02 Jul 2007 - 'While the
worst effects of climate change may not hit
Europe for many years we must prepare now.
Climate change will have profound effects
on our natural resources and will also change.
ESPACE (European Spatial Planning: Adapting
to Climate Events) is a four-year European
project promoting the importance of adapting
the entire planning process to the impacts
of climate change.
Professor McGlade said that few European
countries are seriously imbedding climate
change into planning systems. 'While national
strategies to adapt to climate change do exist
in several European countries there are huge
gaps. As we look out across Europe we see
very little happening on adaptation despite
the stark warnings from the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Planners and planning authorities have a vital
role to play.'
She also praised ESPACE for being one of
the first transboundary projects for raising
awareness on the need for spatial planning
systems to adapt to climate change, establishing
trans-national and sub-national networks and
contributing to EU policy development.
A Green Paper on adaptation will be published
by the European Commission on 3 July 2007.
Living with climate change in Europe
Global warming is a fact. Climate change is
happening and it is even accelerating. What
we are seeing today are only the early signs
of climate change and the result of past greenhouse
gas emissions. Europe needs a wake-up call
to prevent that climate change takes catastrophic
dimensions later this century.
On 29 June, the European Commission has therefore
adopted its first policy document on adapting
to the impacts of climate change. This Green
Paper "adaptation to climate change in
Europe - options for EU action", builds
upon the work and findings of the European
Climate Change Programme.
The Green paper argues that we are now faced
with a double challenge: next to deep cuts
in greenhouse gas emissions we also need to
adapt to the changing climate conditions.
The paper describes possible avenues for action
at EU level. Its main objective is to kick-start
a Europe-wide public debate and consultation
on how to take it forward.
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Getting bogged down with carbon emissions
Blanket fauna bog in Berwyn and Migneint
The last Sunday in July is International
Bog Day, an annual event that celebrates the
beauty of bogs and raises awareness of the
need to conserve them. Although bogs take
about 10,000 years to form, as much as 96%
of them have been destroyed since 1945. Worse
still, damaged bogs emit large quantities
of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxides. As a bog’s peat
decomposes, these gases are released. Conversely,
healthy bogs absorb carbon, and as such can
be an ally in the struggle to reduce carbon
emissions. For all these reasons, one LIFE
project is working hard to restore bogs in
Wales.
The LIFE Active Blanket Bog project (LIFE06
NAT/UK/000134), launched last August, is to
last five years restoring blanket bogs in
the Berwyn and Migneint special areas of conservation
(SAC). Blanket bogs are areas of wet peat-land
that are fed exclusively by rainwater. Peat
is a waterlogged soil that is composed of
compacted, partially decomposed vegetable
matter. Although large areas of blanket bog
still occur in Wales, the majority have been
seriously degraded through afforestation,
encroachment by alien species, over grazing,
drainage, and either deliberate or accidental
burning.
The Berwyn South Clwyd Mountains and Migneint
Arenig Dduallt are two of the most important
SACs for blanket bog in the UK. Most of the
former site and all of the latter site are
also designated as SPAs for their breeding
upland bird populations. However, in the 1920s
and 1930s, farmers dug ditches in and around
the blanket bog to improve the agricultural
value of the land. Extensive areas of blanket
bog and other habitats in the Berwyn and Migneint
uplands were also planted with Sitka spruce
(Picea sitchensis) in the 1970s and substantial
areas have been invaded by rhododendron (Rhododendron
ponticum) and Sitka spruce seedlings.
The Active Blanket Bog project will remove
Sitka spruce and rhododendron bushes from
the bogland areas and institute practical
restoration and conservation actions. The
restoration work will take place over a total
area of more than 4,500 ha. Drainage ditches
will be blocked in and around blanket bog
on moorland within the Berwyn and South Clwyd
Mountains SAC. In each year of the project,
an estimated 18km of drains will be blocked,
mainly by using heather bales to create dams.
Over the lifespan of the project, a total
of 91km of drains will be blocked. Heather
mowing will also take place to create firebreaks
to help protect the blanket bog from fire.
This LIFE-funded project is a partnership
between the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment
Agency Wales, and Forestry Commission Wales.
Visit the project website. View the project
summary on the LIFE projects database.
‘Terning’ your attention to another webcam
in the wild
The Société d’Etude et de Protection
de la Nature de Bretagne (Bretagne Vivante
– SEPNB), a French nature conservancy, has
launched a webcam as part of its LIFE-funded
“Conservation of the Roseate Tern in Brittany”
project (LIFE05 NAT/F/000137).
The Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) is a
common sea bird whose global population is
about 50,000 pairs, which breed outside Europe.
Its Atlantic Ocean variety is fragmented across
the north-eastern coasts of North America,
the Azores, the Irish Sea region and the coasts
of Brittany. In Europe, the number of pairs
has been steadily increasing - except in France.
In Brittany, the population of Roseate Tern
decreased dramatically between the 1950s and
the 1980s. Since 1980, the annual decrease
rate has been around -0.9%, but dropped to
-3.6% between 1997 and 2004. Since there is
only one nesting site in France, L’île
aux Dames in Brittany, the species is extremely
vulnerable. The threats include uncontrolled
human disturbance, predation by foxes, minks,
rats and coypus, and interspecific competition
with gulls and rabbits.
The main objective of the project is to enhance
its breeding rate on L’île aux Dames
and to re-attract this sea bird to four other
neighbouring islands (la Colombière,
Trevorc’h, l’île aux Moutons and Petit
Veizit). Potential predators are being trapped
and eradicated, and by creating artificial
colonies using sound recordings and artificial
stone nests, the project is attracting new
Tern colonies.
Human disturbance may well be a danger to
the Roseate Tern, but you don’t have to worry
about doing any damage by “electronically”
visiting the project. So go on, watch Bretagne
Vivante’s tern colonies via their live online
video link.
Visit the project website. View the project
summary on the LIFE projects database.
Black stork webcam in the woods
The EagleLIFE project (LIFE04 NAT/EE/000072)
in Estonia has installed a live webcam in
the woods, allowing websurfers to get an up-close-and-personal
look at a family of ‘Tony and Donna’, a pair
of black storks.
Estonia harbours significant populations
of the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina)
(500-600 pairs) and the even rarer greater
spotted eagle (Aquila clanga) (only 20-30
pairs). Both eagles are listed as priority
species for LIFE funding, and 3% of the total
European population of each species are found
in Estonia. Additionally, Estonia is a one
of the key areas for the black stork (Ciconia
nigra), an Annex I Birds Directive species.
The EagleLIFE project aims to enhance the
conservation status of the eagles and black
storks and to encourage their management and
preservation.
Still of nest taken from
As part of the EagleLIFE project, the Estonian
Ornithological Society has installed a live
video camera in a nest of black storks that
the project has named “Tony” and “Donna”.
On behalf of the happy couple and their nestlings,
they’re also keeping an online diary. From
an entry of a few days ago (30 June), we can
see it’s a veritable soap opera in the nest:
“Space in the nest is becoming more scarce,
so more pushing and shoving is more usual,
and the strength of the wings needs to be
tested... The chicks' white plumage is giving
way by the hour.”
Go and have a look at the birds on the website.
You’ve only got a few weeks to go before the
chicks leave the nest!
View the project summary on the LIFE projects
database.
Bugs: Ugly but important
Endangered arthropods of Extramadura
Invertebrates, and particularly insects,
are an essential and too often forgotten part
of nature and deserve greater attention. Insects
play an extremely important role in our ecosystems
and are important actors in our economy as
well. They fascinate us with their graceful
flight and amazing complexity of their life
cycles.
The need for their protection is recognised
in the EU Habitats Directive. For this LIFE
project " Conservation of endangered
arthropods of Extremadura" (LIFE03 NAT/E/000057),
the region of Extremadura is to tackle the
protection of EU-listed insects present within
their territory for which conservation problems
have been identified. The insects include
two beetles (Cerambyx cerdo and Lucanus cervus),
four dragonflies (Coenagrion mercuriale, Macromia
splendens, Oxygastra curtisii and Gromphus
graslini) and one butterfly (Graellsia isabelae).
The project is to take place across a network
of seven Natura 2000 sites covering some 35,500
hectares in northern Extremadura. The loss
of habitat quality due to water pollution,
changes in land use or poor riverbank and
forest management is to be addressed in order
for these splendid animals to survive and
thrive.
According to its planned awareness and dissemination
actions, the LIFE project organised its first
conference on the conservation of arthropods
in Extremadura, Spain from 16-18 June, in
Cuacos de Yuste (Cáceres).
A number of national and international authors
presented a total of 19 reports, including
one from LIFE Unit desk officer Juan Pérez
Lorenzo, related to the conservation and study
of arthropods, focussing on conservation actions,
species studies (Graellsia isabelae, Macromia
splendens, Pyrgus sidae, Lucanus cervus),
species distribution in Catalonia and Portugal,
environmental awareness campaigns and management
actions. With the attendance of diverse groups
(natural resources managers; local and regional
administration technicians in charge of nature
conservation, hunting and fishing; the national
ministry of the environment; scientists and
other people indirectly related to work with
the arthropods), the participants reached
objective conclusions concerning the conservation
of arthropods. The high audience participation,
along with active contributions of all the
participants, resulted in the success of this
first conference and paved the way for future
meetings.
