Warmest welcome to the latest newsletter from the NaturaConnect project! It has been a busy and productive second half of 2025, and we are excited to share more about our recent milestones and engagement events.  

A key aim of the NaturaConnect project has been to identify and quantify key ecological corridors in Europe to assist in building a fully connected Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N). In our recently published report, we provide data covering terrestrial and freshwater habitat connectivity, functional wildlife corridors, and riparian connectivity across Europe. Used separately or concurrently, these datasets can assist planners and NGOs with the creation of science-based conservation and restoration decisions at differnt spatial scales and governance levels.

NaturaConnect is also examining how future changes in land use and the possible expansion of protected areas may affect ecological connectivity. This will help us further pinpoint those corridor areas across the continent that should be the focus of restoration efforts.

As we look to the future of conservation in Europe, the integration of multiple data types to create multifunctional corridors will help make the case for conservation. Recently developed datasets by NaturaConnect, including on species distributions, ecosystem services, and connectivity, will ideally serve as a set of resources for the creation of different frameworks for biodiversity conservation. You can see more about these new products, as well as much more on the recent events of NaturaConnect, throughout this newsletter.

Thank you for your continued interest in NaturaConnect, and we wish you a happy holiday season and new year!

From Science to Action: Strategic Planning for the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N)

Due to the strike and the announced actions affecting transport to Brussels, we have unfortunately had to postpone our event originally scheduled for 26-27 November.

The event will now take place in person in Brussels on Tuesday, 20th of January from 9:30 to 17:00 CET, and Wednesday, 21st of January 2026, from 9:00 to 12:00 CET.

We look forward to welcoming you to this meeting, which will provide an opportunity to explore the project’s work, take part in interactive sessions, and engage in valuable networking. Please note that this is an invite-only event. If you are interested in attending, please contact Marit Schnepf via: marit.schnepf[@]europarc.org

NaturaConnect in Leipzig

The Annual Consortium Meeting took place from 2-5 December 2025 in Leipzig, Germany – one of NaturaConnect’s case study regions and home to two of our project partners.

Over four days, partners from across Europe came together to coordinate the project’s concluding phase, advance key scientific and policy outputs, and ensure our work continues to contribute meaningfully to European nature conservation and connectivity planning.

Highlights from the meeting included:

• Strategic planning for the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) output data and maps, and future stakeholder engagement

• Insightful reflections from our Advisory Board on policy opportunities for 2026 and beyond

• Development of final policy briefs

• Collaborative writing sessions for major scientific publications

• Breakout groups on performance indicators, restoration priorities, multi-scale connectivity planning, ecosystem services and more

• Advancing core project outputs, including:

  • Identifying priority conservation and restoration corridors across Europe

  • Finding the optimal distribution of 10% strictly protected areas

  • Finding approaches to compare the European-scale prioritisation analysis with the national and sub-national results from the case study areas

• A dedicated Early Career Researchers Day, strengthening the community and future career development of the youngest NaturaConnect researchers.

The meeting also provided a chance to connect with the landscapes and culture of Leipzig:

• A visit to Leipzig’s historic Christmas Market, one of the oldest and most atmospheric in Germany.

• A field excursion to the Leipzig Floodplain Forest (Leipziger Auenwald), one of the largest remaining lowland forests in Germany and a Natura 2000 site located within the city limits, and one of the NaturaConnect study sites.

With the project approaching its conclusion, this year’s meeting focused strongly on preparing, refining and aligning the many final outputs-from maps and modelling results to policy guidance and knowledge-sharing tools-ensuring they are ready to support Member States, EU institutions and the wider conservation community.

A warm thank-you to all participants, both in Leipzig and online, and to our hosts at iDiv/MLU for productive days.

Check out the full photo album here

Stay tuned for the project’s final publications, tools, and insights over the coming months.

NaturaConnect at the Nature restoration prioritisation workshop in Zeist, the Netherlands

Our colleagues Sofie Ruysschaert (SBE), Piero Visconti (IIASA), Carla Freund (IIASA), and Néstor Fernández (iDiv/MLU) represented NaturaConnect at the workshop “How to define priority areas for restoration for strong national restoration plans”, organised by the RestoreNature NGO coalition and hosted by WWF Netherlands in Zeist on 4-5 November 2025.

Our team was proud to contribute to discussions supporting the implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law, sharing insights on how scientific evidence and spatial planning tools can guide ambitious and effective Nature Restoration Plans across Europe.

