Our work.

1.Engagement, communications, dissemination and capacity building

Work package lead: EUROPARC Federation, Carol Ritchie
Work package co-lead: WWF Central and Eastern Europe, Hildegard Meyer

Conservation, restoration, and sustainable management must be grounded in accessible and relevant capacity building and communications for stakeholders who are implementing and co-managing the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N).
Our team is developing a comprehensive strategy for reaching out to interested parties and engaging NaturaConnect stakeholders – from the European Union to the local level. We are also guiding a progressive Capacity Building process. Throughout the duration of the project, we are identifying training needs and developing courses for project partners and future TEN-N users on topics such as communication, stakeholder engagement, and financing in the context of protected and conserved areas. All courses will be made available via the NaturaConnect website.

2.Governance, policy and financing TEN-N

Work package lead: Stichting Birdlife Europe (SBE), Barbara Herrero
Work package co-lead: Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Evelyn Underwood

The success of a Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) will rely on designing and applying effective governance and funding mechanisms for protected and conserved areas.
The main aim under this work package is to support Member States and regional authorities to successfully implement the 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy objectives for the TEN-N through better governance and funding. To achieve this, we are producing a range of products reviewing and synthesizing available information and best-practice regarding land-use planning, governance and protected area management policy, and a series of factsheets on available public and private finance and investment tools. We will cover both established and innovative approaches to support their roll out. To ensure the usefulness and usability of these products, we will draw on the experience of the project’s case studies, and we intend to engage with relevant stakeholders throughout their development.

3.Baselines and scenarios for European biodiversity

Work package lead: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Wilfried Thuiller
Work package co-lead: Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Eloy Revilla

Designing an ecologically-representative, resilient and well connected Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) depends on accurate information on the location of biodiversity, ecosystem and ecosystems services data, and scenarios about different, but likely, possible future changes.

In this work package, we are identifying, documenting, mobilizing and curating the baseline biological, environmental and socio-economic data available for the European continent. The biological data will be used to evaluate spatial completeness and adequateness for deriving relevant indicators, and to identify key areas, species and/or habitats for future biodiversity monitoring in Europe. We will then use state-of-the-art modelling approaches to create spatially explicit projections of current and future distributions of species, traits, interaction networks and habitats to be used for the TEN-N design and case studies, including the identification of winner and loser species and habitats in different configurations of the network.

4.Nature and people

Work package lead: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Aafke Schipper
Work package co-lead: VU University Amsterdam, Peter Verburg

To design and implement an effective and feasible Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N), we need to understand the interaction between nature and people.
In this work package, we are investigating benefits, such as the valuable services that nature provides to people, but also socio-economic trade-offs of new protected and conserved areas, which could affect people. For our analysis, we are identifying and mapping the socio-economic and land-use conditions that constrain or enable an effective TEN-N implementation. We will further develop natural capital and ecosystem services models to inform TEN-N design, and evaluate ecosystem services supply and demand under alternative configurations and future socio-economic development and climate change scenarios.

5.Scenarios for nature futures

Work package lead: VU University Amsterdam, Peter Verburg
Work package co-lead: Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza (US), Carlo Rondinini

Things always change – it is to be expected that we will see changes in policy, land use and climate in Europe over the coming decades. Accounting for a number of plausible futures increases the chance that the design of the network will be resilient in the face of different possible changes, and can still achieve its objectives under changed environmental and social conditions.
To achieve this, in this work package we will investigate and combine visions and preferences of society and stakeholders to build plausible socio-ecological development pathways, and translate these into rules, weights, and sources of uncertainty in our models and scenarios.
Our work will help to create a network of protected areas that is as future proof as possible, and will create as many net benefits to society as possible. Understanding possible negative impacts will help to find constructive and pre-emptive measures that are acceptable for people who may be impacted.

6.Multi-scale nature connectivity and corridors design

Work package lead: Martin-Luther-Universitat Hallewittenberg (MLU), Néstor Fernández
Work package co-lead: Associação Biopolis (CIBIO), Francisco Moreira

A resilient network of protected areas requires ecological connections facilitating the movement of organisms across landscapes. Furthermore, ecological corridors can support many other services such as carbon sequestration and recreational spaces for people, providing value as green and blue infrastructures.
We are developing a methodological framework and guidelines for mapping ecological connectivity and associated services from sub-national to European scales. We will advance protocols, data, and models that help prioritize conservation and restoration of corridors and other green and blue infrastructure, allowing for the migration and dispersal of species and preserving beneficial ecosystem functions. Our work includes identifying, together with stakeholders, the more suitable landscape elements and planning instruments. We will also map opportunities and risks for enhancing connectivity consistently across Europe in order to support conservation and restoration plans under different climate and land use scenarios. Finally, we will analyze optimal configurations of corridors and restoration needs to achieve a coherent TEN-N.

https://cibio.up.pt/en/

7.An integrated Trans-European nature network design

Work package lead: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Martin Jung
Work package co-lead: Helsingin Yliopisto (UH), Heini Kujala

For many problems, there is not one best solution, but many possible options, each with different trade-offs. Decision-makers need to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of different options, to be able to make informed decisions.
This work package aims to provide decision-makers with multiple possible configurations of a European network of protected areas, linked to the different positive and negative impacts in current and future times. To achieve this, we are developing the decision framework, support system and design criteria intended to guide spatial conservation decisions across scales, using a multi-criteria spatial planning approach. The framework will be based on data created by other work packages (work packages 3-6), and will be informed by stakeholder preferences and values. We will assess the applicability and usefulness of multiple characterizations of possible TEN-N designs by their scalability, robustness, reproducibility, representativeness, spatial coherence and resilience. Furthermore, we will provide stakeholders with guidance, training and data for the application of the TEN-N planning framework across scales.

8.Showcasing the implementation of TEN-N

Work package lead: Martin-Luther-Universitat Hallewittenberg (MLU), Henrique Pereira
Work package co-lead: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Piero Visconti

The analyses, tools and guidelines developed under this project need to be applied in the real world, with authorities who will implement the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N).
In this work package, six case studies will be used to inform and evaluate how a network of protected areas can be designed and implemented at different spatial scales.
More specifically, we will provide strategic support to managers and policy makers, and showcase spatial planning tools that simulate expansion of protected areas which, together with a monitoring system, will allow for performance evaluation of area-based conservation measures to support decision-making. Key challenges for decision-makers include: considering how to take advantage of opportunities between conservation priorities and plans at different scales; how to achieve optimal trade-offs for sustainable management at different levels of governance; and identifying common challenges resulting from the comparison of different contexts. To overcome these challenges, we will leverage the network of governance and policy instruments of key decision makers to show how prioritization and connectivity is not a burden but rather an opportunity to adapt for global change.

© Matei Pleșa/WWF
© Matei Pleșa/WWF