Welcome!
Welcome to our December newsletter! It has been a productive second half of the year for NaturaConnect; from developing visions for possible Nature Futures in Europe, to generating initial datasets on biodiversity and land use, and gathering inputs from practitioners on challenges and opportunities for ecological connectivity in the region. We have been invited to attend several key policy events such as the Biogeographical Seminars, consulting with countries on how NaturaConnect can provide them with data and tools to support their national pledges towards protecting 30% of EU land by 2030. Looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to focus on strengthening our scientific support to countries in this context, including on emerging policies such as the EU Nature Restoration Law.
These and other updates are all elaborated in the sections below. If you wish to follow up on any of our updates, please reach out to us at naturaconnect@iiasa.ac.at.
Thank you for reading and warm wishes for a happy new year from all of us at NaturaConnect!
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Table of Contents
What is NaturaConnect and how can it support te Nature Restoration Law?
NaturaConnect at the Biogeographical Seminars
NaturaConnect Annual Consortium Meeting 2023
Recent project milestones
News from our case studies
Get involved and engage with us
More ways to engage with us at events
Meet the people of NaturaConnect
Scientific publications
Resources coming soon
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What is NaturaConnect and how can it support the Nature Restoration Law?
NaturaConnect is a Horizon Europe funded project working to support EU countries in developing a blueprint for a coherent Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) of protected and conserved areas that is ecologically representative, resilient and well-connected. The TEN-N will directly contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 target to protect at least 30% of land in the European Union, with at least 10% under strict protection.
A key part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy is the restoration of Europe’s ecosystems and their services. With the recent approval of the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) text by the Environment Committee of the European Parliament, the ground is set for a significant scaling up of ecosystem restoration efforts across the region in the coming years. Once the Law is formally adopted, EU Member States will need to propose restoration plans within the next 2 years (which will include a spatial component), and NaturaConnect is well positioned to provide support. Key areas where the NaturaConnect project can provide support to the process include generating key biodiversity data and models, spatial information, indicators and guidelines to help guide Member States’ decisions on:
- Restoration of Natura 2000 sites with Annex I habitats that have an unfavourable conservation status, and/or that are home to species of interest (Article 4 of NRL): NaturaConnect is producing spatial species distribution models and methods for defining habitats for species that could feed into this process as well as identifying priority areas for restoration to achieve the objectives of Article 4,8,9,10.
- Increasing connectivity between Annex I habitats (Article 4 of NRL): Several outputs under the NaturaConnect project address improving connectivity between priority habitats and conserved areas. See here.
- Increasing connectivity of rivers and floodplains: NaturaConnect has an entire case study dedicated to supporting countries in the Danube basin to identify priority areas for river and floodplains connectivity through conservation and restoration actions. These approaches can be demonstrated and implemented also in other regions.
- Improving pollinator diversity and reversing declines (Article 8 of NRL): NaturaConnect is producing models of distributions of pollinators and identification of Key Pollinator Areas.
- Enhancing biodiversity in agricultural systems, taking into account climate change mitigation and adaptation (Article 9 of NRL): NaturaConnect will be integrating this consideration into the spatial prioritisation analyses and connectivity within agricultural areas components of the project.
- Restoring forest biodiversity (Article 10 of NRL): NaturaConnect restoration priorities analyses are designed to assist with country efforts looking to restore forest biodiversity and we hope to engage national and subnational government authorities in this process.
We look forward to engaging with the process and supporting Member States with their nature restoration plans in the coming months and years.
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Want to learn more? Explore our areas of work in more depth here.
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NaturaConnect at the Biogeographical Seminars
The Biogeographical Seminars are organised by the European Commission to facilitate collaboration and discussion with EU Member States on their work on the national pledges to reach the 30×30 target, aiming to expand the current network of protected areas. NaturaConnect attended several seminars in 2023 and will continue to do so in 2024 to liaise with the delegates from the different Member States in order to support the identification of potential conservation areas.
The seminars are a multi-stakeholder cooperation process enabling policy makers and other key stakeholders to share knowledge for the implementation of the EU Nature Directives and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. NaturaConnect contributes with advice for countries’ protected area pledges and other planning support for the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. |
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| Want to learn more? Read reflections from a recent Biogeographical Seminar we attended here
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NaturaConnect Annual Consortium Meeting 2023
The annual meeting of the project took place in Sevilla, Spain, from 28th-29th of November in the Casa de la Ciencia. More than 50 project partners spent three intense days discussing ongoing project activities, next steps, and milestones achieved. The in-person meeting fostered collaboration between the different partner organisations, and in-depth discussions on planning upcoming 2024 work were an important part of the meeting. To learn more about one of the project’s case studies, a joint field trip was organised to the Doñana National Park, which left the project team inspired and motivated. |
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| Want to learn more? Explore the work of the NaturaConnect project, and our Consortium partners.
