additional Alpine river habitats were 
created, including new side branches; this was 22 ha more 
than anticipated. The new habitats include dynamic gravel 
banks and German tamarisk and willow pioneer communi-
ties, which will further develop into alluvial forests and pro-
vide  improved  spawning  habitats  for  amphibians  and  fish 
such as the Danube salmon and varione (Leuciscus souffia). 

The  measures  also  extend  the  habitats  for  140  bird  spe-
cies, including 51 red-listed species – notably as a resting 
place for migrating birds crossing the Alps. Typical species 
that are already benefiting are the common kingfisher (Al-
cedo atthis), the sandpiper (Acitis hypoleucos) and the less-
er  spotted  woodpecker  (Dendrocopos  minor).  Habitats  for 
two  plant  species  that  were  nearly  extinct  in  Austria  were 
also extended: German tamarisk (Myricaria germanica) and 
dwarf bulrush (Typha minima). 

Herbert Mandler: “It is very satisfying to have done something that is 
good news for the region”

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LIFE film 
“Rittlingers Dream – A New Life on the Upper Drava”. This 
unusual  29-min  project  DVD  compiled  by  Austrian  film 
producer, Thomas Miklautsch, is a philosophical and sci-
entific reflection about the restoration of the Upper Drava 
River  in  Carinthia.  It  is  available,  free-of-charge  in  Ger-
man or English: abt8.postsp@ktn.gv.at or can be viewed 
at: https://vimeo.com/54437131 

LIFE Drau postcard with hologram 
Marking the river widening work carried out near Amlach/
St. Peter, the postcard can be tilted to show the complet-
ed work (2010) in contrast to the original state (2006).

Folding map “People & Nature”
In  pocket-sized  format,  this  practical  folding  map  gives 
valuable tips for nature-compatible leisure activities and 
local  recreation  areas  in  the  Upper  Drava  Natura  2000 
site.

The project additionally created 20 ponds - twice the num-
ber planned - which connect biotopes for amphibians, such 
as  the  Italian  crested  newt  (Triturus  carnifex)  and  yellow-
bellied  toad  (Bombina  variegata).  They  provide  important 
habitat  for  small  fish  species,  such  as  the  amur  bitterling 
(Rhodeus sericeus), and a valuable food supply for the white 
stork (Ciconia ciconia). The European otter (Lutra lutra) was 
also found to have benefited from the project and has set-
tled once more in the region.

Meanwhile,  for  local  recreation  and  for  tourism,  outdoor 
activities  on  the  river  such  as  barbecues,  hiking,  cycling, 
canoeing  and  fishing,  are  booming.  Access  has  now  been 
greatly  improved  with  the  aim  of  concentrating  activities 
close  to  the  river  at  two  new  suitable  places,  built  by  the 
project  (e.g.  with  lookout  towers,  bathing  and  sunbathing 
areas  and  information  points  to  inform  visitors  about  the 
natural treasures along the river). In turn, access to ecologi-
cally-sensitive bankside zones has been restricted.

Challenges

According to Mr Sereinig, who like the majority of the team, 
also worked on the earlier LIFE project, different challenges 
needed to be addressed: In the first project, he says, a key 
task  was  to  “build  up  confidence  among  stakeholders  and 
partners”.    With  this  confidence  already  secured,  the  main 
challenge during the second project was to secure the agri-
cultural land areas needed in order to carry out the planned 
interventions  down  to  the  river  banks.  One  potential  prob-
lem, he explains, is that under the Austrian succession laws,  

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the  final  report  that  this  was  a  “good  project”.  But,  even 
though they thought it was good, they didn’t think anyone 
else would necessarily realise this. They are, therefore, “sur-
prised and delighted” that they did.

Mr Sereining is most satisfied about the fact that the pro-
ject  achieved  more  than  originally  intended:  “There  was  a 
positive dynamic and it shows the whole team was working 
well,”  he  says,  adding  that  the  LIFE  instrument  was  very 
important  to  them:  “Without  LIFE  we  wouldn’t  have  been 
able to implement the measures, or at least not all of the 
measures.” 

Meanwhile, Mr Mandler says that in his day-to-day work in 
flood  protection,  he’s  often  the  first  point  of  contact  when 
things go wrong: “It is very satisfying to have done some-
thing that’s good news for the region.”

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The LIFE flag flies at the water adventure area at Dellach

farmland  had  over  the  centuries  become  divided  up  and 
separated  between  family  members.  However,  the  project 
was  aided  by  a  national  land  reallocation  scheme  (Flurb-
ereinigung) which, with the consent of the majority of land-
owners,  allows  plots  of  land  to  be  brought  back  together. 
“This  helped  us  considerably  and  gave  us  the  wide  areas 
we  needed  right  next  to  the  river  banks.”  It  was  also  im-
portant as one of the goals of the project was to intervene 
as  little  as  possible  and  let  the  river  shape  itself,  or  re-
naturalise. Despite their success (eventually) in securing the 
land, he concedes, the negotiations with farmers were “very 
lengthy”.

Herbet  Mandler,  the  site  manager,  agrees.  He  says  there 
were times during the first two years of the project, when he 
thought the talks had broken down: “This was very stress-
ful,” he says, adding that some farmers took advantage of 
the situation – knowing that this was an EU co-funded pro-
ject, with a restricted time period (e.g. taking their time to 
agree  to  a  sale,  changing  their  minds,  or  pushing  up  the 
price).

In an ideal world, they both agree, these negotiations should 
be secured ahead of the project. This aside, they both have 
experience  of  other  EU  programmes  and  say  they  are  im-
pressed by the “flexibility of LIFE” compared with other EU 
funding  instruments.  As  long  as  they  fulfilled  the  overall 
objectives, by the end of the five-year period, they say there 
was  considerable  flexibility  within  the  project  to  complete 
or modify tasks – and that this was “enormously helpful”.

‘Delighted’

Reflecting  on  their  ‘Best  of  the  Best’  LIFE  Nature  project 
award,  they  say  they  realised  when  they  were  compiling 

Future sustainability

Looking to the future, many of the project’s restoration ac-
tions were designed in such a way that the river can further 
develop through natural processes without management or 
maintenance  works.  According  to  latest  monitoring  (July, 
2013)  the  riverbed  remains  constant  in  the  project  region 
and is even rising in some places: The increased water-re-
tention  capacity  helps  to  protect  downstream  areas  from 
floods  and  the  increased  stabilisation  of  the  groundwater 
level is an important aspect for agricultural use in the river 
valley. 

In terms of the wider catchment area management, an in-
ternational Drava river meeting was held during the project 
in  Slovenia.  This  led  to  a  common  declaration  concerning 
future cooperation in river restoration with all the countries 
through which it flows. 

Finally an important multiplier effect sees two further river 
restoration  projects  now  underway  in  the  region:  LIFE08 
NAT/A/000613 and LIFE10 NAT/AT/000017.

Project number: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127 

Title: LIFE Obere Drau II - Life in Upper Drau River

Beneficiary: Carinthia regional authority responsible for rivers  
(Amt der Kärnter Landesregierung)

Contact: Dr Norbert Sereinig     

Email: norbert.sereinig@ktn.gv.at  

Website: www.life-drau.at/ 

Period: 01-Sep-2006 to 31-Aug-2011 

Total budget: 3 768 000   

LIFE contribution: 1 531 000  

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s Spain: Integrating project 

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actions to benefit  
the Iberian lynx

LIFE funding has helped to introduce and activate a strategic programme of joined-

up  nature  conservation  works  that  are  successfully  promoting  the  recovery  of  an 

emblematic, but still endangered, EU species.

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Reintroduction area in Guadalmellato

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) has been classified as 

one of most threatened species of felines in the world. 
One of this year’s “Best of the Best” LIFE Nature projects has 
played a pivotal role in helping the recovery of this European 
big cat. 

Once found all across Spain and Portugal, where it thrived 
in habitats of Mediterranean woodland and maquis thicket, 
the Iberian lynx suffered a dramatic decline in its population 
and  distribution  range  during  the  second  half  of  the  20th 
Century. 

Rabbits account for around 95% of the lynx’s diet and the 
main cause of its population decline was a rapid reduction 
in the availability of prey following epidemics of myxoma-
tosis (and subsequently hemorrhagic virus disease) among 
rabbits.  This  created  an  escalating  array  of  difficulties  for 
the lynx, as it both damaged and fragmented the function-
ality of the cats’ favoured habitats. 

Lack  of  prey  was  exacerbated  by  other  threats   –  the  in-
creasing incidence of traffic collisions, diseases such as fe-
line leukemia, and poaching.

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Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

The population declined sharply and in Spain the remaining 
numbers of Iberian lynx became clustered in small groups 
that had limited chances to mix genetically. By the turn of 
the  century  only  two  known  breeding  populations  existed 
in Spain, in the Sierra Morena Oriental at the Parque Natu-
ral de la Sierra de Andújar and in south-western Andalusia 
around the Doñana area.

high; running awareness-raising campaigns to improve un-
derstanding of, and support for, lynx conservation by local 
residents, businesses and visitors; and establishing leasing 
agreements with key stakeholders, such as hunters. 

Installation of this drinking trough for rabbits was part of a package  
of in-situ lynx conservation actions

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Priority support

Nature  conservation  measures  for  the  Iberian  lynx  were 
therefore prioritised by national, regional and European bod-
ies, who used LIFE to help introduce a programme of actions 
to help test and clarify how best to launch a recovery plan for 
the species. This early LIFE project (LIFE02 NAT/E/008609) 
paved the way for the “Best of the Best” winner, Introduccion 
Lince  Andalucia,  which  started  work  in  2006  and  has  been 
highly successful in helping to support species recovery.

