1. Agenda item 4a Private land conservation
Expert Group on the Birds and Habitats Directives “NADEG”
Brussels
Agenda item 4a Private land conservation

2. Priority C - Action 8: “Stimulate private sector investment in nature projects”:
« Support additional pilot projects specifically targeted at landowners’ organisations and their constituency, that significantly contribute to testing the applicability of tools for private land conservation in Natura 2000 »

3. Why targeting private landowners?
Large part of Natura 2000 in private hands
A bottom-up approach to deliver on Natura 2000
Leverage to do more with sometimes no or little public money
Public money will not be sufficient
High potential for good initiatives to be used and encouraged
Potential for jobs and social activities (sustainable tourism, local productions, etc.)
Positive experience in US and elsewhere …

4. On-going reflection 2015 study published by the Commission
LIFE brochure on land stewardship (2015)

5. Definitions
Land conservation: ”any activity that aims at regulating or directing the use of a piece of land for the sake of conserving habitats and species”
Private land conservation: ”voluntary activity carried out by individuals, communities, corporations or non-governmental organisations with the aim to protect a piece of land and its habitats and species from harm or to restore the natural properties of a piece of land to their former condition”.
Contrary: mandatory land conservation by authorities
Wide domain with:
different types of landowners,
different types of activities,
different tools to support private land conservation.
Activities: farming, forestry, hunting, tourism, etc…

6. Two LIFE projects (Preparatory projects)
LIFE EU Land Conservation Network ( )
10 partners (NGOs, public foundations)
LIFE Land Is For Ever ( )
3 partners (ELO, The Nature Conservancy, Agency for Nature and Forests of Flanders)
Common objective: Promote land conservation
Actions:
Test a number of tools (conservation easements, commercial incentive, tax incentive, privately protected areas, public recognition, label, etc.)
Develop a EU network on private land conservation
Make a census of existing initiatives
Assess landowners’s understanding of the issue
Draft policy recommandations
Commercial incentive: systems which offer added-value to products from an area in which farmers have made a joint commitment to conservation management

7. Thank you LIFE ELCN: info@elcn.eu LIFE LIFE: jurgen.tack@elo.org
EU Commission:
Above: private initiative to conserve biodiversity
Bottom: public nature reserve in BE
Same objective, different means