Good news from around Europe
The municipality of Benicàssim, on the eastern coast of Spain, is pioneering a sustainable urban drainage system to evacuate torrential rain water from its town centre. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency with which heavy rainfall floods the streets of Mediterranean seaside resorts. As part of the LIFE
The European Commission has approved an investment package of €98.2 million to support Europe’s transition to a low-carbon, circular economy under the new LIFE funding programme for the Environment and Climate Action. Today’s investment package will contribute towards improving the quality of life for European citizens in five areas: Nature,
The EU has increased LIFE funding dedicated to nature conservation and biodiversity by 10%. New EU rules adopted on 16 November 2017 specify that at least 60.5% of the budget allocated to LIFE’s sub-programme for environment will now go towards protecting Europe’s natural capital. Powered by WPeMatico
The European Parliament promoted action on climate change mitigation by inviting experts from across Europe to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable forest management with Members of the European Parliament. The meeting was hosted by representatives from the Spanish region of Murcia, which is carrying out a LIFE project
The LIFE MERMAIDS project has found a natural polymer that fixes synthetic fibres in place, reducing by up to 80% the number of microplastics released when washing clothes. According to research conducted by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the LEITAT technological centre in Spain, a typical 5 kilogramme
Hundreds gathered this week at the first Natura 2000 summit in Munich, Germany, to discuss the social benefits of nature conservation. The summit, organised by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection and the LIFE living Natura 2000 project, focused on the merits of the Natura 2000
A state-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is helping the MoorLIFE 2020 project track improvements from conservation work across the vast open moorlands of the Peak District and South Pennines in the UK. The Moors for the Future Partnership conducted the first flight of the innovative UAV towards the end of
The European Commission has released its new Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. The strategy builds on prior EU efforts to deal with plastic waste in the environment. It notably states that, by 2030, all plastic packaging in the EU must be reusable or easily recyclable. At present, the
A survey of Mongolia’s vast grasslands has convinced Hortobágy National Park to overhaul conservation strategies in Hungarian steppes. The report outlines how nomadic traditions could benefit ecosystems and help boost local livestock production. Traditionally, cattle, sheep, buffalo and horses reared in the Hungarian Puszta have fed on dry grass and
Ornithology institutes across Europe have brought online the largest citizen science dataset ever produced on biodiversity in the EU. The LIFE-funded Euro Bird Portal has uploaded over 40 million of bird observations and translated them into animated maps. More than 100 000 amateur birdwatchers have contributed to the dataset. Combined