Natura 2000 Award Finalist: Wolf Fencing Team Belgium

Natura 2000 Award Finalist: Wolf Fencing Team Belgium

On 29 May 2024 the European Commission announced the winners of the 2024 Natura 2000 Award. This prestigious European award recognises outstanding management of Natura 2000 sites and showcases the added value of the Natura 2000 network overall, conserving nature for local communities and economies across the EU. 

The high-level Jury chose the winner for each of the five award categories among the 27 finalists and more than 20.000 European citizens cast their vote to select the winner of the European Citizens’ Award. The Polish initiative to protect the black stork came in first for the Natura 2000 Citizens’ Award, closely followed by the Belgian Wolf Fencing Team for promoting peaceful coexistence with wolves, a Natura 2000 Award finalist in the category “Working together for nature”.

The Wolf Fencing Team Belgium (WFTB) supports livestock owners since 2019 by providing practical help in setting up appropriate fences to prevent wolf attacks on livestock as well as providing expert advice such as on fences’ maintenance. In addition, WFTB provides hands-on support in applying for subsidies with a recorded 1,080 Belgian livestock owners so far. To date, none of the WFTB adjusted wolf-resistant fences have been concerned in the ca. 260 damage cases in the Belgian region of Flanders since the WFTB has been active in the region. The initiative has not only directly led to reduced conflict around the wolf in Belgium but also convinced a broader European public that cast their vote for this project.