Communication and public awareness about nature and

biodiversity Some Commission's initiatives

Sylvia Barova Nature Unit

DG ENVIRONMENT

Natura People workshop Bruges and Knokke-Heist, Belgium, 2 -3 April2014

How much people know about Natura 2000 •  Europeans feel strongly about nature conservation, but few are familiar with Natura

2000. •  A recent Eurobarometer survey:

- Nine out of ten Europeans see the decline of natural habitats and the endangering and disappearance of certain animals and plants as serious problems. - Most citizens believe that the role of nature protection in preventing the destruction of valuable areas on land and at sea is important (ranging from 99% to 83% among the MS). - Only 27% had actually heard of Natura 2000 - Only 11% really know what it is

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1018_en.htm

Natura 2000 Award Aims at promoting best practices in nature conservation in Europe and give more visibility to Natura 2000

Natura 2000 Award Tools to promote

•  Widely announced with direct communication •  MS administrations •  NGOs and stakeholder groups •  LIFE beneficiaries •  Media •  Meetings

•  Web and Social networks

•  5 categories: communication, conservation, reconciling interest and perceptions, networking and cross-border cooperation, socio-economic benefits

•  160 applications, max 25 shortlisted

Natura 2000 Award 2014

Communication 49

Socio-economic benefits 8

Conservation 58

Reconciling interests 38

Networking 10

Natura 2000 Award 2014 - Next steps

•  5 Jury members to select the winners

•  Award Ceremony on 21st of May

•  Local events

Natura 2000 Newsletter - 2 issues per year

Nature in Europe Facebook page

Almost 50 000

Promoting green places in Europe

Some guidance from LIFE

•  Communicating with stakeholders and general public

•  Factsheets to assist project promoters with their media products and communication activities in general

•  Good examples on communication materials produces under LIFE projects

More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/toolkit/comtools/index.htm

For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/index_en.htm

Contacts: sylvia.barova@ec.europa.eu