Project - Life Volunteer Escapes

LIFE framework

The LIFE programme is an EU funding instrument used to further action in the environmental and climate change sectors. The overall objective of the LIFE programme is to contribute to the implementation, update, and development of EU environmental and climate change policies and legislation, through the co-funding of projects with a particular European value.

The LIFE programme began in 1992 and has completed four full programme cycles (LIFE I: 1992 – 1995, LIFE II: 1996 – 1999, LIFE III: 2000 – 2006, LIFE +: 2007 – 2013). Throughout this period, the LIFE programme has co-funded close to 3,954 projects across the EU, contributing around 3,100 million EUR to environmental protection.

The European Commission (DG Environment and DG Climate Action) manages the LIFE programme. The European Commission delegates the implementation of many components of LIFE programme to the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). External selection, monitoring, and communication teams also support the European Commission and EASME.

Objectives

Deployment of a minimum of 175 volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme in activities targeting environmental protection, conservation, and restoration of natural areas and ecosystems (mainly Natura 2000 locations and species/habitats protected by the Birds and Habitats Directive);

Active involvement of nine Portuguese organisations with different objectives and national coverage in the deployment and management of ESC volunteers (one national authority for environmental policies, one local public administration, four ENGOs with complementary objectives, one national organisation which brings together companies with sustainable corporative devolvement policies, one association which brings together public/private bodies which develop services/ecotourism products, and one association from the media sector).

Increase opportunities for ESC volunteers, with the objective of developing their potential, through experience and learning via a diverse range of activities to be carried out by each of the partners (including training). Furthermore, the planning and implementation of an innovative volunteering programme, together with the possibility for the volunteer to undertake a joint volunteering by rotating with different partner organisations, thereby enabling the acquisition of more experiences and competences (this programme will deploy at least 30 volunteers).

Increase internal capacity of partner organisations to complete their objectives, namely through the rotation mechanism referred to previously, and to the ESC volunteers, as a means to enable a greater interchange of knowledge and good practices between organisations;

Increase capacity and support of the LIFE projects to develop, through a greater work force and activities to be completed by the volunteers, including the direct support to four LIFE projects in which some of the partner organisations are also involved; raising the awareness of the organisations that manage Natura 2000 locations as to the opportunities offered by the ESC initiative to maintain and restore this biodiversity network throughout Europe; increase in cooperation and experience interchange including among property owners, farmers and companies, in the context of rural development zones that support environmental protection, nature conservation, and restoration of natural areas and ecosystems.

Promoting the joint work between ESC volunteers with supporting volunteers coming from the general public, including 2090 external volunteers who are expected to participate in the activities carried out by the project

Increase and promote the cooperation between the project beneficiaries with an additional group of at least 105 external organisations (private companies, public companies, and nonprofit organisations, including those from the third sector and property owners)

Outline the basis for the continued implementation of the joint nature conservation volunteering programme, upon completion of the current project, with the objective to receive ESC volunteers (maintaining the participating organisations as the actual beneficiaries but expanding to private companies, public companies, non-profit organisations including ENGOs, and those involved in the third sector)

Expected results

The programme was developed to assess the training and competences provided to volunteers, the training of participating organisations, and the value of the conservation work carried out. Therefore, as in all LIFE projects, it is expected to demonstrate a group of concrete deliverables, which will illustrate the fulfilment of the outlined indicators, by relating to the increase in socioeconomic awareness, capacity, and outcomes resulting from the project.

The project foresees the deployment of 175 volunteers, the acquisition of new competences by the deployed volunteers, with an overall satisfaction rate of at least 80%. Regarding organisations, it is expected that they will bolster nature conservation cooperation, by involving at least 105 external organisations (public and private). It is expected that nature conservation efforts will be more farreaching – or at least, cover 91 ha of relevant habitats (87 of which fall within the Natura 2000 network). This will contribute to the control and eradication of invasive species in at least 69 ha of relevant habitats. In addition, it will raise awareness and involve at least 3870 individuals, as well as organisations involved in nature conservation (including 38 private companies, 47 public companies or non-profit organisations, as well as 20 property owners). More wide-ranging and long-lasting results are foreseen in the general public, through a TV series, which is expected to be seen by at least 500,000 individuals.

In light of all of the above it is also expected that the project activities will be replicated and/or transferred to other stakeholders who could benefit from the latter, an international scope therefore being possible, as part of a joint work network deriving from the LIFE ELCN project, in which MONTIS is a beneficiary.