Διαδικτυακή Πύλη Συνεργασίας Για Τα Δάση

This LIFE Focus brochure gives a taste of the breadth of stakeholder groups atypical to nature conservation that LIFE projects have worked with up till now - partnerships with the military, with religious and cultural institutions, volunteer networks, research institutes, law enforcement officials, and enterprises of all types and sizes. It reveals the secrets of successful projects and highlights important lessons for building strong and durable stakeholder partnerships for managing EU biodiversity. It also offers suggestions for innovative ways of collaborating with traditional LIFE project stakeholders; ways that demonstrate how new private initiatives can complement existing public funding mechanisms, be economically sustainable and create jobs. Land stewardship is one way of working with landowners and users to extend conservation practices beyond the boundaries of the Natura 2000 network. The pioneering LIFE project LANDLIFE has built a land stewardship network in order to stimulate the growth of a European movement for private land conservation

Among the varied functions of a forest, that of production has always been privileged at the expense of ecological functions. Forest managers now wish to combine different objectives in “multi-functional” areas. This is the case in suburban forests, where the social role is predominant. It is also the trend in protected areas where ecological functions are highlighted. Although lacking a large “primary” forest that represents the ecological optimum for scientists, certain measures of protection and management can be adopted to increase forest “naturalness”. This technical report has the following objectives: to describe the functioning of old-growth forests and to clarify the concept of naturalness; and to present the reasons that encourage us to protect forests, as well as the different means available to those who manage natural areas to help study and preserve them.