The European Natura 2000 Award announced the start of the application phase for the 2022 edition of the Award.

This award rewards excellence in the management of Natura 2000 sites and showcases the added value of the network for local communities and economies across the European Union. The new edition includes updated Award categories to put more focus on the conservation of marine and coastal areas.

In 2020, 3 Interreg Danube projects (LENA, TRANSGREEN, ECO KARST) were among 27 finalists selected out of 79 eligible applications. The 6 winners of the 2020 Natura 2000 Awards included activities on Natura 2000 sites in Finland, France, Belgium, Spain, Bulgaria and our trans-boundary project TRANSGREEN, led by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, with partners in Romania, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Ukraine, which won the Cross-border cooperation and Networking category!

Not it's your change to get the recognition you deserve! Any organisation or individual can apply for an Award, so long as their work is directly linked to one or more Natura 2000 sites. The award recognises good practices at Natura 2000 sites in five different categories:

1. Conservation on land
2. Marine conservation
3. Communication
4. Socio-economic benefits
5. Cross-border cooperation

All the information needed to apply can be found on this link.