Belleuropa Award

Each year, the Belleuropa Award honours a member of the Wildlife Estates Label for the exceptional work that they have undertaken in maintaining, protecting and improving the biodiversity of its land.

The 2021 winning candidate was Högestad & Christinehof established in the 18th century and has been run by the Piper family ever since. It covers an area of 13000 ha in the Skåne region. 

Over the years the Piper family’s green spirit lives on, and the company continuously initiates environmental projects in all parts of its business.

The forestry is conducted with a gentle hand and with great consideration for the environment - completely without chemical pesticides. The agricultural sector uses the latest technology and takes care to provide abundant habitats for birds, pollinators and other beneficial insects. A census of the area after these environmental measures showed the presence of the red-listed species; mosshumla.

The company breeds organic beef cattle according to the Swedish KRAV standard, the grazing animals naturally contribute to diversity and keeping the landscape open.

2 200 ha (≈17 %) of the company’s land is protected and several of the nature reserves and Natura 2000 lands have such unique natural values that they attract tourists from all over Europe. 

 

The award was presented to the estate’s manager Christian NEGENDANK by Thierry de L'ESCAILLE (ELO Secretary General) and Konstantin KOSTOPOULOS (Wildlife Estates CEO). The Belleuropa Ceremony took place at the Stanhope Hotel on December 7th on the hybrid event as a grand finale for the European Biodiversity Conference, which discussed how the European Union environmental policies affect users.