From 15–17 June the Life+ARCOS team is going to Holland to participate in a meeting promoted by NEEMO, the organisation that supervises the development of LIFE projects, along with ECNC.
At the meeting, we gave a presentation on some aspects of conservation efforts ex situ-in situ that the project has been developing, especially focusing on the importance of restoring dune biodiversity using dune species seeds we have conserved in the project’s seed banks.
Here is the schedule of the meeting in which various dune restoration projects appear, which are financed by the European LIFE program.
LIFE platform meeting on restoration of sand dune habitats
NH Hotel, Zandvoort, the Netherlands, 15-17 June 2016
Wednesday 15th June
Registration desk open from 13.00 – Hotel Foyer
All Plenary Sessions to be held in Zeester Meeting Room – access by lift from foyer
Session 1: The Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process
14.30 Welcome by chair Sjakel van Wesemael, Nature and Recreation Manager, PWN
14.40 – 15.00 The Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process explained
EC Representative TBC
15.00 – 15.15 The LIFE programme 2014-2020 and expected LIFE project outputs in terms of dissemination, replicability and transferability
Angelo Salsi, Head of Unit B3 -LIFE and CIP Eco-Innovation, European Commission, Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)
15.15 – 15.30 The LIFE programme and dune habitats
João Pedro Silva, LIFE Communication Team, NEEMO-AEIDL
15.30 – 16.00 Refreshment break
Session 2: Lessons from the projects
16.00 – 16.15 REDCOHA-LIFE Restoration of Danish coastal habitats: focus on removal of invasive alien species
Uffe Strandby, Danish Nature Agency
16.15 – 16.30 Restoration of inland dunes and dry grasslands in military areas – LIFE+ Military Habitats project in Southern Poland
Wojtek Mróz, IOP, District Infrastructure Administration in Krakow
16.30 – 16.45 The SandLIFE project: coastal and inland dune restoration in Sweden
Magnus Jönsson, Land Manager, County Administrative Board, Skåne
16.45 – 17.00 Conservation and restoration of inland dunes and dune heaths in Flanders: LIFE projects Most-Keiheuvel and LIFE-Together
Lennert Damen and Bart Tessens, Agency of Nature and Forests of the Flemish Government
17.00 – 17.15 Light and Fire –LIFE: Dune management in the Boreal Zone
Päivi Virnes, Conservation Biologist, Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife, Finland
17.15 – 17.30 LIFE+ARCOS: coastal dune habitat restoration in northern Spain
Ignacio Alonso Felpete, University of Oviedo
17.30 Introduction to rest of programme and field trips
18.30 Buffet dinner
20.00 – 22.00 The Knowledge Market:
-Knowledge exchange and networking
Thursday 16th June
Registration Desk 8.30-9.00 outside Meeting Room
Session 3 Practical experiences and lessons: Where are we now and what needs to be done?
9.00 Welcome from chair Angelo Salsi, Head of Unit B3, EASME, European Commission
9.05 – 9.25 The Nitrogen problem
Annemieke Kooijman, University of Amsterdam
9.25 – 9.45 Invasive Alien Species in coastal dunes
Maike Isermann, University of Bremen
Project presentations
09.45 – 10.00 LIFE HELVEX: From pine plantations to dunes: a practical overview of the integral restoration of inland dunes in the cross border park Kalmthoutse heide-De Zoom
Frederik Naedts, Natuurpunt
10.00 – 10.15 Dutch Dune Revival: Revitalising dunes in Kennemerland: beach-dune sand transport and habitat restoration
Marieke Kuipers, PWN
10.15-10.30 Amsterdam Dunes- Source for nature, dune habitat restoration project
Luc Geelen, Waternet
10.30 – 11.00 coffee break in workshop rooms and workshops to 12.30
Session 4: Workshops
Workshop 1: Challenges with rejuvenation and dynamics in inland and coastal dunes
Leader: Evert Jan Lammerts, Staatsbosbeheer
Presenter: Eva Remke, Bargerveen Foundation
Workshop 2: Challenges and experiences with grassland habitats in inland and coastal dunes
Leader: Luc Geelen, Waternet
Presenter: Marijn Nijssen, Bargerveen Foundation
Workshop 3: Drawing up a roadmap for the Atlantic Biogeographical Process
Leader: Albert Salman, Coast and Marine Union-EUCC
Presenter: Jean-Louis Herrier, Agency for Nature and Forests, Flemish Government
13.00 Collect sandwich lunch
Field visits
13.15 – 17.30 Field visits by bicycle.
1. During the excursion to the Amsterdam Dunes Project led by Mark van Til and Martijn van Schaik of Waternet we will show you:
• Mosaic management grey dunes
• Large scale removal of Prunus serotina shrubs
• Removal of pine forest
• Small scale blow-outs
• Large scale restoration: Van Limburg Stirum project
• Dune slack restoration and new ponds
2. Dutch Dune Revival: During the excursion to the Noordwest Natuurkern in National Park Zuid-Kennemerland led by Coen van Oosterom (PWN) and Ruud Luntz (Natuurmonumenten) we will show you:
• Old and new Dutch coastal management
• Large scale interventions in frontal dunes
• Successful connection beach-dunes
• Large scale reactivation of parabolic dunes
• Need for aftercare management
• Integration of recreation and bunkers in this nature project
• Profit and loss of the Dutch ‘Poldermodel’
18.30—21.30 Social Dinner at Club Nautique Zandvoort www.clubnautique.nl
Friday 17th June
Registration Desk 8.30 – 9.00 outside Meeting Room
Session 5: Ways to proceed, including feedback from workshops
9.00 Welcome by chair Ed Cousin, Head of Nature Management, Waternet
Project presentations
9.10 – 9.25 LIFE FLANDRE: cross –border cooperation
Jean-Louis Herrier, Agency Nature and Forests, Flemish Ministry of the Environment
9.25 – 9.40 National Conservation and Management Programme for Natura 2000 Sites in Latvia – example of coastal dunes
Juris Jatnieks, Nature Conservation Agency, Latvia
9.55 – 10.10 Developing a UK dune restoration programme
Sue Rees, Natural England
10.10 – 10.30 Wuthering Heaths-Restoration on inland dunes and sandy heathland in the North-western Veluwe
Peter Dam, Natuurmonumenten
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break
Session 6: Plenary discussion and input to dune roadmap
11.00 – 11.30 Feedback and discussion from working groups
11.30 – 11.45 Developing a ‘dune roadmap’ for 2016-2020 to take the views of the meeting forward to the Atlantic biogeographic seminar in Ireland in October 2016.
Neil McIntosh (ECNC) and John Houston (NEEMO)
11.45-12.15 Discussion and conclusions
12.30 Sandwich lunch
13.15 – 16.00 Excursion by bicycle to the Wisent Project Kraansvlak (European bison project) http://www.wisenten.nl/en/project