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Recent project milestones
Scenario framework for TEN-N report
Following an in-person workshop and webinar gathering inputs from stakeholders on possible nature futures for Europe, we recently finalised a report documenting methods for the production of Nature Futures Scenarios to help shape the design of a coherent and resilient Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N). The Nature Future Scenarios are underpinned by the Nature Futures Framework, developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that informs the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Framework includes three different value perspectives of nature, namely: Nature for Nature, Nature for Culture and Nature for Society. All three value perspectives are envisaged to be considered when developing the blueprint for Europe’s TEN-N of conserved areas. This report outlines the development of scenario narratives for Europe, and identifies a preliminary set of indicators and settings to translate the narratives into quantitative scenarios and models for planning the TEN-N. |
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| Want to know more? Read the scenario framework for the TEN-N here. |
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Assessing ecological connectivity in Europe workshop
On October 23rd and 24th NaturaConnect organised a two-day online workshop to dive deeper into connectivity planning in Europe, including priorities, gaps, and challenges on the ground as well as potential solutions. More than 70 participants joined the workshop over the course of two days and contributed their knowledge and expertise. Their inputs will feed into Guidelines for connectivity conservation and planning in Europe released in early 2024.
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| Want to know more? Access the webinar presentations and recording here. |
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News from our case studies
NaturaConnect encompasses six European case studies, which are informing project implementation and will help to test the analysis tools and methodologies developed under the project. In each newsletter, we will profile recent work from selected case studies. This time, we are pleased to present recent highlights from the Doñana area, Portugal and the Danube-Carpathian Transboundary Region:Doñana area case study
The Doñana area is located between the Andalusian provinces of Huelva, Sevilla, and Cadiz in Spain. The area comprises a Biological Reserve, a National Park, a Natural Area, Natura 2000 sites, and a Biosphere reserve, and is known today as the Gran Doñana.
In their work as part of the NaturaConnect project, the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) team is building upon long-term relationships with stakeholders in the area. A recent workshop with local actors under the umbrella of NaturaConnect was organised on 1st of December 2023 by EBD-CSIC, together with project partners BirdLife, IEEP and Rewilding Europe. The workshop collected valuable feedback from stakeholders on barriers and opportunities for ecological connectivity in the Doñana region.
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| Want to know more? Read the full article about the workshop here. |
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Portugal case study
This November our project partner University of Évora launched the NaturaConnect PT Think Tank. The initiative is a testament to collaborative innovation, with a focused gathering of experts from public administrations, universities, the private sector and NGOs, and marks the beginning of a critical dialogue on Portugal’s approach to the ambitious goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
In alignment with the EU’s vision, the NaturaConnect PT Think Tank aims to support Portugal’s plans and actions to safeguard 30% of its terrestrial land, with strict protection for 10% of this land by 2030. Over the coming years, work will be undertaken to identify and overcome the complex political, socio-economic, and technical barriers that stand in the way of meeting these targets in Portugal.
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| Want to know more? Read more about our Portugal case study here. |
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The Danube-Carpathian Transboundary Region
Our Carpathians and Danube Basin case study supports the eleven European Union and five non-European Union countries working together across national borders on the integrated management of these two intertwined and biodiversity rich ecoregions.
The NaturaConnect project and its team were lead actors at the 7th Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention Stakeholders’ Consultation. Experts, policy makers, enthusiasts, and conservationists came together on October 11, 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, to explore the importance of ecological connectivity in the Carpathian region and discuss the strategies needed for cross-sectoral collaboration. Insightful presentations were made by our colleagues, introducing ecological connectivity and its relevance to the Carpathian region.
NaturaConnect, along with other past and ongoing projects, has been instrumental in developing tools and strategies that align with the goals of the Carpathian Convention, contributing to the preservation of the region’s biodiversity.
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| Want to know more? Read more about our presence at the Carpathian Convention COP7 here. |
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Get involved and engage with us!
NaturaConnect Stakeholder CommunityThe NaturaConnect Stakeholder Community brings together a diverse range of people interested in engaging with our project and its activities. We aim to engage professionals from different private and public sectors, including scientists, policymakers, civil servants, resource managers, NGOs, the private sector, and public participants involved in protected areas and ecological connectivity planning and management.
As a registered member, you will receive dedicated updates from NaturaConnect and have the opportunity to be involved in key project development stages, helping to ensure the project is relevant for the NaturaConnect Stakeholder Community. As a member, depending on your interests and areas of expertise, you could be involved in:
- Reviewing key project documents
- Participating in surveys
- Engaging in targeted interviews
- Interactive workshops
Additionally, if you wish, you can create a public profile in our Stakeholder Community portal, which will detail your expertise and engagement with the project, alongside the public profiles of other members of the Community.
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| Want to learn more? Read about the NaturaConnect Stakeholder community and sign up here. |
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Survey on governance of ecological connectivity
We need your support! We are currently running a survey to analyse the governance of green infrastructure/ecological connectivity of protected areas at national and regional levels. What are the barriers for achieving ecological connectivity and green infrastructure? What are the enabling factors?
Help us to frame a better picture on the governance processes for green infrastructure and ecological connectivity by filling in the survey.
Inputs to the survey will be incorporated into a review and synthesis report on best practices in governance and land-use policies to implement the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N), due to be released in 2024.