For more information, visit the project website
(Spanish only) and view the project summary
on the LIFE projects database.
LIFE-supported technology delivers more effective
cryptosporidium filtration than traditional
sand system
Sewage effluent after AFM filtration
Dryden Aqua Ltd., a Scottish marine biological
company specialising in water quality and
water treatment that co-ordinates a LIFE project
(LIFE02 ENV/UK/000146) to establish the first
full-scale processing facility for activated
filter media (AFM), has produced a paper on
AFM’s performance in the removal of cryptosporidium
and Giardia oocysts.
Sand filtration will be the principle means
of treating drinking water for many years.
Nonetheless, with the increasing demands on
our water resources and pressure to continue
to improve water quality, we have perhaps
reached the limit of sand filter performance.
As a consequence, UVC, ozone, carbon filters
and membrane systems are now becoming more
and more common.
AFM is a technique that can greatly improve
the performance of pressure and rapid-gravity
filters without resorting to such capital-intensive
systems. The WHO (World Health Organisation)
estimate that 6% of the disease in Europe
are water born, and the highest percentage
of these is due to gastroenteritis caused
by the four-micron diameter oocysts of cryptosporidium
and Giardia.
Research conducted by Dryden Aqua has confirmed
that AFM provides a much more effective barrier
to the passage of oocysts than is possible
for sand. Considering that the oocycts are
resistant to chlorine, AFM filter media provides
an opportunity to easily improve the performance
of most drinking water treatment systems and
reduce the incidence of disease. The public
and environmental health implications are
substantial.
To download a pdf of the report, “Drinking-water
filters deliver 30% increase in performance,
remove Cryptosporidium and giardia oocysts,”
visit the project website.
New LIFE website now online
With the kick-off of the new LIFE+ programme
just around the corner (expected publication
of the first call for proposals: mid-September
2007), the LIFE website has been completely
renewed, with a more thematic approach and
user-friendly look and feel.
The new design was influenced by the findings
of an online user survey carried out in mid-2006.
We thank our readers who contributed to this
survey.
LIFE by theme (with nine main themes to choose
from – these pages will be filled progressively
in the weeks to come).
Entries in the LIFE project database, LIFE
Best Projects, and LIFE by country are provided
on every page. The site is news-centred, with
a handful of stories on the homepage, an invitation
to read more, highlights, events and, of course,
the LIFE newsletter.
Five new Communication Factsheets for LIFE
beneficiaries published
Five new Communication Factsheets have just
been published on the LIFE website. Factsheets
are intended to assist project promoters with
their media products and communication activities
in general.
More factsheets will be published in the
coming months, so watch this space! View all
the factsheets.
The most recent factsheets are:
1. Engaging at the European Level
An increasingly important amount of environmental
policy-making takes place at European level.
From tackling air, water and noise pollution
and climate change to promoting waste management
and the protection of biodiversity, the EU
has a significant influence on policies and
activities taking place at all levels. To
fulfil their potential to make a difference
to laws and policies, LIFE projects should
often, therefore, be looking to influence
the European level.
2. The importance of good communication of
LIFE projects
Good communication is included within the
obligations of project funding for LIFE. However,
it is important to understand that good communication
is central to realising the full potential
of projects and increasing their chances of
achieving far-reaching objectives.
3. Networking effectively
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a network
as “a group of people who exchange information,
contacts, and experience for professional
or social purposes”. Networking is therefore
made up of the skills and actions necessary
to develop these professionally or socially
beneficial exchanges with others.
4. Designing on-site panels
On-site panels are large, highly visible boards
situated on or by a project site that provide
key information about the project and what
it is doing. Using them is an excellent way
of letting local people and visitors know
about the activities of the LIFE programme
in that area. A good panel will catch people’s
attention and allow them to understand quickly
what is happening at that site.
5. Organising a seminar or conference
Organising a seminar or conference can be
an important way of raising the profile of
your work or engaging with key stakeholders.
It can be an opportunity to share and exchange
with other experts in your field. Similarly,
having a representative of the European Commission,
a Member of a national or the European Parliament
or a local authority present at an event can
help engage with them around your objectives.
An event is a good opportunity to present
the results of your work or to attract media
attention to your project.
