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 - Let‘s see European Green Belt in Šumava!
- 25-10-2019
Czech project partner Ametyst NGO and National Park Šumava have organized first excursion of general public to European Green Belt. Participants visited places with turbulent history such a shooting range of border guards, a forest intersection...
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D2C - Field meeting of project partners in Pilot region 1
- 03-10-2019
D2C Project Partners from Pilot Region 1 met with local experts at the Czech-german border at September 24, 2019. Together with experts from the Nationalparks Sumava and Bayerischer Wald, the University of Southern Bohemia České Budějovice,...
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D2C - Project presented to public in Šumava National Park
- 17-09-2019
The project partner Ametyst NGO presented the Dare to Connect project at two public events organized by the National Park Šumava. The first one the National Park Šumava Day took place in the Information Center Rokyta on 13th July. Šumava showed...
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D2C - Journalists visited the D2C project
- 03-09-2019
This year is important for the European Green Belt, its is 30th anniversary of the breakdown of the Iron Curtain. It is good opportunity to introduce the EGB to media. That is why we invited 7 journalists from 5 countries on August 19-21,...
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D2C - Field work continues in summer
- 16-08-2019
Also during summer, experts from NGO Ametyst work throughly in the field to learn more about nature in Green Belt. We visited together 15 selected localities accross Pilot Region 1at the Czech site. The area stretches from the very south in the...
