Under this title, the new European project by the Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur, carried out in partnership with Natagora and natur&ëmwelt .s.b.l., began on January 1, 2025, and will run for a total of seven years.
The aim of this new project is to create or improve habitats for open area species. Animals such as the Bloodroot Copper, the Scabious Damier found in Belgium, the Red-backed Shrike and the Red-headed Shrike, or plants such as Arnica and Meadow Succise are indicators of intact ecosystems. If these animals and plants can be counted, and their populations maintained or even increased, then the area is in good condition. However, due to the isolation of these areas, populations cannot exchange and expand, which is why networking these habitats is of the utmost importance.
Corridors of hedges, rows of trees or along watercourses are deliberately created to link these isolated areas together. Populations need to be able to move and exchange in order to maintain themselves in the future. This networking takes place over an area stretching from the Belgian Ardennes to the Luxembourg Eislek, with a 5 km buffer zone (see map).
The cost of the project is 67% covered by an EU funding program, with the Ministries of the Environment in Luxembourg and Belgium providing the bulk of the remaining budget. LIFE (L'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement) is the only EU funding program that focuses exclusively on environmental protection concerns. The program, which has been in existence since 1992, supports measures in the fields of biodiversity, environmental protection, climate protection and energy transition.
The "LIFE-Nature and Biodiversity" funding area focuses on the protection of species and habitats of Community importance and biodiversity. The program supports the creation and management of the Natura 2000 European network of protected areas and the implementation of the EU's biodiversity strategy.
