WORKSHOP MANUAL FINAL Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/002)

Transcription

1 WORKSHOP MANUAL FINAL Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/002)

2 CONTENT INTRODUCTION 34 WORKSHOP PREPARATION 67 WORKSHOP CONTENT 89 WORKSHOP ASSESSMENT 1112 ANNEX I: TEMPLATE LETTER FOR INVITING PARTICIPANTS TO THE WORKSHOP 1213 ANNEX II: CHECKLIST FOR THE FINAL PREPARATION OF THE WORKSHOP 1415 ANNEX III: INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION FORM FOR PARTICIPANTS 1516 CONTACT 1516 This document has been prepared in the context of the project Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/0020), carried out by WWF Germany in collaboration with The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), GHK Consulting Ltd, Alberto Arroyo Schnell, WWF European Policy Programme (WWF EPO), WWF Danube Carpathian Program Office (WWF DCPO), WWF Mediterranean Program Office (WWF MedPO), WWF Greece. 2

3 INTRODUCTION This manual is part of a EC funded contract on Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/0020). The manual has been developed by the contractor in order to prepare national s in close cooperation with national authorities. The s aim to provide information about the possibilities to improve the uptake of Natura 2000 financing from 2014, they aim to facilitate a discussion across ministries responsible for the different funds and will engage a wider audience in the discussion about future funding of Natura Overall Policy context The Europe 2020 Strategy 1 for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth issued in March 2010 provides the overall strategic framework for EU policy and spending in the period The strategy takes a thematic approach, by introducing seven flagship initiatives that define aims and actions relevant for the three main priority themes around which the strategy is build innovation, inclusion and sustainability. The Resource Efficient Europe flagship initiative 2, under the theme of sustainable growth, serves as the umbrella for action to fulfill EU environmental objectives. In the long term the flagship initiative promotes to create a low carbon economy and decouple economic growth from resource use and its environmental impacts, including among others the protection of valuable ecological assets and maintaining the services they provide. For action in the medium term a number of measures have been identified, including the launch of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to Endorsed by the EU Member States, and supported by the European Parliament 4 in , the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 includes 6 targets and 20 actions. Under the first target ( Full implementation of EU nature legislation to protect biodiversity ), the following action is foreseen: Action 2: Ensure adequate financing of Natura 2000 sites The Commission and Member States will provide the necessary funds and incentives for Natura 2000, including through EU funding instruments, under the next multiannual financial framework. The Commission will set out its views in 2011 on how Natura 2000 will be financed under the next multi annual financial framework efficient europe/ See previous link. 3

4 Financing Natura 2000: current status of the discussion As a response to Action 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the Commission Staff Working Paper on Financing Natura was launched in December This document presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the current approach to EU co financing of Natura 2000, as well as an overview of relevant provisions in Commission proposals for the next multi annual financial framework. The paper also explains how the "Prioritized Action Frameworks" (PAFs) required under the Habitats Directive can serve as strategic planning tools to help strengthen the integration of Natura 2000 financing across all EU financial instruments for the next programming period. The PAFs are expected to systematically outline the priority needs for financing the Natura 2000 management measures, and the potential sources for this financing needs from EU and national funds. National and regional PAFs were expected to be ready by the end of 2012 early , before Operational Programmes are finalized. As a result, the PAFs can have the strongest possible influence during the planning of the financial period and especially during the drafting of the national and regional programmes for the use of the EU funds. In particular, it is anticipated that the PAFs will be useful to identify and ensure the uptake of funding opportunities provided through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Social Fund and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Furthermore, the PAFs can assist member states to identify both funding needs and opportunities that can be financed via the environmental financial instrument LIFE or the Research fund, Horizon 2020 as well as through national funds. By identifying the funding needs of Natura 2000 and locating funding opportunities, member states have the potential to develop a comprehensive funding plan for the financing period. It is noted that the year 2013 is of high importance for the completion of the PAFs, since they could play a decisive role when the Partnership Agreements and indicative allocations and programmes for the EU funds are negotiated between the Member States and the European Commission. About the project The project Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/0020) aims to support the EC and Member States in their task to ensure a good understanding of funding opportunities for Natura 2000 under the next Multiannual Financial Framework. It addresses all stakeholders and facilitates access to information about financing opportunities, with a view to helping ensure better uptake of funds for Natura 2000 in the financing period Operational Summary Record of the 12 th meeting of the Co ordination Group for Biodiversity and Nature (CGBN) held on 29 th March

