Initial situation:

Southeast European countries are at varying levels of implementation of the EU directives for environmental protection and there are sometimes large gaps in the management of Natura 2000 areas. The basis for the implementation of the project is therefore a comprehensive GAP analysis, which serves to record and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the partner countries' implementation and management strategies.

Goals and activities:

The primary goal of BE-NATUR is sustainable, ecological, cross-border management of protected areas. This goal is to be achieved by defining joint action plans for transnational habitats and species, and a strategy for the conservation of the natural heritage and the natural and cultural landscape in Southeast Europe. The project pays particular attention to wetlands and moor sites. Direct and indirect interventions are implemented in selected Natura 2000 areas to protect, conserve and restore habitats and species. Other important focuses in the project are raising awareness among the population in order to increase interest in topics relevant to nature conservation, and on involving farmers in the implementation of the activities.

Project partners:

• Environment and Nature Conservation Association NIMFEA (Hungary) - Project management

• Vienna University of Technology (Austria)

• University of Klagenfurt; ECO Institute for Ecology (Austria; subpartner of the TU)

• HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein (Austria)

• Lake Balaton Development Coordination Agency (Hungary)

• Province of Ravenna (Italy)

• Consortium of Management of Torre Guaceto (Italy)

• Veneto Region - Spatial planning and parks department (Italy)

• Strandja Nature Park Directorate (Bulgaria)

• Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development (Romania)

• Timis Country represented by Timis Country Council (Romania)

• Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority (Romania)

• Development Agency for South Epirus - Amvrakikos SALGO (Greece)

• City of Cacak (Serbia)

Work packages/work packages:

1. Transnational project and financial management
2. Public relations
3. Development of strategies and tools for improved management of Natura 2000 areas
   • Survey of gaps in the management and implementation of Natura 2000 areas in Southeast European countries (GAP analysis)
   • Joint development of transnational action plans for selected, cross-partner habitat types and species
   • Development of a transnational strategy for sustainable, ecologically optimized management and implementation of Natura 2000 areas
   • Transnational exchange of experiences for experts
4. Implementation of strategies/tools and know-how transfer
   
   • Training with local experts and presentation of action plans
   • Implementation of the joint transnational strategy through direct and indirect interventions on Natura 2000 areas
   • Monitoring of the measures carried out
5. Activities to raise awareness and promote sustainable tourism
   • Creation and distribution of didactic material (various target groups)
   • Organization of workshops and didactic tours

The Natura 2000 protected area network

Natura 2000 is an EU-wide network of protected areas to promote and conserve habitats and species. The implementation is carried out by the European Commission together with the respective member states. There are basically two types of protected areas:

• Area protection according to the Habitats Directive = Areas of Community Importance/SCI (Council Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC)
• Area protection according to the Birds Directive = Special Protection Areas/SPA (Council Directive 79/409/EEC replaced by Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council)

The areas are designated depending on the species or habitat to be protected (= protected assets). Within the areas, Member States are obliged to maintain or restore the favorable conservation status of habitats and species. Activities that could significantly endanger the protected assets must be avoided. There is an obligation to report to the EU for all reported protected areas. The development of the areas must be documented at six-year intervals. The assessment is carried out on a biogeographical level based on a three-stage traffic light scheme, where green stands for a favorable conservation status, yellow for an unfavorable/inadequate conservation status and red for an unfavorable/poor conservation status. There is also white, for areas where development is unknown. Comprehensive monitoring of the habitats and species to be protected should provide information about maintaining the conservation status.

• How are the protected goods doing?
• Have the measures been implemented?
• Did they have the desired success?
• Are additional measures necessary?

BE-NATUR pilot activities - direct and indirect interventions

As part of BE-NATUR, measures are implemented as direct and indirect interventions to protect, preserve and restore habitats and species of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive and the Bird Protection Directive in selected European protected areas. The selection of interventions was based, on the one hand, on the occurrence of transnational protected assets (e.g. white stork), and on the other hand, pilot actions were chosen that could serve as best-practice examples for future protected area management in other partner countries. Examples:

• A pilot project was carried out in Austria to show the diverse uses of work horses in agriculture and nature conservation. By using work horses to protect the soil, the mowing of wet areas can be made possible sustainably and the hay obtained can be used regionally as bedding or horse hay. In the pilot project, horse mowing was tested in areas with varying levels of soil moisture. Further focal points: Documentation of the work processes, checking the functionality of horse-drawn machines, determining the possible uses and the average time required per hectare, documenting possible soil damage, monitoring the vegetation, demonstrating the multiple benefits for farmers and the region, strengthening the interest of farmers and the population low-noise, environmentally friendly farming methods
• Another pilot action in Austria was the renaturation of moor sites: the Kainisch Moor Ost and the Ödenseemoor have their naturalness affected to varying degrees due to unfavorable edge effects and drainage measures. Due to the change in the usage regime, fertilization, drainage, peat removal, nutrient input and reforestation, the natural structure of the natural area was significantly affected. According to the specifications of the management plan for the Natura 2000 area ESG 20, there is a need for priority action to remediate the hydrological conditions. In cooperation with area management and land managers, a balanced concept for the renovation was developed and implemented.
• The project partners from Hungary and Romania implemented various activities to conserve the white stork (Ciconia ciconia), such as monitoring white stork populations, measures to protect nests, rehabilitating habitats, setting up reception stations and rehabilitation centers and designing educational trails for the population .
• In Italy, the partners tried to reintroduce the Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) in the Po Delta.
• In Hungary and Serbia, habitats were renatured and targeted neophyte management was carried out.
• In Bulgaria, manuals and brochures were produced as well as seminars and workshops were organized to increase the population's acceptance of nature conservation.

