Sustainable Use of Regional Funds for Nature
The Sustainable Use of Regional Funds for Nature (SURF – Nature) project is a partnership of 14 authorities and public bodies (or bodies under public law) working together to optimise regional policies and practices with regard to promotion and preservation of natural heritage, biodiversity, and nature conservation through improving opportunities for and the impacts of financing these measures from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For the first time in the history of the ERDF, the current regulation specifically refers to the option for financing natural heritage, biodiversity and nature conservation (including NATURA 2000). This is consistent with an EC decision that investments in the Natura 2000 network of protected sites should be integrated into existing EC funds. As a result, nearly €4 billion in EU co-financing is available across the Member States for nature protection.
To best take advantage of the funds available, managing authorities and entities responsible for nature conservation need to improve their awareness of the availability of funding, and their capacity to identify, develop, and implement the necessary investment projects. In addition, authorities need to see the concrete benefits of using the funds for nature protection, and understand how to integrate these benefits into overall development planning for future funding cycles. Despite diversity across Europe, regions face similar issues when they seek financing for nature protection and promotion, particularly in the context of EU-funded programmes. Cooperation between regions and other relevant partners therefore has tremendous potential to transfer good practices, and to stimulate the development of mutually beneficial new ideas and methods.
To tackle these issues, the SURF-Nature partnership will carry out a series of activities aimed at the identification, analysis and dissemination of experience and good practice with using ERDF funds for nature conservation. Partners will analyse existing ERDF funding programmes (OPs) to identify how nature conservation is integrated into the process. A data base of 60 good practice investment projects will be created. The partnership will conduct a series of interregional workshops on specific funding themes and a series of training sessions within partner regions. Based on the results, partners will produce guidance documents covering specific funding themes, investment project development, and the next generation of funding programmes. Project outputs and results will be disseminated through the project website, quarterly newsletters, contacts with other initiatives, and two European conferences.