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27.10.2016
European Commission approves LIFE IP proposal
After a long lead time, the European Commission approved the proposal for the transregional Integrated LIFE Project “Atlantic sand landscapes” in October 2016. The overall responsibility lies with the Ministry for Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MULNV) as the Coordinating Beneficiary, in Lower Saxony with the Ministry of Environment of Lower Saxony (MU) as the Associated Beneficiary. The overall coordination of the Integrated Project as well as the project management and the implementation of the measures in North Rhine-Westphalia were assigned to the District Government of Münster. Technical support, especially in regard to conceptual work, is provided by the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Lower Saxony, the Project is managed and implemented by the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN).
Since January 2015, the elaboration of the project proposal had already been supported financially via EU funds from the LIFE sub-programme “Technical Assistance”. In October 2015, a concept note had been delivered to the EU Commission. Subsequently, a full proposal was developed with the project partners and local stakeholders until 1st April 2016. In a first step, the regional associations and institutions for conservation, agriculture and forestry both in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony had been informed. Then, on the regional level, the (rural) districts and urban districts, the Biological Stations and the associations were involved into the development of the proposal and its precise measures. At the federal level, cooperation with the other federal states within the Atlantic Region took place as well.
The Integrated LIFE Project was approved after thorough adjustments with the EU Commission in autumn 2016 and its duration was set from 1st October 2016 until 30th September 2026. The Project’s budget of 16.875 million Euros is funded to 60 percent by the European Commission. In addition, further complementary funds are incorporated.