Led by Andalusia’s regional government, the 2006 LIFE pro-
ject focused its considerable financial and technical resources 
on a coordinated package of in-situ conservation actions. 

These included: improving habitat functionality by increasing 
the availability of natural prey and improving connectivity be-
tween  habitat  features;  reintroducing  and  monitoring  lynxes 
in carefully selected sites; addressing problems in ‘black spot’ 
areas where threats and risks to the species were particularly 

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As much as 75% of the Iberian lynx’s territories were located 
on private land (mainly game-hunting estates) so the involve-
ment of hunters and farmers in the LIFE project was crucial 
to its long-term successes. These included introducing appro-
priate management across more than 200 000 ha of target 
territory for the species.

Success story

Speaking  about  the  project’s  achievements  at  the  LIFE  Best 
Projects award ceremony in Brussels in June 2013, Luis Pla-
nas Puchades, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Environ-
ment  of  the  Autonomous  Government  of  Andalusia,  noted 
that “By the time this project had completed its operations in 
December 2011, a total of 312 animals were surviving and 
this figure represent a population growth of more then three 
times the numbers of lynx that were recorded in 2002.” 

Mr Planas also highlighted the importance of LIFE’s financial 
support, which, he says: “Added European capacity to regional 
efforts  involved  in  trying  to  reverse  the  decline  of  Europe’s 
largest  and  most  endangered  feline  species.  Thanks  to  the 
LIFE projects’ reintroduction techniques, two new population 
groups were reintroduced and established.”

Other achievements of the project included helping to increase 
genetic variability in the lynx population, thereby supporting 
the long-term integrity, strength and overall sustainability of 
the species. It also played a part in reducing human-caused 
mortality  (e.g.  from  traffic  collisions  or  poaching).  “We  have 
also carried out a lot of useful work to raise awareness among 
society about mitigating Lynx mortality risks,” said Mr Planas. 

The project carried out vaccinations to help counter mortality risks to the 
lynx’s main prey, rabbits

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Wider importance

Luis  Planas  Puchades,  Minister  for  Agriculture, 
Fisheries  and  Environment  of  the  Autonomous  
Government of Andalusia:
“Farmers, hunters, and local government were all impor-
tant participants in the project… Doing a project like this, 
to reintroduce the Iberian lynx, has not just been about 
the  conservation  of  nature  but  it  has  been  something 
that is important for the economic and social life of the 
region.”  

The  minister also  noted  the  need  to  protect  the  expendi-
ture required to conserve key species such as the Iberian 
lynx,  even  during  times  of  wider  economic  difficulty.  “In 
fact,”  he  said,  “this  LIFE  project  is  proof  of  how  we  can 
not  only  protect  our  environment  but  also  generate  in-
come  and  employment.  “This  has  happened  at  different 
locations within the project territory where a great number 
of SMEs have benefited from the nature conservation ac-
tivities  because  the  Iberian  lynx  is  a  great  attraction  for 
nature lovers.”

Integrated action

Partnership work is acknowledged by the project’s stakeholders 
as a key success factor for the recovery of the Iberian lynx. LIFE 
inputs helped to provide a catalyst for involving more partners 
in the overall recovery plan. These included different sources of 
EU, national and regional funding that have been coordinated 
so that they complement and add value to each other’s actions. 

In this way the Andalusian authorities have shown how agri-
culture and nature conservation can work together as partners 
with shared common goals within a context of sustainable eco-
nomic development. 

In the Introduccion Lince Andalucia project, an integrated set of 
LIFE actions were planned properly in advance and designed to 
align  with  associated  lynx  conservation  actions  being  funded 
by other sources.  

LIFE co-financing of the project’s in-situ conservation work was 
designed to establish the conditions that were needed to halt 
the  species’s  decline  and  set  in  motion  its  recovery.  Ongoing, 
recurrent  habitat  management  work  was  recognised  by  the 
Andalusian authorities as being essential for maintaining and 
building  on  this  LIFE  legacy,  so  funding  support  from  the  re-
gion’s Rural Development Programme agri-environment meas-
ure was tailored to provide this key sustainability aspect of the 
species recovery plan.

In  addition  to  the  agri-environment  payments  that  were 
made  available  from  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for 
Rural Development (EAFRD) to land users for managing their 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LIFE NATURE    |   B E s T   L I f E   n a T U R E   P R O J E C T s   2 0 1 2

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Release of a captive bred Iberian lynx

farms and forests in lynx-friendly ways, further components 
of  the  recovery  jigsaw  have  been  assisted  through  the  Eu-
ropean  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  Operational  Pro-
grammes.  These  co-financed  high  impact  conservation  ac-
tions, including vital captive breeding centres as well as visitor 
facilities and nature-tourism promotions. 

Together they are showing how using LIFE as an incentive for 
activating  joined-up  thinking,  taking  advantage  of  synergies 
and delivering collaborative results can make a considerable 
difference to the recovery of one of the world’s most endan-
gered feline species.

All of these elements fit together within a balanced integrated 
model as lynx reared in the ERDF’s breeding centres are rein-
troduced into the habitats that now function more effectively 
thanks to the initial works by LIFE and recurrent inputs from 
the EAFRD. Similarly, visitors and businesses benefitting from 
the  tourism  investments  rely  on  the  habitat  functionality  to 
sustain the lynx population.

Healthy horizons

Such  successful  integration  of  complementary  funding  sup-
port can be considered to represent one of the factors leading 
to the LIFE project’s “Best of the Best” award. By expanding 
and  reinforcing  its  circle  of  partners  the  LIFE  team  has  set 
in place a robust nature conservation model that now offers 
the Iberian lynx a much brighter future. All of the EU support 
sources  have  been  coordinated  with  funding  from  national 
and regional ministries and departments responsible for the 
environment,  agriculture  and  public  works.  Private  and  NGO 
sector  contributions  were  also  included  from  hunting  and 
farming  associations  as  well  as  landowners,  and  the  World 
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

“All  the  project  partners  deserve  recognition  and  share  the 
success of this “Best of the Best” award for their very posi-
tive  work,”  concluded  Mr  Planas.  “By  working  together  we 
have improved the situation, but it is not solved yet and we 
still need to continue our endeavours through a new LIFE+ 
project (LIFE10 NAT/ES/000570) that is involved in tack-
ling the challenges of the species recovery plan.”

Project number: LIFE06 NAT/E/000209

Title: Introduccion Lince Andalucia - Conservation and reintroduc-
tion of the Iberian lynx in Andalucia

Beneficiary: Junta de Andalucía. Consejería de Medio Ambiente

Contact: Miguel Angel Simon     

Email:  
miguelangel.simon@juntadeandalucia.es  

Website: www.lifelince.org 

Period: 01-Apr-2006 to 28-Feb-2012 

Total budget: 25 971 000   

LIFE contribution: 9 869 000  

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Belgium: Habitat restoration 
in the valley of the Dommel 

The Dommeldal project achieved its objective of large-scale transboundary habitat 

restoration,  helping  to  establish  ecological  corridors,  protecting  rare  species  and 

making the landscape more attractive for visitors.

The  Campine  region  of  Belgium  and  the  Netherlands 

was  once  covered  in  heathland,  land  dunes,  grass-
land, fens, marshes and alluvial forest. These habitats have 
largely been lost or degraded as a consequence of the con-
version of land to agriculture, river straightening and land 
drainage. However, remnants are protected within the Natu-
ra 2000 network, which includes three sites in the valley of 
the river Dommel.  The main objective of the cross-border 
LIFE Dommeldal project was the restoration of habitats in 
the  Dommel  valley  sites,  helping  to  create  a  network  of 
stepping stones for species migration that, in the long-term, 
would  lead  to  the  establishment  of  an  ecological  corridor 
between the heath habitats of Hoge Kempen in Belgium and 
North Brabant in the Netherlands.

“The  main  result  was  the  restoration  of  several  habitat 
types.  More  species  are  now  present  and  also  more  indi-
viduals of the target species. The habitats are improved but 
also a lot bigger,” explains Michel Hendrix, project coordina-
tor for Natuurmonumenten. To achieve this, the first stage 
of the LIFE project was to acquire land in both Belgium and 
the Netherlands. “At Hageven-De Plateaux we were able to 
purchase around 60 hectares, including a large agricultural 
enclave in the middle of the area, and many smaller parcels 
of land that were like a kind of mosaic but now form a really 
big cluster,” adds Lou Buckinx of Natuurpunt Neerpelt. The 
project also acquired an area of irrigated grassland.

Dramatic change

Three regional divisions of Natuurpunt in Belgium collabo-
rated  with  Natuurmonumenten  in  the  Netherlands  on  the 
LIFE  project,  which  funded  actions  in  three  locations.  The 
main  site,  in  terms  of  funding,  was  the  cross-border  Ha-
geven-De Plateaux reserve, with a mosaic of habitat types; 
a second site, De Vloeiweiden in de Wateringen, featured a 
special type of irrigated grassland; whilst the third and most 
southerly  site  was  an  area  of  species-rich  wet  grassland 
and forest.

The project team began restoration of the agricultural enclave 
in De Plateaux (just inside the Netherlands) by removing the 
uppermost  organic  layer  (about  45  cm)  and  chopping  down 
stands  of  pine  trees.  Material  from  existing  heathland  con-
taining  seeds  and  fungal  spores  was  scattered  over  the  re-
sulting bare sand to ensure a rapid and rich succession. The 
change  from  maize  fields  to  dry  heath  has  been  dramatic. 
“The heathland is almost  complete after  five years,” reveals 
Michel  Hendrix,  “but  it’s  not  just  the  vegetation  you  want,  it’s 

Fen habitats at Hegeven-De Plateaux

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BEST PROJECTS

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
also thousands of trees. If you don’t do anything you get your-
self a nice forest and not the goal of heathland and fens.” Re-
moving young trees - by machine and by hand - has therefore 
been an important aspect of the work to manage this area. The 
LIFE project also created land dunes by piling up sand, to the 
benefit of grasses and flowering plants, solitary bees, reptiles 
and other species.

