Case Studies
Three cross-border case studies have been chosen to capture the complexities and challenges of ensuring sound and effective conservation management in cross-boundary scenarios. INSPIRE aims to provide methods and information to facilitate and enhance decision-making to address EU policies such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, Green Infrastructure Strategy, Habitats and Birds Directives, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The Aegean Sea and its catchments (Greece-Turkey-Bulgaria-North Macedonia)
INSPIRE aims to identify priority areas for conservation in the Greek territorial water and contributing catchments to the Aegean Sea to reach the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy targets by accounting for; protected and endangered habitats and species; climate change and biological invasions; propagation of land-based threats to river and the Aegean Sea from all adjacent countries; synergies and trade-offs with the main marine industries (fisheries, tourism).
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Tagus River catchment, estuary and marine area (Spain-Portugal)
INSPIRE aims to identify areas suitable for the expansion of the Natura 2000 network to increase the spatial coherence of the network at the catchment - estuary - sea environment, addressing gaps in the spatial connectivity and propagation and accumulation of pressures across difference realms. This case study will also address biodiversity conservation beyond protected areas accounting for additional objectives and productive sectors, like agriculture and commercial fisheries, identifying and minimizing potential trade-offs.
Lake Neusiedl, Seewinkel wetlands and its catchments (Austria-Hungary)
INPSIRE aims to identify areas where to manage biodiversity more effectively and decide on areas where specific actions could result in better outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The case study will cover freshwater and terrestrial systems, integrating multiple sectoral demands to identify possible synergies and tradeoffs, and inclusion of climate scenarios related to declining precipitation patterns resulting in a loss of surface water.
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Work Packages
INSPIRE Partnership
This research was funded by Biodiversa+, the European Biodiversity Partnership, in the context of the INSPIRE project under the 2021-2022 BiodivProtect joint call. It was co-funded by the European Commission (GA No. 101052342) and the following funding organisations: Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Spain), Ministerio dell´Università e della Ricerca (Italy), Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland), Fundaçao para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal), Der Wissenschaftsfonds (Austria), General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (Greece) and Salford University (UK).
