Still in 1992, the European Directive 92/43/CEE, or Habitats Directive, is approved as a direct response to Bern’s Convention for European wildlife and its natural habitats. A good year, 1992. Within the Habitats Directive, there is a new protection area category called Special Area of Conservation (SACs). And SACs, along with the SPAs mentioned before, form the Natura 2000 network.

Natura 2000 is the largest protected area network in the European Union, comprising two types of protected areas [4]. Its goal is to put the brakes on biodiversity loss and to protect the most endangered habitats and species. We are talking about a major protection tool for the EU.

But how is this related to LIFE? Well, can you guess who funds Natura 2000 areas?

Not only does it fund protected areas, but LIFE also covers funding for many other kinds of projects as well. There are some dedicated to species conservation, either animal or vegetal, projects for scientific divulgation, for research of different topics, …

In Spain, for example, LIFE program funded the LIFE Iberlince project [5], which was successful in the amazing recovery of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), and managed to go from being critically endangered in 2005 – only 168 individuals remained in the wilderness – to being considered “just” vulnerable – last monitoring assessments affirm that about 2000 individuals are now free. The LIFE Red Quebrantahuesos project [6] has also succeeded in reintroducing the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in two Natura 2000 spaces that had declared it extinct. 

As mentioned, there are many other types of projects, regarding also divulgation and awareness, such as LIFE Invasaqua [7], a project focused on raising awareness about aquatic invasive species, both animal and vegetal, in the Iberian Peninsula. There are research projects, too, such as LIFE+Respira [8], a research project about green mobility impacts in urban air quality, focused on measures to improve it by urban planning and adequate urban transport management.

LIFE program is critical in the protection of Europe’s biodiversity, being a key element in several species’ reintroduction projects, environmental issues divulgation, scientific research, etc., as well as protected areas in general. It has been a cutting-edge tool regarding Nature’s conservation, and the current situation of the UE future budgets is nothing but concerning. There is no longer an explicit mention of the program because, as said by the Commission, they are looking for a simplified European bureaucracy. According to them, the goals remain the same but are encompassed inside the new Competitiveness Fund [9]. 

The current global situation is uncertain and insecure. The EU is going after a simplified bureaucracy and legislation to promote investments and private companies’ clean energy development, circular economy, … However, neglecting the greatest tool for biodiversity in Europe, with the pretext of pursuing these objectives, cannot be allowed. We should not forget that ecosystems – Nature – are still the foundations of it all, and if they are affected, we will be as well. Pursuing competitiveness may sound nice, but let’s just say that it’s like being concerned about the wall’s painting, while the foundations crumble. We can only hope for the Commission to realize the importance of taking care of our home. 

Cover image: EU LIFE project logo. Image by Alvaro1984 18, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons