The Natura 2000 Award has been won by 41 organisations and partnerships since the Award’s launch in 2014. This page is dedicated to them, in recognition of their tireless efforts to conserve Europe’s nature and biodiversity.
2024 winners!
2024 edition - Citizens' Award WinnerBest practices for the conservation and management of the black stork in Poland, a project that implemented an impressive series of actions to improve the protection of the black stork.
2024 edition - Conservation on land - WinnerConserving and restoring mire habitats in Estonia, which achieved the restoration of natural water conditions over nearly 8,000 hectares of mires.
2024 edition - Communication - WinnerFrom the woods to the web and back: communicating to promote community engagement and citizen science in Northern Italy, protecting the Natura 2000 ‘Boschi di Muzzana’ site, through communications and community action.
2024 edition – Working together for nature – WinnerGround-breaking agri-environment payment scheme for farmers in Natura 2000 areas in Ireland, an extremely convincing demonstration of how farmers can be paid fairly and effectively to protect Natura 2000 sites and habitats.
2024 edition - Marine conservation - WinnerReforesting the sea: conservation and restoration of “blue forests” in the Sado Estuary, Portugal, engaging the local fishing community, decision-makers and scientists in conserving and restoring threatened seagrass meadows.
2024 edition - Cross-border cooperation - WinnerGrazing to preserve Natura 2000 habitats and species: a Pyrenees example from France and Spain, this initiative has built capacity amongst local authorities and directly restored 1,670 hectares of mountain grassland areas.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The winners were announced by the Executive Vice-President to the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and the members of the high-level jury at the Natura 2000 Award Ceremony, held in Brussels on 29 May 2024.
EVP Maroš Šefčovič said:
In the 10 years of the Natura 2000 Award, including this edition, we have seen exceptional commitment of public authorities, stakeholders and local communities to ensure the network continues to flourish and provide vital ecosystem services for future generations. My congratulations to finalists, winners and all the applicants for their hard work.
Find out how the Ceremony unfolded on the event page.
Meet our previous winners!
2022 edition - Conservation on land - WinnerAdaptation of Eleonora's falcon to climate change (Greece) improving the species’ habitats, its breeding areas and its food sources.
2022 edition - Cross-border cooperation - Citizens' Award WinnerFLORA: Empowering conservation entrepreneurs in Austria, programme involving farmers and other organisations aimed at protecting biodiversity.
2022 edition - Socio-economic benefits - WinnerSocial inclusion and managing invasive alien species (Spain) removing an invasive alien species from five coastal Natura 2000 sites.
2022 edition - Cross-border cooperation - WinnerEvaluate the dark side with the CaveLife app (Germany), allowing amateur cavers to contribute to the assessment of underground habitats and species.
2022 edition - Communication - WinnerNatura 2000 Bulgaria: New Horizons (Bulgaria) using easily recognisable species to raise awareness about the Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria.
2022 edition - Marine conservation - WinnerFishermen and seabirds, allies for the sea (Portugal) a device that helps fisherman avoid birds trapped in their nets. A win-win solution!
Latest updates from previous and current winners
Winning a Natura 2000 Award is one small part of the ongoing work of all the winners. This section presents news and updates from the 2022 winners, as well as winners from previous editions: discover more about the events they hold, as well as about their ongoing activities.
Monitoring threatened habitats below groundWinners of the Cross-border cooperation category (2022) the German Speleological Federation's four-day local event was held at an ancient monastery in Lower Saxony, Germany, and highlighted the achievements of the winning application “Evaluate the dark side with the CaveLife app”, as well as drawing attention to the conservation of gypsum karst habitats.
Protecting threatened seabirds in collaboration with fishermenWinners of the Marine conservation category (2022) local event took place in Peniche (Portugal). The local event, highlighted the successful collaboration with partner organisations, demonstrated how the accidental capture of seabirds by commercial fishing practices can be reduced and included the symbolic handover of “scary bird” devices to the fishing community.
Promoting social inclusion and nature restorationWinners of the Socio-economic benefits category (2022), SEO/BirdLife's local event highlighted the important focus on inclusivity by bringing together local and regional authorities, people with disabilities involved in the project, environmental as well as non-environmental NGOs, and various media outlets.
Supporting Eleonora’s falcon population in SkyrosWinners of the Conservation on land category.(2022) the University of Patras and the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), two-day local event was open to general public, and highlighted the biodiversity conservation measures undertaken beginning with a round table discussion and a children's workshop.
Promoting Natura 2000 to members of the general publicWinners of the Communication category (2022) local event took place in Museumko, Sofia. The local event highlighted the importance of biodiversity in Bulgaria through board games, various artistic exhibitions and a presentation by the Wildlife Rescue Centre of Green Balkans.
Creating innovative partnerships to support nature conservationWinners of the European Citizens’ Award (2022) FLORA's local event took place in Centre for Culture in Perchtoldsdorf, Austria. The local event highlighted transnational collaboration and included discussions exploring challenges facing biodiversity, and nature conservation solutions for Austria and Europe.
Moving towards wildlife-friendly transport networksWinners of the Cross-border cooperation and Networking category (2020), Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic local event began with a conference focused on cross-border conservation measures. The event ended with visits to three ecological corridors that facilitate the movement of carnivores in the Czech-Slovak region.
Raising awareness about good boating practices for protecting fragile coastal areasWinners of the Communication category (2020), Lannion-Trégor Communauté's local event began with a trip by kayak to discover bird nesting sites and learn about how they are commonly disturbed. The event ended with a walking tour starting at the port of Rébeurden led by a member of the regional Natura 2000 office.
Ten keys for co-ownership nature projectsWinners of the Reconciling interests / perceptions category (2020) , Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos improved nature protection by involving a wide group of actors in nature decision-making processes. The 10 keys were applied to their local event which involved a bike ride to visit otter holds within the area on the Dutch/Belgian border.
United for Bulgarian old-growth forestsWinners of the European Citizens’ Award 2020 resolved a year-long conflict of interests between forest owners and nature conservationists. Their local event included a guided tour through the 100-year-old beech forest by the Executive Director of the Forest Agency and scientists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The event finished at the Vitosha Eco-Centre.
Fostering knowledge about marine biodiversity and its conservationWinners of the Conservation category (2020) the Finnish Ministry of Environment's local event began with a meeting focused on sustainable management of marine and Natura 2000 area, followed by field trip to local Natura site in Liminka Bay National Park, a presentation by students, a visit to a restoration site, some birdwatching and ended with a dinner.
Celebration shepherds as Natura 2000 conservatorsWinners of the Socio-economic benefits category (2020) created a certification brand Pro-Biodiversidad to support the sheep farming sector, halt rural abandonment and improve biodiversity. Their local event began with visits with farmers to discuss challenges, followed by a lamb meat tasting which was certified with their brand.