Deadline: 1 December 2015
The European Commission is currently inviting applications for its 2016 Natura 2000 Award to celebrate and promote best practices for nature conservation in Europe. The Award aims to bring the success of the Natura 2000 network to the public’s attention and to demonstrate its importance for protecting biodiversity across Europe. Anyone directly involved in Natura 2000 – businesses, authorities, NGOs, volunteers, land owners, educational institutions or individuals – can apply for the award.
The 2016 Natura 2000 Award Ceremony will take place on 19 May 2016 in the Berlaymont building, Brussels.
Award categories
Winners of the European Natura 2000 Award are selected from five different categories, showcasing the best success stories in preserving Europe’s stunning nature – Conservation, Socio-Economic Benefits, Communication, Reconciling Interests / Perceptions, and Cross-Border Cooperation and Networking.
Benefits
The winners of the five category awards and the Citizens’ award each receive a specially-designed and attractive trophy, along with a small financial contribution to help support their future conservation efforts. Winners write a short article on how they spent the prize money, which is published on a webpage dedicated to that winner. The Commission also helps in the organisation of local promotional events in the winners’ countries.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any entity or group based in the EU is entitled to apply.
- Applications have to explicitly refer to one or more Natura 2000 sites, and can be made in any of the official EU languages.
How to Apply
The application process is made up of six steps which must be completed one by one through the online application form available on the website.
For more information, please visit Natura 2000.
