D2C DaRe to Connect - Supporting Danube Region’s ecological Connectivity by linking Natura 2000 areas along the Green Belt
What is the GreenBelt?
With the European Green Belt, an extraordinary ecological network and living memorial landscape has been developed along the former Iron Curtain. In the area of the INTERREG Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) the European Green Belt connects 10 countries. It forms a backbone of the Pan-European ecological network and can provide a significant contribution to EU Green Infrastructure (GI) and TEN-G.
We dare to connect!
However, the Green Belt still suffers from a certain level of not sufficiently connected habitats and valuable landscapes. The main objective of the „DaRe to Connect (D2C)“ project is therefore the implementation of the EU Danube Strategy by further transnational development of the connectivity of the Green Belt as backbone of EU Green infrastructure (EU GI) by maintaining and enhancing ecosystems and their services.
Technology, nature and people
There are several main parts of the project:
- The project defines feasible ecological corridors between Natura 2000 areas on transnational and macro-regional level by innovative GIS and remote sensing approaches, partly based on newly available EU-Copernicus (Sentinel) data.
- Then, the project will provide concrete guidance and recommendations on planning and establishment of transnational ecological corridors connecting Natura 2000 areas on local and regional level, derived from pilot actions.
- Results will be mainstreamed via a transnational strategic vision "Green Belt in the Danube Region 2030” to be endorsed by national political stakeholders.
- The improvement of capacities of responsible public bodies and NGOs will lead to better understanding as well as to an improved knowledge exchange and cooperation.
- PR-work and events will give local/regional people and politicians an understanding of how connectivity and ESS can contribute to human wellbeing.
Project participation and learning interaction will enhance individual capacities of the project partners' staff and other involved institutions to further develop the European Green Belt in the DTP area.
The project activities are focused mainly in 6 pilot regions:
You can read more about pilot regions here.
- Start date
- 01-06-2018
- End date
- 31-05-2021
- Budget in Euro
- Overall: 2086654,1
- ERDF Contribution: 1684031,98
- IPA Contribution: 89624
- ENI Contribution: 0
- Call number
- Call 2
- Priority
- Environment and culture responsible Danube region
- Specific objective
- Foster the restoration and management of ecological corridors
Library
Project Partners
| Name | Type | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavarian branch of BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany, BUND Project Office Green Belt | Lead partner | melanie.kreutz@bund-naturschutz.de | GERMANY |
| Ametyst Non-governmental organization | ERDF partner | marinakova@ametyst21.cz | CZECH REPUBLIC |
| Environment Agency Austria | ERDF partner | maria.stejskal-tiefenbach@umweltbundesamt.at | AUSTRIA |
| University of Vienna, Division of Conservation Biology, Vegetation Ecology and Landscape Ecology | ERDF partner | thomas.wrbka@univie.ac.at | AUSTRIA |
| Őrség National Park Directorate | ERDF partner | i.szentirmai@gmail.com | HUNGARY |
Project News
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D2C - Night Life of Birds in the Őrségi National Park
- 08-07-2020
If we think of owls, we imagine them as secretive creatures in the dark rather than daytime birds. Most of them, indeed, are active in the dark. What do you think, are there any other birds that can be seen out there at night? As part of the...
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D2C - Collaboration with Czech Scouting on European Green Belt
- 24-06-2020
The Czech project partner Ametyst NGO cooperates with Junak – Czech Scouting to promote the European Green Belt and improve ecological connectivity. Ametyst helped to choose some areas suitable for scout program “Patronages”. The aim of the...
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D2C - Meadows - common topic in Dare to Connect's Pilot Region 1
- 15-05-2020
A theme of meadows is a common topic of all parts of Pilot Region 1 in all three of its countries - Germany, Austria and Czechia. They create significant part of the area thus are important phenonema of the project. At the Czech side, detail...
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D2C - Spring project activities in Croatia
- 29-04-2020
Spring is very good season for specific field works. Thus, Croatian project partners PI VPC in Virovitica Podravina County spent first two weeks of March by monitoring of a very rare spring flower, Fritillaria meleagris, present on 5 continual...
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D2C - Corona is not halting D2C project implementation
- 20-04-2020
COVID-19 outbreak is influencing our life substantially, there are more or less rigorous restrictions in partner countries which don’t allow us to work normally. However, the project work is not halted. Yes, personal events are cancelled or...
