NaturaConnect Annual Consortium Meeting: Designing and developing a blueprint for a Trans-European Nature Network

The NaturaConnect project is supporting EU Member States in developing a blueprint for a coherent Trans-European Nature Network of conserved areas, that protects at least 30% of land in the EU, with at least one third under strict protection. The project is:

• Addressing gaps in coherence and ecological representativeness of existing protection measures;
• Identifying priority areas for protecting and restoring multifunctional corridors;
• Engaging relevant stakeholders and co-designing tools and guidelines with them for maximal uptake;
• Developing future scenarios of nature in Europe based on stakeholders’ societal values and needs;
• Reviewing and disseminating spatial planning practices and conservation funding mechanisms and demonstrating in case studies how the decision support tools from the project can be applied across scales and contexts; and
• Bringing together state-of-the-art biodiversity and ecosystem service data and predictive models to contribute to the design of the TEN-N and a European monitoring system. 

Over the four days, progress towards these project aims will be addressed through presentations, plenary discussions, capacity building and knowledge exchange workshops, breakout groups, and an excursion to a site of national conservation importance. 

More information on the project can be found here: https://naturaconnect.eu/our-work/. Please contact naturaconnect@iiasa.ac.at if you would like to know more about our research.