During a dedicated session on maximising Nature Restoration Plan ambition levels, NaturaConnect experts presented approaches to help Member States prioritise restoration areas that deliver the greatest biodiversity and ecosystem benefits-while supporting connectivity and resilience at the EU scale.

NaturaConnect at the first IPBES Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment

From 22-26 September, IIASA hosted the first author meeting of the IPBES Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment in Laxenburg, Austria. The assessment explores how spatial planning can integrate biodiversity and human wellbeing – tackling issues such as land and water use, ecological restoration, protected areas, and ecological connectivity.

We are proud to share that NaturaConnect expertise was strongly represented in the assessment:

• Peter Verburg – Co-Chair of the assessment

• Piero Visconti – Coordinating Lead Author, Chapter 3 (protected areas & ecological restoration)

• Virgilio Hermoso – Lead Author, Chapter 3

• Martin Jung– Lead Author, Chapter 4 (ecological connectivity in spatial planning)

• Clara Veerkamp (PBL) – Lead Author, Chapter 5

With IIASA as host of this first author meeting, the NaturaConnect community is directly contributing to shaping the scientific foundations and practical tools needed to achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework targets. This is exactly what NaturaConnect is about: embedding ecological knowledge, conservation objectives, and inclusive approaches into spatial planning – to better align biodiversity protection and human wellbeing.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more here!

The Danube-Carpathian Region Webinar Series

This webinar series is intended for members and observers of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and the Carpathian Convention, as well as anyone with an interest in biodiversity conservation. It provides our target audience in the Danube-Carpathian region – an area of extraordinary biodiversity and landscape connectivity – with knowledge and tools, and the opportunity for feedback on their developments. With input from NaturaConnect, we hope to contribute to the protection of this treasure!

Webinar: The Road Ahead: Financing Nature in the Danube-Carpathian Region

On 23 October, WWF Central and Eastern Europe and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), supported by EUROPARC Federation, BirdLife Europe, and the Carpathian Convention Secretariat, hosted a pivotal webinar exploring financing options for nature conservation in the Danube-Carpathian region. The event gathered around 50 participants from EU institutions, governments, NGOs, and research bodies.

Participants discussed EU public funding (CAP, LIFE, Interreg), private initiatives like the Living Danube Partnership and the Foundation Conservation Carpathia, and the proposed 2028–2034 EU budget. Concerns were raised about biodiversity funding gaps and the future of the LIFE programme. Breakout groups proposed solutions to improve access for NGOs and leverage private finance.

Webinar: Linking Blue and Green Infrastructure in the Danube-Carpathians: Prioritising Rivers, Wetlands, and Landscapes: An Integrated Connectivity Approach

On 11 November 2025, BOKU University, together with WWF-CEE, EUROPARC Federation, and IIASA, hosted a webinar on “Linking Blue and Green Infrastructure in the Danube-Carpathian Region.” Around 50 participants from international commissions, national administrations and authorities, NGOs, and research institutions joined to explore how integrated connectivity can support EU biodiversity and restoration targets.

The session introduced the NaturaConnect methodology, which combines three scales of connectivity: longitudinal (upstream-downstream ecological continuity), lateral (connectivity of riparian zones), and hinterland (sub-catchment scale). Breakout discussions focused on prioritising river reaches and barrier removal for migratory fish, restoring riparian zones, and identifying stressors in hinterland landscapes. Participants highlighted the importance of connectivity maps for planning under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and for engaging stakeholders in transnational conservation efforts.

Key message: Integrated blue-green infrastructure is essential for freshwater biodiversity, climate resilience, and regional cooperation. Cross-sectoral collaboration and early stakeholder involvement will be crucial for success.

More webinars dedicated to the Danube-Carpathian region will follow until June 2026-stay tuned!

ℹ️Catch up on what you missed

Visit our Past Events Page to access webinar recordings, presentations, and key outcomes!

Updates from the NaturaConnect Learning Platform

The NaturaConnect Learning Platform is our capacity-building hub gathering materials and activities developed by project partners. Our Training Course is free of charge upon registration at the European Nature Academy (ENA). We currently offer five modules and one tutorial:

The Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) module provides scientific support for designing the TEN-N by upholding the principles of CARE – Comprehensiveness, Adequacy, Resilience, and Effectiveness.

The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) module elaborates on positive scenarios and models by considering three narratives for Europe – Nature for Nature, Nature for Society and Nature as Culture.

The Stakeholder Engagement module provides tools for an iterative and participatory process, complemented by a webinar showcasing successful examples.

The NEW Financial Instruments module outlines the costs and funding options available for implementing the TEN-N. It covers both private finance mechanisms and EU public instruments, and provides summaries, factsheets, and practical examples demonstrating their real-world applications.

The Political Economy Analysis (PEA) module introduces this tool to improve environmental governance and conservation, highlights its application in the Danube–Carpathian region, and is complemented by a dedicated webinar.

The NEW Accounting for Climate Change tutorial is part of the Scenarios on Land Use and Climate Change module. It explains how to calculate different metrics of climatic risk and assess the level of climate exposure. It includes a usage note on climate metrics for conservation planning.

We invite you to explore the platform and embark on this learning journey to enhance your professional competencies.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Access the Learning Platform and stay tuned for the upcoming modules and webinars here.

NaturaConnect’s contributions to Evidence-Based Conservation

We are happy to share new project outputs from NaturaConnect that provide valuable tools for evidence-based conservation planning across Europe.

These include:

A pan-European 1 km dataset of opportunity costs for arable, pastoral, forestry, and urban lands, enabling cost-effective conservation prioritisation.

A multilayer network analysis of protected areas, showing how strict and non-strict protections can synergise to improve habitat connectivity for hundreds of species.

Together, these studies highlight how integrating economic and ecological data can guide smarter, more strategic conservation decisions.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Discover the full details and insights on our website

NaturaConnect at EUROPARC Conference

NaturaConnect was proud to be represented at the EUROPARC Conference 2025, which brought together more than 360 nature professionals from across Europe in Nemunas Loops Regional Park, Birštonas, Lithuania. This year’s theme, “Nature for People, People for Nature,” highlighted the essential relationship between people and nature in the context of the EU Nature Restoration Act.

During the lively Marketplace session, our team showcased some of the project’s key outputs, encouraged participants to explore the NaturaConnect Learning Platform, and invited them to join our Stakeholder Community. We also shared updates on our overarching mission: co-creating a blueprint for a coherent and resilient Trans-European Nature Network.

We are grateful for the engaging discussions and for the opportunity to present NaturaConnect’s work to a wide community of conservation professionals.

Key recent outputs

Mapping Europe’s Natural Capital – Today and Tomorrow

This work provides a detailed overview of Europe’s ecosystem services, including supply, demand, and flow. It highlights both current conditions and potential future changes in land use and climate, helping to identify where nature’s benefits are strongest and most at risk.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

The output will be available soon here!

European Ecological Corridors: Where Nature Connects

Maps of Europe’s terrestrial and freshwater habitats illustrate potential ecological corridors, showing how natural areas could be linked to support wildlife and ecosystem health across the continent.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Access the output here!

Species and habitat distributions for Europe

This work outlines the development of high-resolution (1 km²) distribution maps for species and habitats across Europe, supporting biodiversity conservation, policy implementation, and ecosystem management. Using advanced Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and Habitat Distribution Models (HDMs), the team produced maps covering plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, and all EUNIS Level 3 habitats.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Access the output here!

Scientific Papers Recently Published with NaturaConnect Support

Putting Conservation Costs on the Map – Spencer et al., 2025, Scientific Data Analyses the financial trade-offs involved in prioritising conservation across Europe.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Access data here.

Connectivity Synergies Across Protected Areas – Prima et al., 2025, Conservation Letters

Explores how different levels of protected areas work together to maintain ecological connections for multiple species.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

For further information, see here.

Standardising Conservation Planning Reporting – Jung et al., 2025, Conservation Science and Practice

Introduces a standard method for reporting conservation planning projects across Europe.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

For further information, see here.

Protected Areas Under Climate Pressure – Cimatti et al., 2025, Global Change Biology

Highlights how climate change is increasingly affecting Europe’s protected areas.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

For further information, see here.

View dataset here.

Interested in more NaturaConnect outputs?

Visit our Google Scholar page!

