Life B4B, Belgium for biodiversity

The B4B project’s objective is to protect and restore biodiversity in Belgium by contributing to the implementation of all regional Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs) and the Belgian Marine Strategy – Natura 2000 conservation objectives and measures. 

The B4B covers the entire territory of Belgium. A four pillar approach has been designed to protect and restore biodiversity based on the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030 and PAFs: 

1) Protect biodiversity by improving the integrity of the protected areas in Belgium (Natura 2000 and other Green Infrastructure)

2) Restoring biodiversity by improving the conservation status of species and habitats: a dedicated large-scale restoration agenda will be put in place and carried out by complementary funding. In addition species protection programmes and action plans for species and habitats will be drafted and implemented using complementary funding. Also several agricultural initiatives will be developed like nature inclusive agriculture and Private Land Conservation tools will be piloted in Belgium. 

3) Reducing the impact of environmental pressures; for light pollution, effects of effluents and recreation, Several pilots will be initiated to mitigate the effects of these threats and will be upscaled using complementary funding. Hydrology and climate change are the other two threats that will be tackled within the scope of this project. 

4) Enabling Transformative Change: many stakeholders are involved and thus several horizontal measures are put in place. This includes capacity building, communicating towards stakeholders, Natura 2000 branding and investing in relation managers towards other policies to mainstream biodiversity. The LIFE B4B will also contribute to the biogeographical process. With B4B we bring Natura 2000 to the people! 

ELO has the lead on the actions related to private land conservation e.g. development of management plans for individual owners including innovative tools for nature conservation

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.