The Project

Through LIFE projects, the EU provides support to implement commitments that Denmark has in the environment and climate areas, including safeguarding of nature in the Natura 2000 sites. Natura 2000 is a network of valuable habitats in the EU. The areas must be preserved and protect a variety of rare and endangered habitats, wild birds, plant and animal species. LIFE IP Natureman is an integrated LIFE project. The integrated projects require a holistic approach that creates coherence with the EU Water Framework Directive, climate strategy and regional development.

Why LIFE IP Natureman? 

Rare and endangered semi-natural habitats in river valleys are lost if the areas are not grassed or cared for. Often nature conservation is expensive and difficult, and today many habitats are overgrown with trees and shrubs.

The Farmer as a Manager of Nature

LIFE IP Natureman will focus on preserving and protecting alkaline fens, petrifying springs and grassland in 11 Natura 2000 sites in Himmerland and Midtjylland.
We will do this by purposefully working to make it economically interesting for agriculture to have natural areas with grazing or harvesting of biomass in the operation, thereby developing nature management as a sound branch of farming. It is voluntary for the individual farmer to participate in the project.

Lateral Collaboration

Handling challenges in nature conservation requires holistic solutions that make it necessary to collaborate across disciplines and organizations. 
The initiatives in the project, therefore, are determined in close cooperation between the Ministry of the Environment and Food, 8 municipalities and the farming organizations.

Efforts

Specifically, the project will work to create larger, cohesive areas that are more profitable to care for.
Farmers, agricultural consultants and municipal employees will be offered education in nature conservation as a business branch. Support schemes focusing on nature values ​​are tested and aids are developed for animal husbandry in nature areas.
The project will also support the development of new technology such as drones or electronic ear tags that will facilitate the supervision of grazing animals, as well as the development of machines that can harvest biomass on natural areas in a gentle manner. In addition, the possibilities for marketing and branding meat and other local products from natural areas must be investigated.
The project's efforts must be organized in such a way that they best support growth and development in rural areas.

Experience Must Be Published

The experience and the tools developed in the project must be published through networks for landowners and farmers with animals and in the long term also be used in other natural areas.

The project runs during the period : 2018-2025

  78 mio kr.: EU LIFE Program 

  11 mio kr.: Aage V. Jensen and the 15. Juni Fonden 

    8 mio kr.: 8 municipalities

  33 mio kr.: Statens Naturpakke

130 mio kr.: Total Budget

Complementary actions like research and development projects that supports the efforts in the project will be launched with additional funding.

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