Natura 2000 Award 10th anniversary: Vote now!

The European Commission is proud to announce the 27 finalists of the prestigious Natura 2000 award. Chosen from 96 applications from 25 EU Member States, 2024 is one of the most successful editions to date.

The finalists are initiatives in Natura 2000 sites from Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands. 

The selected applications are concrete examples of the many ways in which nature conservation and sustainable development can reinforce each other and contribute to resilient ecosystems that benefit people, the climate and the planet. 

Speaking on the announcement, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said: 

The Natura 2000 network covers thousands of square kilometres across Europe. Protecting and restoring Europe’s nature means investing in our quality of life, for us and future generations. All over the EU, inspiring initiatives which often involve young people, farmers, NGOs, fishers are committed to this hugely important task.

The 27 finalists of the 2024 edition of the Natura 2000 Award are fine examples of this: inspiring approaches that animate the Natura 2000 network and confirm it as lively evidence of Europe's commitment to nature conservation.

The 27 finalists reflect the importance of building networks within countries and across borders to implement nature conservation measures and show the value of working together to strengthen the Natura 2000 network. They recognise the importance of empowering communities to appreciate and protect the precious ecosystems that surround them and showcase different approaches to manage and restore protected habitats and species. 

The Natura 2000 Award ceremony will take place on 29 May 2024 as part of EU Green Week. Based on a thorough assessment, a high-level jury will decide on the winners in the following categories: 

• Communication 

• Conservation on land 

• Cross-border cooperation 

• Working together for nature 

• Marine conservation  

It is citizens who decide on the winner of this year’s European Citizens’ Award! Online voting is open until 25 April 2024. And remember, your vote matters!  

Background  

The European Natura 2000 Award  

This Natura 2000 Award recognises initiatives in Natura 2000 sites with an exceptional commitment to biodiversity conservation, sustainable management of habitats on land and on sea, as well as community engagement.  It pays tribute to everyone working for the maintenance and protection of this precious network that stretches across the entire European Union. 

The Natura 2000 Award was launched by the Commission in 2014. Since then, it has collected a catalogue of more than 500 initiatives with impressive achievements in Natura 2000, thanks to the tireless efforts and the firm commitment of the Natura 2000 community. 

Natura 2000 is the European Union’s network of protected areas. It consists of an enormous variety of different sites across the continent, aiming to assure the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened habitats and species, safeguarding them for future generations. It also provides a wide range of products and services beneficial to society and the economy.  

The Natura 2000 network is founded on the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive, and plays an essential role in halting biodiversity loss in the EU. Today the network, one of the EU’s outstanding achievements, consists of over 27,000 terrestrial and marine sites, covering around 18% of Europe’s land and nearly 10% of the surrounding seas, across nine biogeographic regions. 

The full implementation of the Natura 2000 network has been estimated to support 104,000 direct jobs in protected areas, as well as management and conservation activities. It also supports 174,000 jobs in the EU if indirect and induced jobs are included, linked to an annual investment of €6 billion for management and restoration of the network.  

As the EU aims to unlock at least €20 billion per year for nature under the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, it is expected that this could generate up to 500,000 jobs.  

The Natura 2000 network also plays a key role for the achievement of international biodiversity goals. In the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, almost 200 countries agreed to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems on land and on sea, and the effective protection and management of 30% of land and marine areas by 2030. This is in line with the commitments taken by the EU in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. As the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, Natura 2000 will make a significant contribution to deliver these targets.  

For more information 

Natura 2000 Award website: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/natura-2000-award_en  

Natura 2000 Award newsflash: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/env/user-subscriptions/235/create  

Natura 2000 network: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm  

Natura 2000 viewer: https://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/