5 It includes three tasks: Task 1: Updating the Financing Natura 2000 Guidance Handbook Task 2: Developing a toolkit to assess the consistency between the PAFs and the Operational Programmes Task 3: Organizing s in the Member States to provide information on the possibilities of financing investments in the Natura 2000 in the specific national context This manual has been developed by the contractor in order to prepare the national s in close cooperation with the national authorities and is part of Task 3 of the project. This project is been carried out by a Consortium led by Peter Torkler, WWF Germany. Consortium partners include The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), GHK Consulting Ltd, Alberto Arroyo Schnell, WWF European Policy Programme (WWF EPO), WWF Danube Carpathian Program Office (WWF DCPO), WWF Mediterranean Program Office (WWF MedPO), and WWF Greece. The lead on each task has been divided among the project team. For any question or clarification regarding the preparation of the national s, please contact Alberto Arroyo Schnell ( aarroyo@wwf.eu telephone: ). 5

6 WORKSHOP PREPARATION This manual presents the main elements for the national s. Exact details are to be discussed and agreed upon with the national environmental authorities responsible for financing Natura 2000 in each country. The ideas presented in this manual aim to help the preparation of the, including main goals, target groups, expectations, and planning details. Preferably the timing for the s should coincide with the drafting of the major funding programmes which are subject to negotiations between the European Commission and Member States. Ideally the s should take place at a stage during which the national and regional Operational Programmedrafts can still be improved. Therefore, we estimate that a date during the second semester of 2013 or early 2014 would be the most appropriate. The main goals of the s are: Provide information to participants on the updated handbook, Prioritized Action Frameworks, different sectoral funds and on possibilities of financing investments on Natura 2000 in the specific national context. Provide a forum for discussion among different stakeholders about the needs for investments and priorities for spending. Provide the participants with a general policy framework for the financing of Natura 2000 (as part of the sub target 1 of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, as part of the Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative, one of the 7 Initiatives from the Europe 2020 Strategy). The target groups (expected participants) should include representatives from: national and regional public authorities, esp. EU funds managing authorities and Ministries in charge of the coordination of the national level EU funds programming process relevant sectoral ministries and/or agencies, stakeholder organizations (including land users and landowners associations, civil associations, and environmental NGOs), custodians and administrators of Natura 2000 sites, potential beneficiaries, relevant professional bodies, experts, and others. An ideal number of participants would be between participants per. When possible it is suggested that the invitations are prepared jointly with the national authorities a template sample is provided in Annex I. It is also suggested although not absolutely necessary that the invitations are ideally 6

7 sent from the national authorities, or jointly with the contractors (eg by ), well in advance of the. The contractor will be in charge of organizing the s in the members states agreed with the European Commission however the support of the national authorities is crucial for the success of these events. The contractor will be in charge of the venue, interpretation if needed and refreshments. If the is planned for more than one day, accommodation costs for participants cannot be covered by the contractor. The s should be organized and conducted according to national needs and expectations; however, a number of key issues will definitively be discussed during these s: these are the so called obligatory modules (see next pages). The content and expected discussions from these obligatory modules are foreseen for at least two thirds of a day. For the remaining part of the day(s), organizers will be able to choose from the voluntary modules (see also next pages). In some cases other modules or discussion could be facilitated, if considered relevant for a given country. The decision on the final structure of the (i.e. voluntary modules, timing, presenters) will be done in accordance with the national authorities. If a second day is planned this could include a training session to use the assessment tool. A template agenda has been prepared in a separate document. It is suggested to send some background information (eg in digital format, or through web links) to participants well in advance of the, so as to allow them to check it in detail if possible. This should include the updated Handbook, the toolkit and the PAFs (national and/or regional). 7

