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 2019 winning candidate was Valbelviso, which occupies a well conserved alpine territory, with forests, pastures, meadows and high altitude open areas with a dense water network, rocky areas and glaciers. The whole environment is represented by natural habitats, without human settlements. No form of agriculture is practiced and the husbandry of domestic animals, such as free grazing cattle and sheep, typical of the local culture, is present in very low densities. A large area of the estate is protected by the Natura 2000 network. Many valuable and endangered species, both botanic and faunistic, are found in this estate, thanks to the valuable natural habitats. Hunting activities, concentrated over a few months each year, are conducted with a strong commitment to reducing disturbance and impact on all species present in the area. The management collaborates with parks and universities for conservation and scientific studies and management programs.. The award was presented to the estate’s owner Giampiero PESENTI by Piero MANZONI. The Belleuropa Ceremony took place at the European Parliament on December 10th as a grand finale for the European Biodiversity Conference, which discussed how the European Union environmental policies affect users.