Also  at  Hageven-De  Plateaux,  the  project  team  carried  out 
precise sod-cutting (‘plugging’) down to the mineral layer on 
around  15  ha  of  degraded  wet  heath.  This  has  enabled  the 
older seed bank to come to the surface and germinate. They 
applied chalk to prevent the seeds of the new heathlands be-
ing  burned  by  the  ammonia  peak  that  occurs  when  organic 
material is removed. 

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To ensure the maintenance of the restored habitats, cattle were 
introduced (some 50 cows to graze the heathlands at Hageven-
De Plateaux and further south at Dommel), with this action be-
ing supported by a further LIFE investment in 16 km of fencing.  

Photographic help

One interesting aspect of the project was the use of old pho-
tographs  for  exact  restoration  of  conditions  from  the  1930s, 
before the area was developed for agriculture. The archive im-
ages provided a template for the location of 12 new ponds and 
the recreation of fens in their original locations. 

Ghis Palmans demonstrates the depth of organic layer removed at 
one of the project sites

LIFE Dommeldal’s habitat restoration actions have already en-
couraged rare flora and fauna to re-establish itself, including the 
wet heath species marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) and 
the alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). “During summer we 
avoid grazing on delicate habitats, especially for the alcon blue, 
so the cows do not eat the flowers on which the butterflies lay 
their eggs,” explains Ghis Palmans, team coordinator at Hageven-
De Plateaux. The alcon blue lays its eggs on marsh gentian, the 
only species on which the larvae feed. The butterfly’s lifecycle is 
completed in the nests of certain ants. “Sod cutting is mainly by 
machine, but narrow pathways of wet heath have been cut by 
hand to help the ants find the alcon blue,” says Mr Palmans. 

‘Vloeiweiden’ 

In  addition  to  wet  heath,  the  conservation  partners  have  re-
stored  other  transition  habitats,  including  mires  and  quaking 
bogs, forming a gradient of habitats from dry heath to marshes 
along the river Dommel. The insectivorous round-leaved sun-
dew (Drosera rotundiflora) is among the plants recolonising the 
fens as a result of the project.

The Dommel marshes in Hageven are characterised by calcar-
eous fens dominated by great fen-sedge (Cladium mariscus). 
The project team extended the marsh area by more than 11 ha 
during the project, using LIFE funding to install five sluice gates 
that control the water level. Within the Natura 2000 network 
site, reed beds were managed for the benefit of the protected 
European bittern (Botaurus stellaris) and western marsh harrier 
(Circus aeruginosus), as well as other species. 

Vloeiweiden  (literally  ‘flood-meadows’)  are  a  special  type  of 
irrigated grassland dating from the 1850s. Undulating mead-
ows were created and sown with grass seed collected in the 
Italian Alps to produce hay for horses and cows. A system of 
small  irrigation  channels  sends  water  into  the  meadows  on 
the ridges, while a second system of channels in the depres-
sions drains to the other side. The meadows are flushed with 
calcareous  water  from  the  River  Meuse  during  one  week  in 
March. The cloudy chalk-laden water returns clear to the river 
system, depositing material as it seeps through the vegeta-
tion to the lower channels. 

“There  used  to  be  around  2  257  hectares  of  vloeiweiden 
but only around 30 hectares remain, at Pelterheggen in the 
Netherlands and at Lommel-Kolonie in Flanders,” says Luc 

Farmland is fully transformed into fens and heathland (the same site before and after the works)

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Some of the flora and fauna that will benefit from the work of the LIFE Nature Dommeldal project 

Winters of Natuurpunt Noord-Limburg. “A unique grassland 
flora  occurs  due  to  the  liming  effect  and  the  presence  of 
some  Alpine  species,  but  irrigation  needs  to  continue  or  it 
will be lost.” 

The  LIFE  project  purchased  7  ha  of  flushing  meadow  at  De 
Vloeiweiden in de Wateringen, bringing the total to 17 ha at 
this site, and set about restoring the historic infrastructure of 
dams and sluices, using newly-acquired tractors, hay-bailing 
and ditch-digging equipment. 

However,  the  work  remains  labour-intensive  and  Mr  Winters 
stresses the important role played by knowledgeable and en-
thusiastic Natuurpunt volunteers, such as Gerald Jannis. “Due 
to the effort of all the volunteers, LIFE Dommeldal was a great 
success,” says Mr Winters. 

Species-rich grasslands

The third Dommeldal project location was in the area where 
the upstream part of the Dommel merges with the Bolisser-
beek, between Peer and Hechtel-Eksel. “The grasslands here 
are the most species-rich in the whole of Flanders,” notes Mr 
Winters. Using specialist mowing equipment, the project part-
ners were able to restore some 8 ha of molinio meadows fed 
by calcareous groundwater. Haymaking in the wet grasslands 
ensures a rich and unique flora throughout the year. Several 
rare  orchid  species  are  now  flourishing,  for  example,  thanks 
to the project.

Another key project intervention was the restoration of 15 ha 
of  heath  patches,  to  provide  important  ‘stepping  stones’  for 

species  migrating  between  the  Hoge  Kempen  National  Park 
and habitats in North Brabant.

A lasting legacy

The LIFE project has also helped to raise awareness of and in-
crease access to the newly-restored sites, for instance by cre-
ating educational displays at the visitor centres at Hageven-
De Plateaux and De Vloeiweiden in de Wateringen, as well as 
erecting information boards, footpaths, boardwalks and a new 
bridge  over  the  Dommel,  which  also  serves  as  ‘green  infra-
structure’  for  species  wishing  to  cross  between  the  eastern 
and western sides of the nature reserve. “Now people can see 
more of the landscape, habitats and species,” says Mr Hendrix. 

For Ghis Palmans, “the LIFE project’s legacy is the possibility 
of connecting protected areas in the whole region, providing 
better habitats and corridors for insects, birds and other spe-
cies, and also promoting tourism.” 

Project number: LIFE05 NAT/B/000091

Title: Dommeldal – Transboundary habitat restoration in the valley 
of the Dommel

Beneficiary: Natuurpunt Beheer

Contact: Mr Joost Dewyspelaere   

Email: joost.dewyspelaere@natuurpunt.be 

Website: www.natuurpunt.be

Period: 08-Jan-2005 to 30-Sept-2011   

Total budget: 5 819 000    

LIFE contribution: 2 677 000    

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
LIFE NATURE    |   B E s T   L I f E   n a T U R E   P R O J E C T s   2 0 1 2

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bogs, a unique ecosystem

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Under the RERABOG-DK project, the Danish Nature Agency conducted interventions 

on seven degraded sites to restore the conditions necessary for active raised bogs to 

develop. In doing so, it explored new methods of working and learned some  valuable 

lessons.

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Sphagnum mosses - the ‘builders’ of active raised bogs

Active  raised  bogs  are  a  special  habitat  that  takes  a 

long time to develop: Sphagnum mosses have a slow 
grow rate and are the “builders” of the bog habitats. The dor-
mant  layers  accumulate  underground  to  form  peat,  which 
does  not  decay.  Each  new  layer  of  moss  raises  the  ground 
level. The peat underneath becomes increasingly dense until 
water cannot penetrate. Since the surface becomes separated 
from groundwater supplies, the bog remains active by retain-
ing rainwater.

Active raised bog habitats (a priority for conservation habitat 
included in Annex II of the Habitats Directive) are character-
ised by their wetness, a low level of nutrients and the acidic 
conditions created by biochemical processes of the Sphagnum 
moss. “Few species can survive in such an environment, but 
those  that  do  create  a  unique  and  very  stable  ecosystem  – 
one of the most natural in the world,” highlights RERABOG-DK 
project manager, Jesper Stenild, of the Danish Nature Agency. 
Unfortunately, these natural ecosystems were in many cases 

 
 
 
 
 
 
destroyed when the bogs were drained to enable greater peat 
extraction or to turn the land over to agriculture or forestry. 
“We  lost  95%  of  our  raised  bogs  in  Denmark,”  explains  Mr 
Stenild:  “Even  the  sites  that  remain  have  been  affected  in 
some way.”

water level in the wetland half a metre higher than would 
otherwise have been possible. In addition, peat itself can be 
used to create dams across drainage channels, or – particu-
larly if raised banks are in place alongside – to fill channels 
entirely.

Many (potential) areas of raised bog have more recently been 
protected  within  Conservation  Areas  and  the  Natura  2000 
network in Denmark. However, the prevention of further ex-
ploitation has not been enough to enable their natural (re-)de-
velopment because the appropriate conditions no longer exist.

 “We knew that we had to stop the drainage to restore wa-
ter levels and remove excessive vegetation to allow light to 
reach the surface. However, every site is unique, so we were 
not sure how to do this in practice,” recalls Mr Stenild. The 
RERABOG-DK  project  arose  from  the  Danish  Nature  Agen-
cy’s desire to find out which were the best methods to re-
store natural site dynamics. 

Methods for preventing drainage

The  project  tested  different  methods  for  blocking  ditches 
and  helped  confirm  that  there  is  no  one-size-fits-all  solu-
tion. Plates - whether of smooth plastic, profiled plastic or 
waterproofed plywood - all proved useful for blocking shal-
low ditches. However, iron sheet piling was more useful for 
deeper channels as they could be driven down further into 
the impermeable layer. 