8 As a summary, the information which should be provided to participants in advance to the includes: The invitation letter (template in Annex I of this document) The agenda / logistics (template in separate document) The background information (including links to updated Handbook and toolkit, and ideally the national/regional PAFs and OPs, which could be made available via natura2000.eu), Furthermore, the following information is also provided, mainly to organizers: Checklist for organizers (Annex II of this document) Individual Evaluation Form (Annex III of this document), to be provided to participants during the Workshop Report Template (separate document), to be completed 15 days after the by the organizers WORKSHOP CONTENT Obligatory Modules It is suggested to start the with a short general overview of the policy context of the financing of Natura 2000 discussions and the frame of the project the Introduction chapter of this document could serve as a basis for this presentation. With some advance planning in setting the dates, the introduction might be provided by a commission staff member. Also it should be ensured that all participants fill in the evaluation form at the end. (1) Updated Handbook: The updated Handbook for Financing Natura 2000, based on the new relevant EU regulations for the period , will be introduced and discussed. A member of the Project Team will present the updated manual. A template presentation in English will be available online for this module ( natura2000.eu). The presentation will include some general principles on the use of EU funds, and some ideas about existing opportunities. As mentioned, it is also suggested to send the updated handbook to participants in advance (although only available in English), and facilitate some time for questions and discussion during the, following the presentation (about half of the time). Time for presentation and discussion is estimated to last 1 to 2 hours. (2) National PAFs: The national (and/or regional) PAFs will be introduced and discussed. This presentation should be provided by the national (and or regional) authorities. By the time of the, it is expected that all MSs will have their PAFs ready, and submitted to the EC (in case it is not ready, an overall presentation of the PAF status or expectation for Natura 2000 funding 8

9 could be provided by the responsible environmental authority). In general, this might be the occasion for the national environmental authorities to present the PAFs to a wider audience. In this sense, it is again strongly advised to send the PAF well in advance ofthe s, as well as allowing enough time for discussion (about half of the time). It is also possible to plan a block on PAFs, including this module, the toolkit module, and other discussions related to PAFs (eg the voluntary module on LIFE integrated projects and PAFs, or others). Time for presentation and discussion is estimated to last 1 1,5 hours. (3) Toolkit: The Toolkit for evaluating the consistency between the PAFs and the national and regional Operational Programmes will be introduced and discussed. A member of the Project Team will present the toolkit. A template presentation in English will be available online for this module (via natura2000.eu). For this module it is also advisable to leave enough room for discussion (eg a minimum of one third of the available time), as participants might not be very familiar with the issue. It could be considered to run this module after the obligatory module (4), so by the time the toolkit is presented it might even be possible to suggest a very practical use of the toolkit for some concrete measures. Finally, as already mentioned, participants would benefit from having access to the toolkit in advance ofthe. Time for presentation and discussion is estimated at 1 1,5 hours. (4) Status of EU funding for at national and regional level: The timing of the s, should allow for enough time to inform and discuss relevant draft national operational programmes. Ideally the OPs will not be finally agreed and still subject to consultation. This is an opportunity for national authorities responsible for developing those programmes to collect and discuss further views. The discussion should also cover issues such as the criteria for eligibility of projects and measures, information on national/regional authorities and contact points responsible for different OPs/funds. Ideally, each relevant managing authority could briefly present the current status of their sectoral programmes (eg rural development, fisheries, regional development), allowing for discussion afterwards. This could include short presentations on relevant EU funds which don t necessarily include the need for national/regional programming, but are still very relevant for Natura 2000 (Life+, Horizon 2020). Time for presentation and discussion is estimated at 1,5 2 hours. Voluntary Modules These suggested voluntary modules are examples of discussions that could potentially be interesting for national authorities and participants. In any case, the Consortium is open to discuss further possibilities or ideas to be included in the final agenda. (5) Analysis of the current status of financing Natura 2000 in the Member State: This module could help participants to understand the current status and potential ways to improve the financing of Natura 2000 at the national level, 9

