The objective of the project is twofold: to test a number of private land conservation tools with an eye to promoting their replication at a wider level wherever feasible and proposing policy actions to support them, and to develop a robust, well-informed European network on private land conservation with a clear long-term strategy (after LIFE) and strong international allies.
The project's work programme focuses on implementing and assessing innovative private land conservation tools and models, exchanging knowledge and experience about these tools, identifying legal and political obstacles to up-scaling them, and promoting private land conservation among relevant stakeholders. By doing so, the project intends to contribute to the further development of private land conservation tools and the expansion of their use.
At the same time, the project will continue and strengthen the networking among the practitioners of private land conservation in the EU and more widely. It will establish an ELCN (European Land Conservation Network) secretariat that will be charged with the long-term management of the network. As outputs, it will produce assessments of the conservation tools tested in the project as well as guidelines and policy recommendations for private land conservation in the EU.