At Brandstrup Mose, the project built a 135-metre-long wall 
along the whole southern edge of the bog, which kept the 

Iron sheet piling was a good solution for blocking deeper drainage channels

However, one somewhat unexpected challenge for the pro-
ject  was  that  because  drainage  systems  are  not  always 
properly mapped, frequently overgrown and sometimes bur-
ied, site managers often do not know they are there. Claus 
Simonsen, site manager at Svanemosen, stresses that even 
now “it is an ongoing effort to identify where water is drain-
ing out of the bog so we can stop as much as possible.”

Christian  Brix  Søndergaard,  manager  at  the  largest  site, 
Kongens Mose, recalls having to deal with the impact of a 
World War I prisoner-of-war camp in the heart of the bog: 
“We  found  a  small  area  where  the  vegetation  and  aerial 
photos showed the land had been very carefully organised 
into  strips  for  growing  potatoes.  We  discovered  clay  pipes 
had been buried in the ground, which were still draining the 
area.” The project used a machine to cut them at different 
points along their length.

Cutting and controlling vegetation

Jesper  Stenild  stresses  that  one  of  the  biggest  lessons  of 
the project was that, “if birches are cut away, but the land 
remains dry, they grow back even more densely than before. 
This becomes an even bigger problem and can require even 
more  costly  interventions  in  the  future.”  Crushing  stumps 
and roots with machinery after cutting was found to be an 
effective, but relatively expensive, solution.

“[At Svanemosen], we have tested grazing goats to restrict 
the  regrowth  of  birch,”  says  Mr  Simonsen.  “However  it  is 
clear  that  this  has  to  be  started  whilst  the  trees  are  just 
starting to grow and even then it can still be a losing battle.” 
The clear conclusion is that cutting should be focused on ar-
eas most likely to be saturated by hydrological restoration, 
which will naturally prevent regrowth.

An additional lesson was that it can be beneficial to leave 
some of the cut trees in the bog. “By breaking the surface 
of the standing water, the fallen trees create smaller, stiller 
pools  where  the  essential  Sphagnum  moss  finds  it  easier 
to grow,” explains Mr Stenild. This was contrary to standard 
biological advice to remove all wood to leave a more natu-
ral state. 

Nevertheless,  most  cut  vegetation  was  indeed  removed 
and sold to businesses burning wood chips for fuel. Another 
method  for  improving  the  economics  of  tree  cutting  dem-
onstrated by the project and highlighted by Mr Søndergaard 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
Finally,  water  draining  into  bogs  from  neighbouring  land  can 
also be problematic in raising the nutrient levels inappropriately 
high. In Brandstrup Mose, the project built a drainage pipe to di-
vert nutrient-laden water flowing from agricultural land around 
the bog. “With the right hydrology, the bog can get all the water 
it needs from rain,” says Mr Stenild.

Success factors

The full restoration of degraded raised bogs to active raised 
bogs  takes  many  years  and  is  beyond  the  scope  of  any  in-
dividual  project.  However,  RERABOG-DK  has  demonstrated 
successful interventions that have visibly raised water levels 
and extended the growth of peat mosses in the seven target 
areas. It has also improved understanding of which interven-
tions may be more or less appropriate in different situations.

Jesper Stenild is clear that one of the reasons for the success 
of the project was good cooperation with the European Com-
mission  and  the  monitoring  team:  “When  we  had  problems 
or circumstances changed, we were able to talk about it and 
find the right solutions together. People sometimes think the 
admin and regulations are too difficult, but you just have to 
make  sure  you  understand  them  and  get  any  clarification 
you need. The monitors can really help.”

At Brandstrup Mose, the project removed electricity pylons, cut down trees 
and built a dam to restore an active raised bog habitat

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Project number: LIFE05 NAT/DK/000150

Title: RERABOG-DK - Restoration of raised bogs in Denmark with 
new methods

Beneficiary: Danish Nature Agency

Contact: Jesper Stenild   

Email: ild@nst.dk 

Website: www.raisedbogs.dk

Period: 10-Jan-2005 to 31-Oct-2011  

Total budget: 2 947 000    

LIFE contribution: 1 407 000    

Machines used an ‘island of plates’ to cost effectively move around  
the wetland with minimal impact

was “for the machinery to stand on an island of plates that it 
lays and removes for itself as it moves around the wetland.” 
This method, which, in Kongens Mose, was primarily used by 
the machines building the peat dams, proved to be much less 
costly than building an access road or using more specialised 
wetland machinery. 

Working with landowners

A key challenge for the project was working with all the affected 
landowners. Historic land reform means many hectares of bog 
are still privately owned in small strips. At Kongens Mose, it be-
came impossible to reach agreement with all the landowners 
for interventions in part of the proposed area, mainly because 
of rapidly increasing land prices. Public land nearby was includ-
ed instead to achieve the project targets.

At another site at Brandstrup Mose, the project had to negotiate 
with an electricity company, whose pylons ran through the pro-
posed site. Unfortunately, the company had not been included in 
the existing Conservation Order covering the land. Following ne-
gotiations however, it agreed on the solution of sending the ca-
bles underground and around the area to be restored to wetland.

The ownership of land surrounding a bog was also a crucial is-
sue. The project developed a model to predict the likely impact 
of  blocking  ditches  in  Kongens  Mose  on  the  wider  area.  “The 
model was not perfect, but it identified which landowners we 
needed to negotiate with and where to build access roads,” re-
members Mr Stenild. When particularly high rainfall during one 
year of the project led to unanticipated flooding of neighbouring 
agricultural land, the project team had to intervene quickly to 
re-channel the water.

On the other side of the equation, Mr Simonsen laments that at 
Svanemosen, “We blocked as many ditches as we could find in 
the project site, but what we really need to do is block the large 
drainage channel that runs around three sides of the bog. Trying 
to seal the bog off from this channel is practically impossible.” 
As a result, the agency is now working to establish a compensa-
tion scheme for the landowners who would be affected by the 
blocking of the channel. 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
Hungary: Reviving  
steppic oak forests 

Valuable conservation lessons were learned during a project to regenerate the step-

pic oak forests of Hungary, and ongoing research is enabling scientists to get a better 

picture of the natural development of this endangered habitat type.

Once  covering  the  vast  Great  Hungarian  Plain,  the 

steppe oak woods have a particular place in the his-
tory of the country. When the early Hungarians moved west 
into the Carpathian Basin, they followed the forested steppe 
zone – a navigational aid that would be sadly unavailable 
today. River regulation, drainage and increases in intensive 
forestry and agriculture have greatly reduced the extent of 
this valuable habitat, which is home to more than 100 pro-
tected species, and only a few small areas remain.

The habitats Euro-Siberian steppic woods with Quercus ssp. 
on sandy soil and Pannonic sand steppes are found exclu-
sively in the Carpathian Basin. The last continuous mosaic 
area  of  oak  forests  and  sand  steppes  is  located  near  the 
town  of  Nagykőrös,  in  the  part  of  Hungary  between  the 
Danube and Tisza rivers; much of it is managed by the Dan-
ube-Ipoly National Park Directorate. 

In 2006, the Directorate joined forces with the local munici-
pality and WWF Hungary (publicity and communications) to 
launch a LIFE project, HUNSTEPPICOAKS, that aimed to en-
sure the long-term future of this priority habitat for conser-
vation in the 3 300 ha Natura 2000 network site Nagykőrösi 
pusztai tölgyesek. The habitat is seriously threatened there 
by the spread of invasive alien species, problems with natu-
ral forest regeneration, improper forest management prac-
tices, fragmentation and a lack of public awareness of its 
importance.

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Several rare or endemic plant and animal species also de-
pend on the habitat, including the European roller (Coracias 
garrulus),  the  European  honey  buzzard  (Pernis  apivorus), 
perennial bunchgrass (Stipa borysthenica) and long-lasting 
pink (Dianthus diutinus).

Regeneration

One  of  the  main  activities  of  the  project  was  thus  habi-
tat reconstruction, namely the removal of invasive species. 
The main threats are black locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia) 
and  black  cherry  (Prunus  serotina),  but  common  milkweed 

Counting saplings in August 2011

(Asclepias syriaca) and tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) 
also  spread  aggressively  in  the  steppe  wood.  These  were 
removed  on  a  target  area  of  418  ha  and  saplings  of  na-
tive species, such as pedunculate oak, pubescent oak, white 
poplar and grey poplar, were planted in their stead. Planting 
of native trees occurred on 65 ha of former plantations of 
introduced species.

Regeneration, however, is not a simple process. The project 
carried  out  both  total  and  partial  soil  preparation  in  one 
area  to  show  the  contrasting  results.  The  ‘total’  technique 
involves  the  use  of  machinery  to  plough  the  land  70  cm 
deep. Though this method completely removes the stumps 
of  cut  invasive  tree  species,  it  has  a  high  impact  on  the 
habitat and the restored area enjoys significantly less bio-
diversity than areas that have been partially prepared. This 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
 
 
 
‘partial’ method preserves the seed banks and doesn’t de-
stroy  the  grass  layer  –  but  patience  is  required.  The  new 
trees are grow more slowly than ones on land that has been 
fully prepared. 

Whilst the park authorities prefer the less harmful method, 
lax regulations are an added complication. On government 
and  privately  owned  land,  forestry  managers  are  inclined 
towards high-density timber production.  

The removal of plants in an effective and non-harmful way 
is also complicated, and the project team learned from its 
experiences  as  the  project  progressed.  Whilst  mechani-
cal means are preferred to chemical, the project has used 
chemicals in a controlled way. “We employ the most effec-
tive  and  precise  methods  to  keep  the  use  of  chemicals  to 
a minimum,” explains project leader, György Verő. One such 
method  is  stem  injection,  which  involves  drilling  a  hole  in 
the  trunk,  injecting  the  chemical  pesticide  and  sealing  the 
hole with silicone caulk or silicone rubber to ensure that the 
chemical doesn’t evaporate.

