The Billa Foundation Blooming Austria is committed to a healthy environment and ecologically sustainable agriculture. It has now been honoured with the European Commission's most prestigious nature conservation award.
The European Commission's Natura 2000 Award was presented for the sixth time in May 2022. It honours outstanding nature and species conservation projects from all over Europe. The Billa Foundation Blooming Austria, together with BirdLife Austria, beat 20 other finalists in the final for the European Citizens' Award and received the most votes in the Europe-wide citizens' vote. As a result, it won for its Flora foundation programme and the European Commission's most prestigious nature conservation award went to Austria for the first time.
The Billa Foundation Blooming Austria is committed to a healthy environment and ecologically sustainable agriculture, thereby making a significant contribution to nature and species conservation in Austria's regions. Blühendes Österreich has been supporting and strengthening communities, organisations and farmers with Flora since 2015. The Flora foundation programme received an award for its cross-provincial strengthening of organisations and farmers in Natura 2000 and European protected areas.
from left to right: Lucia Igleasia Blanco, Coordinator Natura 2000 Award, Ronald Würflinger, Managing Directors Blühendes Österreich and Iva Obretenova, Policy Officer European Commission, DG Environment, at the award ceremony in Brussels
Curbing climate change
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, announced the winners at the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Natura 2000 network in Brussels and congratulated them, saying: "Protecting and restoring the European Union's natural heritage and biodiversity is crucial to mitigating climate change and preserving life on Earth for future generations. Over the past 30 years, thousands of professionals, volunteers and stakeholders have worked to protect nature and restore ecosystems. These people have made the Natura 2000 network the success it is today. At awards ceremonies, the trophy only ever goes to one person, but we should all feel like winners, because when nature is protected, the benefits are there for all of us."
Appreciation for motivated commitment
Elke Wilgmann, Billa board member, is delighted that the motivated and long-term commitment of Blühendes Österreich is recognised as excellent work at the highest European level: "I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the people who have committed themselves to nature conservation within the framework of Flora and, of course, to those who voted for and supported our Billa Foundation Blühendes Österreich in the citizens' vote and also contributed to this great success. We are on the right track, even if there is still a lot to do when it comes to nature conservation."
Municipalities, farmers and organisations financed with 1.5 million euros
As part of the Flora Foundation programme, Blühendes Österreich provided municipalities, farmers and organisations with almost 1.5 million euros in funding from 2015 to 2022.
This cooperation has ensured the management and cultivation of 400 hectares of open land and 500 hectares of High Nature Valuable Farmland. As the measures were implemented across both regional and provincial boundaries, Blühendes Österreich has secured and improved habitats such as endangered biotopes, priority species and habitats across regions. This has made it possible to protect endangered, endemic species.
The Natura 2000 network of protected areas was introduced by the EU and aims to halt the loss of species and habitats and to secure Europe's natural habitats in the long term. The network now covers 18 per cent of Europe's land area and nine per cent of its marine areas. Natura 2000 is the largest network of nature conservation areas in the world. The activities in the Natura 2000 protected areas not only protect endangered native plant and animal species, but also store 35 billion tonnes of CO².
The Natura 2000 network therefore also makes a significant contribution to climate protection. In Austria, the Natura 2000 network comprises 350 sites, 272 of which have been legally designated as European protected areas. The individual provincial governments nominate corresponding areas and report them to the EU Commission.