Pilot areas of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein

Natura 2000 area "Ennsaltarme near Niederstuttern" (ESG 7)
The European protected area is located in the Styrian Ennstal, at an altitude of 640 m above sea level. Around 7 hectares of the area are the property of the Styrian Nature Conservation Association and are managed according to nature conservation guidelines. The Trautenfels nature conservation areas are characterized by a relatively high groundwater level and significant groundwater influence. The soils - gleyed gray alluvial soils and augleye - were created by periodic flooding from deposits of rock and soil material from the Enns. The most important vegetation types are one- and two-mown wet meadows, litter meadows, slender sedge swamps, reed beds, willow bushes and alluvial forest remnants. The landscape is dominated by the iris meadows that bloom at the end of May. Small bodies of water also contribute to the great diversity of habitats. The Trautenfels nature reserves therefore have a high diversity of plant and animal species, including rare and endangered species.

Natura 2000 area "Wörschacher Moos and areas near the Enns" (ESG 4)
The European protected area is located between Wörschach, Weißenbach bei Liezen and Döllach. With an area of ​​401 hectares, it is the largest wetland in the Styrian Ennstal at an altitude of between 530 and 630 m. Here you can find, among other things, the calcareous fens (7230) and calcareous swamps with Cladium mariscus and Carex davaliana (7210) as well as the marsh glosswort (Liparis loeselii) for which action plans were developed in the project. In addition to the dominant moors, the soils are predominantly alluvial soils and gleys. The original raised moor character has been largely lost as a result of profound drainage. Shallow moor areas, especially in the west, fell victim to agricultural improvement measures. In peripheral areas and former peat cuttings, however, you can find a mosaic of undisturbed and regenerating raised bogs, transitional bogs, fens, moorland meadows (pipe grass, small sedge, iris meadows), reedbeds, floodplain/swamp forests as well as standing and flowing waters (Management Plan Natura 2000 European Protected Areas). in the Ennstal between Pruggern and Selzthal, Office of the Styrian State Government, Graz, 2009).

Natura 2000 area "Ödensee" (ESG 20)
The Ödensee in the Styrian Salzkammergut is a unique landscape with its untouched location in the middle of a large forest area. The area has an area of ​​198 hectares and has large areas of valuable and typical habitats. Special features include the pipe grass meadows, the natural raised moors and moor forests as well as the golden fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia). The area contains a variety of grassland habitats that have been shaped by different management and have a particular biodiversity (moors, degraded moor areas with various fens, litter and pipe meadows, poor meadows and pastures, as well as intensively used hay meadows). Without continued management, a large part of the valuable meadow areas and thus a large number of animal and plant species would be lost. The habitat type calcareous fens (7230) was designated with conservation status A; the abandonment of use with the threat of abandonment and bush encroachment is seen as a potential threat.

Awareness raising activities

As part of various awareness-raising activities, attention is drawn to the value and importance of protected areas for the preservation of biological diversity and ecosystems. The focus is on activities that enable the active involvement of children, young people and adults (active learning with all the senses), as well as a target group-appropriate preparation of the content that is to be conveyed. Pilot activities implemented to raise awareness include:

• The design of nature experience days and weeks (Science Days, Science Weeks) for children, young people and adults with a focus on nature conservation and biodiversity in regional/local European protected areas
• Implementation of school projects on the subject of nature conservation and biodiversity management
  In Austria, for example, the project “Summer/Winter Nature Experience – Biodiversity in Water and on Land” was successfully carried out by the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein in cooperation with the Styrian Nature Conservation Association and the New Middle School in Irdning: Researching the Biodiversity in the open-air classroom, revitalization of wet biotopes, construction of retreat areas for amphibians, beneficial insect hotels, nesting boxes, bat boxes, rare/protected plant species on the Trautenfels nature reserves, IRIS cycling day
• The creation of information materials such as brochures, posters, didactic instructions, information boards, as well as guiding visitors through observation towers and educational trails.
• Excursions to the surrounding European protected areas with a focus on the didactic brochure “On the Water”, which was created by the project partners.
• Knowledge-based events (nature conservation and agriculture, Natura 2000 - specter or opportunity for agriculture), expert training and discussion platforms with decision-makers, research and practice, land users, landowners, area management, associations and representatives of educational institutions round off the transfer of knowledge and the development of joint activities and education cooperation networks.

Didactic brochures “On the Water” and “On the Land”

As part of the EU project BE-NATUR, a brochure on the subject of wetlands was developed. The didactic brochure "On the Water" contains information about the management of wetlands, nature conservation, animals and plants on and in the water, as well as instructions for free research in nature. It is aimed primarily at young naturalists between the ages of 6 and 10. The brochure was made available to educators in the region and institutions with special nature education programs. It is used as an important guide for outdoor programs in Natura 2000 information centers.
The didactic brochure "Am Land" contains information on the topics of nature conservation and agriculture, protected area management, rules of conduct in a nature reserve, soil and vegetation, as well as important plants, trees and bushes, birds, insects, butterflies and mammals that occur on the Trautenfels nature reserves. Game instructions are used to explore and discover biodiversity. The brochure will be used on future excursions, Science Days and Science Weeks.