Although this method is extremely precise, it is also expen-
sive, notes Mr Verő, who adds that the extra cost will result 
in savings in the long run – it has been shown to be a very 
effective means of combatting black locust, the sprouts of 
which  grow  back  quickly  after  cutting.  However,  this  inva-
sive plant species is very sensitive to the chemicals and the 
sprouts can be completely removed after the injections have 
taken effect.

A fence protects these steppic oak forests from predation by game

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Invasive milkweed after chemical treatment

Black  cherry  invasion  is  a  relatively  new  phenomenon, 
emerging over the past 15 years. The removal of this spe-
cies  was  also  vital  for  the  regeneration  of  the  area  with 
native  species,  and  efforts  are  ongoing.  It  is  impossible  to 
completely  prevent  new  saplings  from  growing  as  birds 
spread  their  seeds,  but  this  area  is  now  90-95%  free  of 
invasive plants. Common milkweed has to be treated two or 
three times a year, with a first treatment before it flowers 
in May.

Protecting saplings

Another major threat to the growth of native saplings is ‘big 
game’,  populations  of  which  “have  multiplied  since  World 
War II,” says Mr Vero, leading the woods to become “over-
stocked”, with adverse effects on the development of native 
species.  The  region  has  also  become  less  humid  following 
the  regulation  of  rivers  and  the  drainage  of  marsh  lands, 
and this has also affected the woods’ spontaneous regen-
eration. 

Mr Verő acknowledges that fencing off areas is “costly and 
unattractive”, but he also understands that it is necessary 
to ensure the survival of new individuals. Before the project, 
the majority of fresh oak saplings, for example, would not 
survive.  The  beneficiary  erected  information  boards  to  ex-
plain the presence of the ‘ugly’ fences to visitors.

Just over 260 ha were fenced off during the project, using 
more  than  27  km  of  game  exclusion  and  electric  fences. 

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
more welcomes young people to experience first hand some 
of the country’s most valuable natural habitats. 

The  project  leaders  recognise  that  the  continued  regenera-
tion  of  the  oak  forests  depends  on  the  future  involvement 
of young people. As well as school visits, summer camps are 
held at the site, and every day the children go into the wooded 
areas to learn more about nature.

The property is owned by the local government and hot water 
is  generated  by  solar  panels  installed  in  the  building’s  roof. 
“There was a real need for such a place in the region; the next 
one is far away,” explains Mr Verő. 

A nature trail consisting of numbered points of interest relat-
ing  to  explanations  on  a  printed  guide  was  also  created  at 
the  site.  One  of  the  stopping  points  is  the  magnificent  oak 
tree, known as Pál’s tree. It is believed to be more than four 
centuries old and was used by the Red Army as a lookout post 
during World War II. In fact, Pál’s tree is just one of many in 
the  region  to  have  had  legends  grow  up  around  it  over  the 
years. Local entrepreneur Tibor Kapás, who became actively 
involved in the LIFE project, has even written a book on the 
fabled trees.

More  conventional  publicity  took  the  form  of  field  visits  for 
conservation experts, NGOs and forest managers, and in 2011 
an international conference was held, attracting 139 attend-
ees.

Monitoring  activities  took  place  continuously  over  the  five 
years  of  the  project,  resulting  in  a  draft  Natura  2000  man-
agement plan. It is clear that the HUNSTEPPICOAKS project 
represented a huge contribution to the improvement of the 
conservation  status  of  the  site.  Species  believed  to  have 
been lost to the area for decades have now been recorded, 
such as the dwarf cherry, the wayfaring tree, St Bernard’s 
lily and  grape hyacinth.  Monitoring data  also suggest  that 
arthropod  species  such  as  beetles  and  spiders  are  now 
flourishing. 

Project number: LIFE06 NAT/H/000098

Title: HUNSTEPPICOAKS - Conservation of Euro-siberian steppic woods 
and Pannonic sand steppes in “Nagykörösi pusztai tölgyesek” pSCI

Beneficiary: Duna-Ipoly Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság

Contact: György Verő   

Email: verogy@dinpi.hu 

Website: www.pusztaitolgyesek.hu

Period: 01-Sep-2006 to 31-Dec-2011   

Total budget: 1 863 000     

LIFE contribution: 1 397 000    

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Fence erected at Strázsa-hegy in 2011, with forestation on the right

Boars, fallow deer and roe deer were driven out of these ar-
eas with the help of hunting associations and volunteers. The 
fences are expected to last for 25 years, and continuous mon-
itoring will allow researchers to determine the extent to which 
these animals were affecting regeneration and the degree to 
which decreased water levels in the area also contribute.

For  the  initiation  and  continuation  of  these  activities,  the 
chief beneficiary, the Danube-Ipoly National Park Directorate, 
negotiated  with  private  landowners  to  manage  forests  for-
merly used for timber production. A total of seven landowners 
signed 90-year leases, for an area amounting to some 175 
ha. This land is now dedicated to conservation and the owners 
were compensated for loss of income from logging. 

Compensation payments represented a “huge proportion” of 
the project budget, but the contracts were necessary because 
the landowners did not want to sell. The Directorate, however, 
did purchase 28 ha of forest with uncertain ownership.

In addition, proposed forest management actions were com-
municated to the forestry authority and incorporated into the 
10-year forestry management plans.

Education begins early

Finally, a visible positive outcome of the project is the renova-
tion of an abandoned ‘pioneers’ building (a youth camp dating 
from the Soviet era) into a very attractive educational centre 
in  the  Pálfája  woods.  This  beautiful  part  of  the  forest  once 

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
 
 
 
Italy: Restoring the Friuli Fens

LIFE has helped turned around the fortunes of two plant species endemic to an impor-

tant fen habitat in the Italian Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

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The project targeted the return of formerly-cultivated land to nature

Fuelled by the emergence of underground calcareous 

water  coming  from  the  Eastern  Alps,  until  the  early 
twentieth century, the low plain in Friuli in north-east Italy 
was home to a large uninterrupted wetland of over 6 000 
ha. Intensive land reclamation for agriculture, then later for 
aquaculture, as well as for human settlements meant that 
by the early 21st Century only 200 ha of these habitats re-
mained, dispersed in small and fragmented patches.

In  response  to  this  situation,  LIFE  FRIULI  FENS  was  a  six-
year project dedicated to the preservation of the last alka-
line  and  calcareous  fens  in  the  region  and  to  the  creation 
of  new  ones  on  former  agricultural  lands,  purchased  with 
LIFE funds. The project expanded on the efforts of an ear-
lier LIFE project (Stella - LIFE98 NAT/IT/005066), focusing 
its management and restoration initiatives on three Natura 
2000 network sites, whose fens are home to 100% of the 
worldwide  population  of  Armeria  helodes  and  98%  of  the 
worldwide population of Erucastrum palustre, plant species 
listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive. 

Both  species  are  threatened  with  extinction  as  a  result 
of  a  number  of  direct  or  indirect  pressures:  their  small  

populations  –  in  some  cases  fewer  than  10  plants,  com-
pletely  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  population  –  with  a 
consequent  reduction  in  genetic  variability;  habitat  frag-
mentation; lowering of the water table, including increasing 
episodes  of  prolonged  drought;  surface  water  eutrophica-
tion; and changes in land management.

The lack of habitat management, which exacerbates the ef-
fect  of  the  lowering  of  the  water  table,  is  a  consequence 
of socio-economic changes in the 1960s and 70s that led 
to  the  abandonment  of  traditional  mowing  methods  prac-
ticed by small, family-owned stables that used the material 
as bedding for cattle and horses. As a result, the wetlands 
were  progressively  colonised  by  shrub  and  tree  species, 
leading  to  the  elimination  of  typical  wetland  species  that 
need more light, space and water. 

The  goals  of  LIFE  FRIULI  FENS  were  fourfold:  to  great-
ly  improve  the  ecological  system  of  the  spring  waters  in 
Friuli  through  extensive  restoration  of  agricultural  areas; 
the  management  of  long-abandoned  relict  areas;  the  en-
largement of a nursery for the cultivation and propagation 
of  rare  native  species;  and  awareness  and  dissemination  

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
activities targeting different segments of the population. In 
addition, says the project’s Scientific Coordinator, Giuseppe 
Oriolo, “There is a lot of literature in northern Europe on this 
type of habitat, but in southern Europe there is not, so one 
of the aims was also in some way to find something like a 
best practice.” 

Management and restoration

The project involved three Natura 2000 network sites and 
four  habitats:  alluvial  forests,  calcareous  fens,  alkaline 
fens and Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-
silt-laden  soils.  To  manage  the  complex  series  of  actions 
required, the project  was  divided into seven different  sub-
projects, explains Dr Oriolo. 

Preparatory actions focused on the drafting of management 
plans for the three Natura 2000 network sites, including ad-
ministrative acts necessary to enlarge two of those sites. In 
order to ensure its adequate management, the beneficiary 
acquired 25 ha of natural habitat. A further 23 ha of agri-
cultural land was purchased to expand the marsh system to 
connect with existing fens.

Land  purchase  proved  more  complex  and  expensive  than 
anticipated because of a doubling in the price of agricultural 
land throughout the region, during the course of the project. 
Despite the increased cost, for which the project beneficiary 
managed to mobilise additional funds outside the LIFE pro-
gramme, the acquisition proved very important ecologically, 
since the restoration of farmland, including work on the net-
work of drainage and irrigation ditches, has allowed the re-
creation of the variety of habitats that existed in the area 
before land reclamation. “We tried to build a mosaic, from 
areas always with water to drier areas,” explains Dr Oriolo. 