Newly Published Datasets

• Pollination Model for Europe – Vezzani, L., 2025

  • Read more

• Landscape Recreation Potential – Scheuer, S., 2025

  • Read more

   

• Recreational Value of European Forests – Giergiczny, M., et al., 2025

  • Read more

   

• Annual European Ecosystem Land Units (2000-2018, 100m resolution) – Jung, M., et al., 2025

  • Read more

   

• Land-Use Scenarios for Nature’s Future – Veinier-Cambron, C., et al., 2025

  • Read more

To view all datasets from the NaturaConnect project, visit the NaturaConnect community page on Zenodo.

News from our Case Studies

The Danube-Carpathian Transboundary Region (DCR)

September 2025 marked an important month for disseminating work on the multi-scale approach to integrating longitudinal, lateral and catchment-based connectivity. This included the use of graph- and Circuitscape theory to identify priority riparian areas for conservation and restoration in the Danube–Carpathian region.

At the 3rd International Conference on Sustainability in Hydropower (Vienna, 2–5 September 2025), Carina Seliger (BOKU University) presented the multi-scale approach focusing on prioritising the reconnection of rivers and floodplains in the Danube-Carpathian Region. The conference brought together around 70 participants, including scientists, students, energy providers, decision-makers, and NGOs. Seliger highlighted that stretches with intact lateral and longitudinal connectivity are extremely rare yet often targeted for hydropower projects. The findings support early identification and conservation of these sections for large-scale planning.

Georg Gruber (BOKU University) presented preliminary results of the analysis of the multi-scale approach at the IALE Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, 2-5 September 2025, as well as at the Forum Carpaticum 2025. Complementing this technical perspective, Hildegard Meyer (WWF-CEE) highlighted findings from a governance and land-use policy analysis. Her insights revealed persistent challenges-such as weak regulatory frameworks and low public awareness-that hinder effective implementation of connectivity measures. The two platforms of the Carpathian Convention and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River were highlighted as good examples where cross-cutting discussions take place.

Representatives of WWF-CEE, WWF-SK, WWF-BG, WWF-RO, WWF-UA and WWF-Adria and the Martin Luther University, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research met for an exchange on their models for ecological connectivity in the Danube-Carpathian region. It was agreed to take a closer look at the similarities and differences between the two methodologies.

Hildegard Meyer (WWF-CEE) updated the Carpathian Convention Implementation Committee on NaturaConnect developments at its annual meeting at the beginning of December. She received the mandate to continue the NaturaConnect series of webinars, and her input to the Carpathian Biodiversity Framework Action Plan was welcomed.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more about our work in the Danube Carpathian transboundary region here.

Finland

NaturaConnect was proud to take part in the MUST research project’s Enabling multispecies transitions Festival 2025 in Tampere, Finland, on May 22 – a gathering that brought together researchers, citizens, nature enthusiasts, and decision-makers to explore how cities can become thriving spaces for both people and nature.  

As part of the festival, our team contributed to a focused seminar. In her presentation, Dr. Heini Kujala (University of Helsinki) introduced the NaturaConnect published and upcoming outputs. Colleagues Maria Hällfors and Risto Heikkinen (Syke) presented preliminary connectivity analyses from Finland and the Pirkanmaa region. The audience expressed strong interest in using these insights as part of their planning.

Key takeaways

Regional actors are eager for practical data and tools to align local planning with EU-wide biodiversity goals.

Events like MUST Festival are vital for translating science into action-bridging local knowledge with continental-scale solutions.

With around 300 attendees across the festival and 30 engaged participants in our seminar, this was a way for us to connect with stakeholders at the regional, municipal, and city levels. It was also an opportunity to hear feedback on our first results and guide us in improving analyses for Finland and across Europe.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more here.

France

NaturaConnect partners contributed to a two-day workshop on “Models and approaches for conserving biodiversity in current and future contexts” held on 5-6 November 2025 at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris. The event was co-organised by PatriNat and the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine (LECA, CNRS) as part of the French case study. The two-day event focused on biodiversity modelling, ecological connectivity, and spatial prioritisation for conservation, strict protection and restoration under climate change in France and Europe. The event brought together national and regional authorities and experts, including representatives from PatriNat, the Office Français de la Biodiversité, and departmental and regional authorities. NaturaConnect was represented by Wilfried Thuiller, Marianne Tzivanopoulos, Sara Si-Moussi, Éléonore Chenevois (LECA), and Louise O’Connor (IIASA).