You are very welcome to share the survey within your network!
Want to learn more? Read more about our work on governance and policy in the context of the TEN-N, and fill in the governance of ecological connectivity survey here.
Datasets on Zenodo Community
Initial datasets that have started to be generated under the project are being stored on the Zenodo NaturaConnect community page. These datasets are publicly accessible and include a habitat suitability dataset of European land systems for terrestrial vertebrate species, reviewed literature on the state of conservation planning in Europe, and a preliminary land system map for Europe.
Want to learn more? Visit the NaturaConnect community page on Zenodo to explore the datasets.
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More ways to engage with us at events
NaturaConnect colleagues will be participating in several events this year. We look forward to meeting you there and discussing the NaturaConnect project and collaboration opportunities. If you wish to get in touch about any of the below events, please email us at naturaconnect@iiasa.ac.at.Mediterranean Biogeographical Seminar
17-19 April 2024, Larnaca, Cyprus
The draft programme and invitations will be sent out in early 2024.
7th European Congress of Conservation Biology
17-21 June 2024, Bologna, Italy
The ECCB 2024 theme “biodiversity positive by 2030” presents a message and a call to action towards the conservation of our planet’s biodiversity. NaturaConnect colleagues are attending the conference and will be organising the “Designing a future Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) for a nature-positive Europe” Symposium as well as the “An introduction into the principles and application of systematic conservation planning using integer programming” Training Course. For more information on the ECCB 2024, including how to register and submit an abstract, see here.
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Meet the people of NaturaConnect
We are a Consortium of 90+ scientific researchers, managers, policy officers, and communicators. On this occasion we have the pleasure of introducing colleagues from the “Scenarios for nature futures” work package:
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Pe
Peter is Professor of Environmental Geography in the Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He leads the “Scenarios for nature futures” work package in NaturaConnect, which is integrating visions and preferences of society in plausible socio-ecological development scenarios.
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The scenarios play a key role in ensuring that the protected area network designed in the project is resilient to climate and land use change, and best responds to differences in human-nature relations present in European society. Stakeholder inputs are translated into land use simulation models to create spatial representations of future land use. Reflecting on his involvement in the NaturaConnect project, Peter notes “The nice thing of the NaturaConnect project is that the results will be very actionable and based on real solid science. We all want to help saving biodiversity, in NaturaConnect we can make that contribution.”
Want to learn more? Read more about our work on scenarios for nature futures here. |
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Claudia Fornarini
Claudia is a Research Fellow in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin” at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Claudia is also part of the “Scenarios for nature futures”.
Claudia shares some highlights:
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“Being part of a great project such as NaturaConnect really got me excited in terms of sharing common interests and discussing nature with academics, researchers, and many others from different sectors, that are all involved in shaping a better future for the natural environment, given the rapid decline and loss of habitat and biodiversity we have been experiencing these last decades. Moreover, I truly appreciate the cooperation among the different work packages of the project that made, personally speaking, my task more fluid and dynamic at the same time. I was personally involved in the development of Nature Futures narratives, that highlighted the priority of protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, and the necessity to find a trade-off between nature and people to move towards a more sustainable future for the planet in this framework of global changes.”
Want to learn more? Read all about the Nature Futures Framework here.
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Scientific publications
Interested in scientific publication outputs linked or associated with the NaturaConnect project? Visit our Google scholar page. |
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Resources coming soon
Several project resources are in development and will be shared and made publicly available in the coming months:NaturaConnect online training course
A NaturaConnect training course is currently being developed. The course will be self-paced with sequential and stand-alone modules, which will be developed and released throughout the next years. The course aims to enable users to improve conservation planning and management by providing tools and knowledge developed in the project. The materials provided will enable participants to fully utilise the project’s outputs. Since the design and planning of conserved areas have often been a top-down process with limited consultation, a specific module is being developed that is dedicated to stakeholder engagement and communication. Stay tuned for the first modules being released next year.
Training-Needs Assessment
Using the Global Register of Competences for Protected Area Practitioners developed by IUCN, the project is building a comprehensive Training-Needs Assessment tool in the context of planning and managing conservation areas or green infrastructure. The tool can help groups or individuals to assess the knowledge and skills that are needed to successfully fulfil tasks in this context. The outcomes of the analysis will guide the project in the development of specific training modules, and may benefit the personal development of the participant. The tool will be made available in early 2024. Do you want to be one of the first to test it? Sign up to the NaturaConnect stakeholder community and you will receive an invite in due course.
Want to learn more? Explore our work on training and capacity building here.
Connectivity Guidelines report
A report is currently in development which will present guidelines for connectivity conservation and planning in Europe, along with a supporting web-based inventory and database. The guidelines will draw on stakeholder inputs following a dedicated ecological connectivity workshop, and a survey collating information from the broader conservation community on connectivity projects across Europe.
Want to learn more? Explore our work on nature connectivity and corridors design here.
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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 organizations, working together with key stakeholders to create targeted knowledge and tools, and build the capacity needed to support European Union Member States in realizing an ecologically representative, resilient and well-connected network of conserved areas across Europe.
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