Erucastrum palustre

Exceeding  a  target  of  27.9  ha,  the  project  team  returned 
34.5  ha  of  formerly-cultivated  land  to  nature,  much  of 
which enabled the enlargement or reconnection of existing 
patches of fen. Non-recurring management was introduced 
on a further 51.1 ha, leading to the overall improvement of 
more than 85 ha of wet habitats. This included the ecologi-
cal improvement of some 16 ha of alluvial forest habitats 
via the removal of alien species and the conversion of cop-
pice to high forest.

In  the  core  areas,  the  project  team  removed  135  000  m3 
of topsoil to reach the water table and remodel the ground 
surface so as to create a gradient suitable for a wider array 
of typical wetland species, whilst also eliminating vestigial 
traces  of  non-native  vegetation  (e.g.  seeds  of  agricultural 
crops). 

One unexpected hitch was caused by the introduction of a 
new law in Italy that required soil that is dug up to be treat-
ed  as  waste.  The  regional  administration  of  Friuli-Venezia 
Giulia  (FVG)  solved  the  problem  of  how  to  dispose  of  the 
topsoil  through  an  accord  with  another  public  administra-
tion that needed earth for the remediation of an industrial 
area. 

The plant nursery

The project reconstructed typical vegetation cover for the tar-
get  habitats  by  planting  mixtures  with  seeds  and  by  trans-
planting  species  grown  in  its  plant  nursery.  The  project  ex-
panded  FVG’s  existing  nursery  (opened  in  2005)  in  order  to 
be able to produce all the plants needed for the restoration 
work – experience had demonstrated that it was better to use 
cultivated plants rather than seeds collected from the natural 
environment. 

This  ex-situ  cultivation  “was  the  most  difficult  part  of  the 
work,” says Dr Oriolo, due to the sensitivities of the two rare 
endemic species, which made reproduction difficult. 

Thus,  one  of  the  great  successes  of  the  project  was  its  es-
tablishment of cultivation protocols for more than 80 herba-
ceous species, including both Armeria helodes and Erucastrum 
palustre and several others in the regional and national red 
lists.

With  LIFE’s  help,  some  100  000  seedlings  of  approximately 
80  different  species  were  produced  in  the  greenhouse,  with 
over 70 000 already planted for restoration purposes. 

Specific microhabitats were created to enable the two most 
important species, Erucastrum Palustre and Armeria Helodes 
to take root. Monitoring of these species in the wild has helped 
to increase knowledge in a positive feedback loop. 

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
municipalities. For the wider public, the project partners pro-
duced a DVD and arranged 44 guided visits and 12 themed 
evenings, some of which were a joint collaboration with the 
Third  Age  University,  a  cultural  organisation  that  provides 
cultural activities for the over-50s. 

Also helping to foster greater public appreciation of the re-
stored fen areas is a new, 3 km path, which was built using 
Objective 2 Structural Funds. “We tried to put together dif-
ferent  financial  axes  for  the  same  aim,”  explains  Lorenzo 
Fogale  from  the  FVG  regional  administration,  who  worked 
closely with project.manager, Daniele De Luca. “In other bio-
topes  they  also  used  Interreg  funds  to  do  other  activities. 
Putting all [funding sources] together can be a nice way to 
proceed,” believes Mr Fogale. 

The path has been “a great success”, says Lucia De Colle of 
the  regional  administration,  who  was  involved  in  drafting 
the management plans for the Natura 2000 sites that were 
requested by the LIFE project: “The population has appreci-
ated the creation of this big area for environmental activi-
ties – it has got recognition; a very strong identity; and it is 
used  more  and  more  for  outdoor  activities  on  a  territorial 
level.”

Life after LIFE

Ms De Colle highlights that the integrated approach to fund-
ing is also one of the key elements to create consensus on 
the management plans drawn up by the LIFE FRIULI FENS 
team,  “trying  to  make  connections  to  ensure  that  some 
measures,  especially  with  these  kinds  of  sites,  can  be  fi-
nanced by the Rural Development Programme (RDP).” 

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Lucio Taverna explains how seedlings from the LIFE-backed plant nursery 
have been used to restore typical alkaline fen habitats

Lucio Taverna, who manages the plant nursery, explains that 
today half of the greenhouse is used for growing plants to 
go to areas targeted by LIFE FRIULI FENS, the other half is 
for a new project, LIFE MAGREDI Grasslands (LIFE10 NAT/
IT/000243). 

The nursery also produces its own seeds for use in the res-
toration areas, as well as cultivating seeds brought in from 
existing natural areas. “The average germination rate is only 
30%; we are trying now to improve this,” says Mr Taverna. 
“In time we hope to replace commercial seeds entirely.” 

Increasing awareness

An important difference between LIFE FRIULI FENS and the 
earlier  Stella  project  was  the  close  coordination  between 
the beneficiary and four local municipalities – Bertiolo, Tal-
massons,  Castions  di  Strada  and  Gonars.  “This  was  a  big 
improvement,” says Dr Oriolo: “It was very important for the 
participation, information and dissemination processes.”

Finally, for Dr Oriolo, whilst the LIFE project has helped to 
increase public awareness of these rare fens and their en-
demic  species,  it  is  necessary  to  build  on  this  work:  “We 
have planted a lot of seeds in the population, but it’s neces-
sary to cultivate them,” he concludes. 

Previously, water “was an enemy to try to fight” in this re-
gion,  notes  the  Scientific  Coordinator:  “We  were  doing  the 
opposite of what people had done for 80 years – going from 
corn plantation to wet meadows. This was difficult and the 
participation of the municipalities was very important.”  The 
project’s  strategy,  adds  Dr  Oriolo,  was  “to  work  on  all  the 
levels” - from primary school children to senior citizens - to 
raise awareness of the ecological and cultural importance 
of the fens.  

A  total  of  103  school  classes  –  some  2  135  students  – 
took part in environmental education activities, whilst 470 
young people participated in the summer camps in the four 

Project number: LIFE06 NAT/IT/000060

Title: LIFE FRIULI FENS - Conservation and restoration of calcareous 
fens in Friuli

Beneficiary: Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia-Giulia - Servizio 
Caccia, Pesca e Ambienti naturali

Contact: Daniele De Luca    

Email: daniele.deluca@regione.fvg.it 

Website: http://www.lifefriulifens.it/

Period: 01-Oct-2006 to 31-Jul-2012    

Total budget: 2 645 000    

LIFE contribution: 1 058 000     

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Spain: Linking bear populations 
in the Cantabrian Mountains 

The Corredores oso project in northern Spain pioneered a new approach to the issue 

of human coexistence with large carnivores in inter-population corridors.

The Cantabrian brown bear is a population of Eurasian 

brown  bears  (Ursus  arctos  arctos)  living  in  the  Can-
tabrian  Mountains  in  northern  Spain.  Once  found  through-
out most of the Iberian Peninsula, brown bear populations 
have  become  increasingly  restricted  and  reduced  because 
of  habitat  degradation  and  fragmentation,  poaching  and 
poisoning, low social acceptance and low genetic variability.

Although Cantabrian brown bear numbers have been greatly 
reduced, over the last decade the demographic trend has been 
upward thanks to the impact of various conservation and dis-
semination projects, including several co-funded by LIFE. 

“We  have  more  bears  in  the  Cantabrian  Mountains  –  the 
population is increasing,” notes Corredores oso project man-
ager, Fernando Ballesteros. As of 2012, there were an esti-
mated 200 bears, divided into a larger western and smaller 
eastern  sub-population.  The  project  beneficiary,  Fundación 
Oso Pardo (FOP), which participated in the bear census, also 

calculates that the overall population is increasing by some 
10% annually. This is “very good news,” says Mr Ballesteros, 
“but it means also new goals and new strategies for manag-
ing increasing population and trying to solve some problems, 
such as, for instance, fragmentation.” 

To  address  the  issue  of  fragmentation,  and  building  on  the 
success of two earlier LIFE projects – LIFE98 NAT/E/005326; 
LIFE00 NAT/E/007352 – FOP developed the Corredores oso 
project  with  financial  support  from  Fundación  Biodiversidad 
and Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera (formerly Fundación Ter-
ritori i Paitsage) and in partnership with 12 local municipali-
ties and the regional administrations of Castilla y León and 
Asturias, in eight different Natura 2000 sites.

The aim of the project was to contribute to the present and 
future  recovery  of  the  brown  bear  in  the  Cantabrian  Moun-
tains  by  improving  habitats  in  areas  considered  ecological 
corridors for bears. 

Corredores oso greatly contributed to the present and future recovery of the Cantabrian brown bear population

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
kind had been done at EU level, independent project monitor 
Audrey Thenard describes it as “a necessary premise to avoid 
future conflicts and risks that are very difficult to solve once 
bear populations are present.”

The  project  was  able  to  create  a  positive  social  and  politi-
cal atmosphere by reaching out directly to local stakeholders 
through  formal  and  informal  meetings,  interviews  and  edu-
cational activities targeted at local groups, including schools. 
“The project team realised that informal meetings/interviews 
were usually the most effective means to reach the popula-
tion and gain their confidence and interest,” notes Ms Thenard. 

“The idea was to explain to people - you have bears, bears are 
going to be more and more abundant and this is very good; 
and, very importantly, this is not a problem for you. As bears 
appear [the authorities] are not going to forbid you to hunt; 
[the bears] are not going to destroy your beehives if you pro-
tect them … and things like that,” says Mr Ballesteros. 

Through  its  outreach  work,  the  project  was  able  to  develop 
specific  collaboration  agreements  with  local  authorities  and 
cooperative actions with hunting societies, farmers and bee-
keepers.  This  cooperation  showed  improved  understanding 
that bear conservation can be compatible with human activi-
ties, particularly economic activities.

