ACTION E.6: Networking with LIFE and non-LIFE projects
The Natura 2000 sites of Palo Laziale and Nestos Delta are composed of peculiar coastal Mediterranean ecosystems. In both areas, the Mediterranean temporary ponds (habitat 3170*) are located at few hundreds of metres from the seashore and are ecologically and spatially interconnected with the woodland habitats (91M0 and 91E0*, in Italy and Greece, respectively). They also share a similar intensity of pressures due to human impacts and climate change and, to date, limited conservation and restoration efforts. Therefore, the adoption of methods and approaches from other geo-ecological contexts where more has been done for conservation and restoration is of crucial importance to the effectiveness and replicability of the Project actions. In this respect, national and international stakeholders will be invited (e.g., Competent Authority of protected areas) to transfer and verify good practices. This exchange will be carried out in an ex-ante, in-itinere and ex-post way.
The networking action is also aimed at supporting the replication of the applied solutions of LIFE PRIMED. The potential audience is very large, from the EU member countries participating in the project (Greece, Italy) to those already committed to receive and replicate the results (Project Supporters). Based on the EUNIS data, there are more than 400 Natura 2000 sites in Italy with the alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (habitat 91E0*), and about 20 in Greece. Mediterranean temporary ponds (habitat 3170*) are present in about 20 sites in Greece and more than 150 in Italy.
Networking with other LIFE projects
From the beginning of the Project, other LIFE Projects will be identified and invited to share experiences on restoration, conservation and management of Mediterranean coastal habitats. This exchange will facilitate the establishment of a technical-scientific platform. Some LIFE Projects have already been identified (see section "Supporters") and a preliminary exchange of information achieved.
The exchange of expertise with stakeholders will be intensified during the mid-term workshop and the two workshops that will be organised in the 4th and 5th years of the project. The process will last with the final workshop when all the work carried out will be brought together and, through the preparation of the good-practice manual, will begin the scaling-up and the replication of the Project solutions in other similar Mediterranean coastal ecosystems.
Networking with non-LIFE Projects
A suitable opportunity for transferring the results outside the two project areas and the framework of LIFE programme is represented by the cooperation with stakeholders from the Ionian-Balkan-Mediterranean region established by HSPN and DEB. For example, the Project has already formally agreed on the involvement of the Albanian National Agency for Protected Areas (NAPA) in some actions. More specifically, some NAPA experts and representatives of the Albanian protected areas will take part at the implementation of the concrete conservation actions in Nestos (training on the job) for 20 man/days. The collaboration will also include an exchange of data and information until the end of the Project. NAPA will be also attending the final workshop.
Indicators for transferability and replicability success are the following:
- number of participants in the four scientific workshops (at least 300).
- reports produced by the trained experts in the project sites (at least 10).
- number of data download from the project website (dataset, reports, manual) (#5000).
Beneficiary responsible for implementation:
HSPN will manage the action in collaboration with DEB. All the other beneficiaries and stakeholders are invited to provide their contacts. The Sapienza University of Rome provides support to the networking action through the Internationalization Office.