10 e.g. in terms of administrative capacities, experience of beneficiaries, ideas on how to reduce bureaucracy, financing issues, or others. This could include relevant ideas about the current possibilities to use EU funds (period ). The national environmental authorities or external experts could help with this presentation, which could last 1 1,5 hours including room for discussion. (6) PAFs & Integrated Projects under the future LIFE+: Due to the relevance of LIFE for financing Natura 2000, especially to apply the integrated use of other sources, this could be a relevant module to consider in some countries. This presentation could be done by the national authorities or by external speakers, it would be helpful to plan some time for discussion, and it is expected to last between 1 and 1,5 hours. (7) Expectations for the future financing of Natura 2000 in the Member State: This module would be a facilitated discussion, where participants would have the opportunity, ideally after having participated in the discussions of the obligatory modules, to express their views in a facilitated discussion. A member of the Project Team could facilitate this module, which could last between 1 and 2 hours. (8) Good Practices on financing Natura 2000: There are several positive examples of financing Natura 2000 in some EU member states, which could be used to inspiring new ideas and approaches; in particular following the document Successful and innovative approaches to financing Natura , but also using some national examples if those can be identified together with national authorities. The module can be presented and the discussion facilitated by a member of the Project Team, the national authorities or external speakers. It could last between 1 and 1,5 hours. (9) Socio Economic Benefits of Natura 2000: This module could focus on several aspects of the socio economic benefits of Natura 2000, including the conservation for intrinsic nature values versus conservation for more utility values, Member States specific benefits from Natura 2000, communication aspects (how to better sell Natura 2000), innovative financing instruments in relation to payments for ecosystems services, or it could explore synergies with other sectors. The recent EC publication on Socio Economic Benefits of Natura 2000 could be helpful for this discussion, which could be introduced and facilitated by either the national authorities, a project team member or an external expert. It could last between 1 and 1,5 hours

11 WORKSHOP ASSESSMENT The evaluation of the is a fundamental task, as it provides an opportunity to collect feedback and understand the national views on the future financing of Natura For this purpose, 3 evaluation levels are foreseen: o 1. For the participant, through an individual evaluation form to be circulated during the s. The format will be the same for all s, and it will include some questions that will allow for comparison with the results of previous related projects (i.e. previous EC projects related to financing of Natura 2000). The individual evaluation form is provided in Annex III of this document. o 2. For the national, via a reporting template, which the Project Team will fill in with input from the national authorities when possible. The aim is to compile information from all s and summarize them in a final report. It will also integrate the results from the individual evaluation form per participant, and again it will include some questions that will allow for comparison with previous related projects. It will be completed maximum 15 days after each. The Workshop Report Template is provided in a separate document. o 3. For all s, compiling the national reports into a final report. This overall report will be part of the deliverable for task 3 of the overall project. 11