One successful example of this was the provision of electric 
fences  to  beekeepers.  These  fences  have  proved  very  good 
at reducing bear damage to beehives, and have been widely 
acknowledged as a positive measure amongst beekeepers.

Stakeholder involvement was thus crucial to the success of 
Corredores oso, providing a useful example for the manage-
ment of nature conservation projects elsewhere. “Involving 
people is one of the main conservation actions for nature in 
Europe,” believes Mr Ballesteros. 

Setting up an electric fence around beehives

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The project addressed coexistence pressures in two bear corridors

The project targeted two particular bear corridors:
•  The ‘Leitariegos’ corridor – a narrow strip in the breeding 

ground of the western sub-population; and

•  The ‘inter-population corridor’ – used for movement be-

tween the two sub-populations.

The  50-km  wide  inter-population  corridor  is  particularly  im-
portant as a means of ensuring the bears’ gene pool remains 
in a healthy state. “Genetic variability of the eastern sub-pop-
ulation in particular is at levels dangerous for its survival,” ex-
plains Mr Ballesteros, who notes that it has one of the small-
est  genetic  variabilities  of  any  bear  population  worldwide. 
At  the  start  of  the  2007  LIFE  project,  the  corridor  was  only 
sporadically used by the bears because of obstacles such as 
roads, railways, mining and tourism infrastructure.

“We worked on habitat improvement, but mainly in this first 
phase  we  worked  with  people,”  says  Mr  Ballesteros.  “We 
worked  with  local  people,  with  cattle  breeders,  beekeepers, 
landowners,  stakeholders,  hunters,  trying  to  create  a  good 
social  environment  for  the  bear  to  come  and  to  use  these 
corridors.”

Preparing people for bears

The implementation of prevention and preparation activities 
in a potential bear area before the establishment of bear pop-
ulations was an important innovation of this project. It is one 
that has a significant demonstration value for the many other 
conservation organisations wrestling with the tricky issue of 
ensuring  the  coexistence  of  human  civilisation  with  protect-
ed large carnivores. Pointing out that very little work of this 

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One  important  bridge  between  the  beneficiary,  the  local 
community and local authorities was the establishment of a 
“bear patrol” (Patrulla Oso), consisting of two local residents, 
which was present on a daily basis in the inter-population 
corridor  during  the  project.  The  patrol’s  work  in  detecting 
illegal traps and poisoned bait in cooperation with regional 
field  guards  and  game  reserve  guards  has  helped  reduce 
direct threats to bears. Although financial constraints mean 
that  this  patrol  has  been  discontinued,  many  of  its  tasks 
have been taken on by other patrols organised by the FOP 
as part of its routine programme of work. 

Attractive habitats

As  already  indicated,  the  project  also  implemented  some 
important habitat improvements for the bears through the 
purchase of nearly 90 ha of estates and woodlands and by 
planting more than 15 000 cherry and chestnut trees in the 
Leitariegos  corridor,  to  increase  food  availability  in  areas 
next to the existing bear territories. These actions paved the 
way for suitable land management in the targeted corridor 
sites, although the real impact will only become apparent a 
few years from now. 

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However, according to Audrey Thenard, bear presence data 
gathered by the beneficiary indicates already a possible ex-
tension of the bear territory to the inter-population corridor 
area,  with  clear  evidence  that  a  growing  number  of  bears 
are penetrating the corridor at least for feeding and resting, 
and passing from one sub-population to the other. 

In addition, the management of these areas for bear con-
servation  will  indirectly  favour  other  important  species 
present  in  these  sites,  such  as  other  protected  mammals 
(Myotis myotis, Lutra lutra), reptiles (Lacerta sp.) and birds 
(Tetrao Urogallus, Neophron percnopterus).

Long-term planning

To  ensure  the  long-term  continuation  of  these  positive  out-
comes,  FOP  developed  a  general  management  plan  for  the 
purchased woodlands, intended as a “pilot plan” for the man-
agement  of  these  kind  of  mountainous  forests  in  northern 
Spain.  Another  useful  reference  document  produced  by  the 
project team was a “Best Practices Handbook for the Manage-
ment of Bear Corridors”. A third project publication – targeted 
at a key stakeholder group – was the “Handbook for Hunting 
in  Bear  Areas”.  All  three  publications  are  available  from  the 
project website or via the LIFE projects database.

The best practices handbook is already informing the next 
phase of FOP’s work in the corridors, says Mr Ballesteros. Its 
lessons  are  also  transferable  to  other  European  locations 
with large carnivores and similar connectivity problems. 

Beehives in the interpopulation corridor in Spain’s Cantabrian Mountains

The  management  plan  highlighted  future  possibilities  for 
promoting the presence of bears in order to develop tourism 
and  the  local  economy.  Stakeholders  from  the  inter-pop-
ulation  corridor  were  able  to  visit  Somiedo  National  Park, 
which  was  involved  in  the  earlier  LIFE  Cantabrian  brown 
bear  projects,  and  which  is  already  developing  economic 
opportunities  (e.g.  ‘bear  watching’)  linked  to  the  presence 
of the species. 

In  conclusion,  thanks  to  the  framework  for  collaboration 
with the municipalities in the inter-population corridor that 
was  established  during  Corredores  oso,  there  are  “solid 
grounds for the future integration of the project objectives 
and  bear  conservation  principles  into  local  planning  and 
policy-making,” says Ms Thenard.

Project number: LIFE07 NAT/E/000735

Title: Corredores oso - CORRIDORS FOR CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR 
CONSERVATION

Beneficiary: Fundación Oso Pardo (FOP)

Contact: Fernando Ballesteros   

Email: fop@fundacionosopardo.org 

Website: http://www.fundacionosopardo. 
org/index.php/proyectos/proyectos-life/ 
proyecto-life-corredores-oso/

Period: 01-Jan-2009 to 31-Dec-2011   

Total budget: 1 100 000     

LIFE contribution: 825 000    

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LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
Lithuania: Improving the  status 
of biodiverse wetlands

Thanks to conservation measures undertaken by a Lithuanian project, large areas of 

wetlands  in  the  Žuvintas  Biosphere  Reserve  were  restored,  leading  to  the  improved 

conservation status of its bog, swamp wood and lake habitats. 

The  Žuvintas  Biosphere  Reserve,  which  contains 

the  vast  Žuvintas  and  Amalvas  mires,  is  located  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  central  Lithuanian  lowlands.  The 
Žuvintas mire (6 847 ha), the largest in Lithuania, consists 
of bogs (71 %), transitional mires (17%) and fens (12%). The 
mire is also home to three large lakes and several smaller 
marshy lakes. In addition, forests cover some 6 000 ha of 
the reserve.

The  area  boasts  a  rich  biodiversity:  in  total,  1  058  plant 
species  are  found  in  this  biosphere  reserve.  Moreover,  the 
Bukta forest contains important areas of broad-leaved for-
est with hornbeam and significant areas of swamp woods, 
whilst  the  mires  mostly  comprise  bog  woodland  dominat-
ed by pine. Open areas are home to habitats consisting of 
common heather (Calluna vulgaris), hare’s-tail cottongrass 
(Eriophorum vaginatum) and Sphagnum species. Large ar-
eas  of  reed  marshes  and  sedge  fens  occur  mainly  in  the 
south and south-east of the Žuvintas Lake. Moreover, lake 
vegetation is very dense – more than half of the lake sur-
face  is  covered  by  aquatic  plants  such  as  bulrushes  and 
reeds – and forms floating islands that are characteristic of 
the Žuvintas region.

Flooded Amalvas polder meadows

The  biosphere  reserve  is  however  best  known  for  its  bird 
species.  Of  the  300  registered  species  in  Lithuania,  257 
species are found in the reserve and 134 breed in the area. 
Every year numerous flocks of migratory birds use the area 
as a stopover location. The area also contains 44 species of 
mammal, five reptiles and 11 amphibians, as well as more 
than 2 000 recorded species of insect.

In short, conservation works stand to benefit a high number 
of flora and fauna species, and a LIFE project was launched 
to stop the degradation of these bog, swamp wood and lake 
habitats. During the second half of the 20th century, Lithu-
ania  lost  more  than  two-thirds  of  former  mire  areas  that 
covered  around  10%  of  the  country.  The  WETLIFE  project 
combated this overall trend by improving the conditions of 
a target area of 1 158 ha of degraded bog in the Amalvas 
wetland and other mire areas. 

In  particular,  the  project  helped  conserve  the  EU  priority 
habitats of active raised bog and bog woodland by optimis-
ing  the  conditions  for  peat  formation.  Such  habitats  pro-
vide crucial ecosystem services, such as important sinks for 
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Improved conditions at the 

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mire  along  with  significantly  reduced  emissions  from  the 
Amalvas polder mean that the total greenhouse gas emis-
sions from degrading peat are expected to fall substantially 
from an estimated 10 000-15 000 tonnes/yr of CO2 equiva-
lent at the start of the project. 

Habitat restoration

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As a first step, the project purchased 16 plots of land and 
obtained  permits  for  blocking  drainage  of  the  target  area 
in order to enable the conservation measures to be carried 
out. Other preparatory actions included technical drawings 
for reconstruction work, including a map of the water levels.
The project then carried out a range of interventions to re-
store habitats, such as:
•  Reconstruction of the Amalvas polder; 
•  Blocking of drainage channels in Amalvas and Žuvintas; 
•  Restoration of the natural wetland water levels in Amal-

vas and Žuvintas; and 

•  Support for grazing activities.

Specifically, the sluice gates were reconstructed at several 
sites to form overflow spill weirs; this cascade of spillways 
allows fish to pass through. The protective dykes in the wet-
lands of Amalvas (2 km) and Žuvintas (3 km) were recon-
structed  and  extended,  whilst  the  pumping  station  at  the 
Amalvas  polder  was  renovated  with  subsequent  cost  and 
energy savings. 

Other  specific  actions  included  blocking  with  plastic  piling 
poles all the drainage ditches on the 207 ha of the southern 
Amalvas wetland and 6 km of ditches in the Žuvintas raised 
bog;  cutting  trees  on  this  southern  Amalvas  wetland  and 
raising  two  sections  of  road  to  maintain  its  viability.  Just 
one year after this restoration activity, peat moss cover in 
the centre of this area had increased by 30%. 

Project manager Argaudas Stoškus highlights the wider range of project 
actions using a maquette

Furthermore, the restoration work undertaken at the Amal-
vas polder allowed for water levels on 638 ha to be main-
tained at a natural level during the autumn, winter and early 
spring. Water management rules were established to ensure 
maintenance of a ground water level in the peaty soils of 
30-60 cm from the surface during the farming season. The 
work in the southern part of the Amalvas bog restored the 
water level to 0.0-0.3 m below the surface in the formerly 
drained  area,  whilst  the  natural  water  fluctuation  in  the 
Amalvas Lake was restored.

Managing for biodiversity

The  improved  hydrological  conditions  in  the  Amalvas  polder 
allowed grazing to be introduced on more than 30 ha of peat-
land. Electric fences were erected and a farmer was contract-
ed for five years, receiving a starting herd of beef cattle of 15 
heifers and one bull. Such a contract meant that compensa-
tion payments for newly rewetted land were not required. Re-
stored water levels will also reduce peat degradation, improve 
conditions for meadow birds and reduce costs at the pumping 
station.

Argaudas  Stoškus,  the  project  manager,  says  that  such  a 
range of differently managed land is vital for the biodiversity 

Reconstruction of Žuvintas sluice

Flooded meadows around Žuvintas Lake

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Flooded meadows are a perfect feeding ground for migratory geese

of the region. “For birds it’s very important to have different 
conditions,  especially  so  for  waders,  redshanks  or  godwits. 
They  need  to  have  ungrazed  areas,  mowed  areas  or  exten-
sively grazed areas…And of course it’s very important to do it 
on a large-scale: as large as possible.”

Moreover, the project led to new management regulations for 
the Žuvintas Lake as well as the Amalvas polder. Regulation 
of the lakes was introduced in the 1970s, reducing the aver-
age  water  level  by  30  cm  and  water  fluctuation  to  around 
30 cm in Žuvintas. Water pollution increased as a result, and 
the typical vegetation changed. Restored natural water fluc-
tuation in Žuvintas Lake is expected to improve conditions for 
submerged vegetation, especially Chara spp., which is highly 
important  for  invertebrates,  fish  and  waterfowl  populations. 
It is also expected to increase spawning grounds for pike and 
amphibian species; facilitate the development of a boundary 
zone; and prevent the spread of reed and shrubs.

key to the success of the project. “There were a lot of conver-
sations,” says Arūnas Pranaitis, director of Žuvintas Biosphere 
Reserve: “I hope we learned something from them.”

In addition, it is expected that after reconstruction of the polder 
most of the land will be maintained as grasslands because large 
areas will meet the criteria for higher agri-environmental EU Ru-
ral  payments.  The  beneficiary  believes  that  such  an  outcome 
will facilitate the development of alternative uses of grasslands, 
such as the production of grass seeds and grass biomass.

Finally,  the  project  constructed  a  viewing  platform  at  the 
Amalvas Lake on a 40 ha area of land purchased from a pri-
vate landowner. An information board was also erected on a 
restored  part  of  the  Amalvas  bog.  Populations  of  migratory 
birds (especially waders) and wet meadow breeding birds are 
expected to increase as a result of the sustainable manage-
ment of the Amalvas polder.

Agricultural practices have also adversely affected water qual-
ity in the region. In discussion with local farmers, guidelines 
on farming in peatlands were developed, and the ecological 
and economic benefits of more sustainable farming practices 
were  emphasised.    In  fact,  the  involvement  of  farmers  was 

Other actions to communicate the importance and success of 
the project included the creation of a factual film about the 
project  (‘Revival  of  Wetlands’)  that  was  sent  to  regional  TV 
stations and made available for viewing by visitors to the pro-
ject website and the Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve visitor centre.

Extensive grazing with cattle is essential to maintaining the habitat

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Project number: LIFE07 NAT/LT/000530

Title: WETLIFE - Restoring Hydrology in Amalvas and Žuvintas 
Wetlands

Beneficiary: Vsl Gamtos paveldo fondas

Contact: Argaudas Stoškus    

Email: a.stoskus@gpf.lt 

Website: www.wetlife.gpf.lt

Period: 01-Jan-2009 to 31-Mar-2012    

Total budget: 1 603 996    

LIFE contribution: 801 998     

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Available LIFE Nature publications

LIFE Nature brochures

LIFE and human coexistence with large carnivores (2013 – 
76 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-30401-9) 

LIFE managing habitats for birds (2012 – 80 pp. - ISBN 
978-92-79-27587-6) 

LIFE and invertebrate conservation (2012 – 56 pp. - ISBN 
978-92-79-23822-2) 

LIFE preventing species extinction: Safeguarding  
endangered flora and fauna through ex-situ conservation 
(2011 – 60 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-20026-7) 

LIfE for birds:  25 years of the Birds Directive: the con-
tribution of LIFE-Nature projects (2004 - 48 pp. – ISBN 
92-894-7452-1)

LIFE-Nature: communicating with stakeholders and the 
general public – Best practice examples for natura 2000 
(2004  – 72 pp. – ISBN 92-894-7898-5) 

Other publications

nature & Biodiversity Projects 2012 compilation (2013, 
100 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-29476-1)

LIFE and European Mammals: Improving their conserva-
tion status (2011 – 60 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-19266-1) 

Best LIfE nature Projects 2011 (2012 - 24 pp. – ISBN 978-
92-79-28217-1)

LIFE building up Europe’s green infrastructure (2010 – 
60 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-15719-6) 

LIFE improving the conservation status of species and 
habitats: Habitats Directive Article 17 report (2010 - 
84 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-13572-9) 

LIFE and Europe’s reptiles and amphibians: Conservation 
in practice (2009 – 60 pp. - ISBN 978-92-79-12567-6) 

LIFE and Europe’s grasslands: Restoring a forgotten habitat 
(2008 - 54 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-10159-5) 

LIFE and endangered plants: Conserving Europe’s threat-
ened flora (2007 – 52 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-08815-5) 

LIFE and Europe’s wetlands: Restoring a vital ecosystem 
(2007 - 68 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-07617-6) 

LIFE and Europe’s rivers: Protecting and improving our 
water resources (2007 – 52 pp. ISBN 978-92-79-05543-0)

LIFE and the marine environment (2006 – 54 pp. ISBN 92-
79-03447-2)

LIFE and European forests (2006 – 68 pp. ISBN 92-79-02255-5)

Integrated management of natura 2000 sites (2005 – 
48 pp. – ISBN 92-79-00388-7)

LIfE, natura 2000 and the military (2005 – 86 pp. – ISBN 
92-894-9213-9)

nature & Biodiversity Projects 2011 compilation (2012, 
83 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-25249-5)

Best LIfE nature Projects 2010 (2011 - 40 pp. – ISBN 978-
92-79-21315-1)

nature & Biodiversity Projects 2010 compilation (2011, 
71 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-20031-1)

Best LIfE nature Projects 2009 (2010 - 44 pp. – ISBN 978-
92-79-16826-0)

nature & Biodiversity Projects 2009 compilation (2010, 
91 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-16139-1)

Best LIfE nature Projects 2007-2008 (2009 -  
48 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-13746-4)

nature & Biodiversity Projects 2008 compilation (2009, 
87 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-13426-5)

A number of LIFE publications are available on the LIFE 
website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/life-
publications/index.htm

A number of printed copies of certain LIFE publications 
are available and can be ordered free-of-charge at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/order.htm

33

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe NAtURe PRojects 2012        
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LIFE+ “L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement” / The financial instrument for the environment

Period covered (LIFE+) 2007-2013.

EU funding available approximately EUR 2 143 million

Type of intervention at least 78% of the budget is for co-financing actions in favour of the environment 

(LIFE+ projects) in the Member States of the European Union and in certain non-EU countries.

LIFE+ projects
>  LIFE  Nature  projects  improve  the  conservation  status  of  endangered  species  and  natural  habitats.  They 

support the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Natura 2000 network.

>  LIFE+  Biodiversity  projects  improve  biodiversity  in  the  EU.  They  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  the 
objectives of the Commission Communication, “Halting the loss of Biodiversity by 2010 – and beyond” (COM 
(2006) 216 final). 

>  LIFE+  Environment  Policy  and  Governance  projects  contribute  to  the  development  and  demonstration  of 
innovative policy approaches, technologies, methods and instruments in support of European environmental 
policy and legislation.

>  LIFE+ Information and Communication projects are communication and awareness raising campaigns related 
to the implementation, updating and development of European environmental policy and legislation, including 
the prevention of forest fires and training for forest fire agents.

Further information further information on LIFE and LIFE+ is available at http://ec.europa.eu/life.

How to apply for LIFE+ funding  The European Commission organises annual calls for proposals. Full 

details are available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm

Contact

European Commission – Directorate-General for the Environment LIFE Unit – BU-9 02/1 – B-1049 Brussels – 
Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/life

LIFE Publication / Best nature projects 2012

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Union

2013 - 36p - 21 x 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-33177-0
ISSN 2315-1412
doi:10.2779/50558

LIFE NATURE  | Best LIFe nature Projects 2012