The first day consisted of plenary presentations, and the second day focused on rotating breakout-group sessions. Participants reflected on anthropogenic pressures and climate change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services, on the importance of ecological corridors, and on reactive versus preventive conservation strategies, highlighting the need to more directly target vulnerable ecosystems under high pressure for conservation, even when this may generate socio-economic conflict. Participants also noted that strict protection should be understood as the absence of any meaningful human influence on ecosystem processes. During the second day, participants delved deeper into data and methodologies and provided initial feedback on online tools such as NaturaConnector and PriorityCheck that are being developed at IIASA. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of ensuring access to nature across the territory (including through small, nearby protected areas) as well as the need to distribute priorities fairly across biogeographical regions, while recognising the associated trade-offs with pan-European biodiversity gains. Feedback also highlighted the need to better quantify positive externalities of conservation and negative externalities of intensive land use. Finally, participants stressed the importance of clear communication on spatial prioritisation concepts and methods, of transparently explaining how different criteria influence prioritisation outcomes, and of sharing conservation efforts and responsibilities across scales.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more here.

Get involved and engage with us!  

Save the date

February 13 2026 (10:00-12:00 CET)

Second stakeholder validation workshop:

Providing feedback on priority areas for implementing European area-based biodiversity targets.

In this online webinar, participants will learn about the outputs of the NaturaConnect prioritisation work, highlighting those areas that can be considered ‘Safe-bet’ regions for exploring the implementation of the European Biodiversity targets.

We’ll be opening registrations early next year.

NaturaConnect Stakeholder Community

The NaturaConnect Stakeholder Community brings together a diverse network of scientists, policymakers, NGOs, private sector representatives, and more to engage in designing a blueprint for a Trans-European Nature Network of protected and connected areas.

By joining, you can:  

• Engage with key project activities and receive updates.  

• Contribute your expertise through workshops, webinars, and surveys.  

• Build your professional profile and connect with stakeholders.  

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read about the NaturaConnect Stakeholder community and sign up here.

Meet the People of NaturaConnect

Our consortium brings together over 90 experts, including scientific researchers, managers, policy officers, and communicators. In this edition, we’re excited to introduce you to some of our incredible colleagues from the Institute for European Environmental Policy and BirdLife Europe and Central Asia.

Auriane Flottes de Pouzols

We are pleased to introduce Auriane Flottes de Pouzols, Policy Assistant at the Institute for European Environmental Policy.

As part of NaturaConnect, Auriane is dedicated to ensuring that conservation practitioners and protected land managers have the financial knowledge and tools to make the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) a reality. She is focusing on the development of the finance module for the NaturaConnect Learning Platform, helping secure the resources needed to establish protected areas and ecological corridors across Europe.

“Achieving Europe’s biodiversity recovery by 2030 requires the creation of a true Trans-European Nature Network, which can only be realised if the right tools are in place to finance protected areas and establish ecological corridors. In my role within NaturaConnect, I am focused on developing the finance module for the Learning Platform, designed to help conservation practitioners and protected land managers understand how to fund these key initiatives. Ultimately, my goal is to help secure the resources essential for these vital conservation efforts.”

💡 You can discover our NaturaConnect Learning Platform here.

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more about her work here.

Dr. Sofie Ruysschaert

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Sofie Ruysschaert, EU Nature Restoration Policy Officer at BirdLife Europe and Central Asia.

Through NaturaConnect, Sofie’s work focuses on governance and finance-a cornerstone of efforts to build the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N).

“Effective governance and robust land-use policies are essential to enhancing ecological connectivity across Europe. By promoting and sharing the insights on governance and finance we help turn knowledge into action, supporting the development of a resilient and well-connected Trans-European Nature Network and advancing the EU’s 2030 biodiversity goals.”

📘Learn more about Financing options for the Trans-European Nature Network here.  

ℹ️Want to learn more?

Read more about her work via this link.

Wishing You a Joyful Holiday Season!

As the year draws to a close, we extend our warmest wishes to all our partners, colleagues and friends. Thank you for your continued collaboration and support throughout the year. We wish you a peaceful holiday season and a happy, healthy start to the new year!

NaturaConnect aims to design and develop a blueprint for a truly coherent Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) of conserved areas that protect at least 30% of land in the European Union, with at least one third of it under strict protection. Our project unites universities and research institutes, government bodies and non-governmental organisations, working together with key stakeholders to create targeted knowledge and tools, and build the capacity needed to support European Union Member States in realising an ecologically representative, resilient and well-connected network of conserved areas across Europe.

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