12 ANNEX I: Template letter for inviting participants to the Dear Mr / Mrs. >>National partner<<, in collaboration with >>national authority<< have the honor of inviting you to the entitled Financing Natura More and new opportunities from EU funding ?. The will take place on >>DATE<< in >>VENUE<<. Natura 2000 constitutes the EU-wide ecological network of conservation areas with the aim of maintaining and restoring habitats and species of great value to the EU. While the Habitats Directive gives member states the responsibility for managing the Natura 2000 network so that protected habitats and species of Community interest attain a favourable conservation status, the implementation of the necessary management measures is eligible for co-funding through EU funding instruments. A number of funding opportunities for Natura 2000 were available during previous programming periods and in fact were highlighted in the Financing Natura 2000 Guidance Handbook (EC, 2007), which has been widely used across the EU. For the programming period, this will help to show the new opportunities for funding Natura This means also to discuss the consistency of Operational Programmes with Prioritised Action Frameworks which can establish clear priorities, management measures, identify needed actions and define funding needs for Natura In this context, the European Commission project Strengthening the uptake of EU funds for Natura 2000 (ENV.B.3/SER/2012/0020) aims to ensure a good understanding of funding opportunities. It involves a wide range of stakeholders dealing with Natura 2000, facilitates access to information about financing opportunities and helps to ensure better uptake of funds for Natura 2000 in the financing period. The project is implemented by WWF Germany and a consortium of expert partners across Europe, including >>national partner<<. As a core component of the project, this is organized by >>national partner<<, in collaboration with >>national authority<< and aims to provide: up to date information on the policy framework for the financing of Natura 2000 presentation on the funding opportunities for Natura 2000 during the programming period, through an updated Financing Natura 2000 handbook, overview of the >>Member State s<< Prioritized Action Framework and a discussion of the possibilities of financing investments in Natura 2000 in the specific national context. a forum for discussion among different stakeholders about the needs for investments and priorities for spending. 12

13 Invited guests to the include representatives from >>> <<< Please note that the is free of charge, the organizers cannot cover travel or accommodation costs. Enclosed please find a preliminary programme, the registration form and information concerning the venue. We believe the would greatly benefit from your participation through adding your expertise and experience to the discussions. We would be delighted if you would accept this invitation. Sincerely, For more information please consult the projects discussion platform on future funding ( or contact: >>responsible person<< >>contact details<<. 13

14 ANNEX II: Checklist for the final preparation of the Workshop elements What Who When National contact persons CM 5 6 months in advance of the are identified and committed to support the organization of the s The date and duration of the CM NA 4 5 months in advance of the has been discussed and agreed with NA The meeting venue has been agreed, booked and is well CM 2 3 months in advance of the equipped for the Translation if needed has been arranged/completed CM 2 3 months in advance of the Catering if needed has been foreseen CM 2 3 months in advance of the The agenda and speakers have been agreed with NA CM NA 2 3 months in advance of the Target groups and CM NA 2 3 months in advance of the participants have been agreed with NA All persons giving a CM 2 3 months in advance of the presentation have been individually contacted and have received the necessary background information (number of participants, place of meeting, duration of presentation, etc.) Invitations have been sent out and are available online CM NA 2 3 months in advance of the (including agenda, registration form, and logistics) Presentations have been CM In advance of the adjusted to national context and translated if necessary Evaluation sheet is prepared and copies are made CM In advance of the The national evaluation CM NA 1 month in advance of the form have been prepared The national evaluation CM NA During / before the end of forms has been distributed the among participants The national evaluation CM NA By the end of the forms have been collected The Workshop Report has CM NA 15 days after the been completed Any other relevant points NA National Authorities CM Consortium Members Checklist + Comments / agreements 14

15 ANNEX III: Individual Evaluation Form for participants County, Date: Feedback to the Workshop Financing Natura Did the fulfil your expectations? 2 Was the organisation (timing, place, composition of content and participants etc.) adequate? 3 Do you think that the PAF will help to improve the financing of Natura 2000 in your country? 4 Do you think that the national/regional PAFs developed in your country are adequate? 5 Do you think that the integration of Financing of Natura 2000 in different funding lines is a positive way forward? 6 Do you think that the need of financing Natura 2000 in your country will be covered by the implementation of the integration option that is incorporated within the new EU funding? 7 Is the Guidance handbook a helpful document for the implementation and financing of Natura 2000 in your country? 8 Is the toolkit helpful for you? 9 Do you think that the toolkit will be used in your country? Any other comments? Comment (especially if you fill in or for one or the other question): Contact Alberto Arroyo Schnell aarroyo@wwf.eu telephone: