LIFE and coastal habitats

As the principal source of European-level funding for nature conservation, the European Commission LIFE Programme has a crucial role to play in ensuring the effective management and restoration of the Natura 2000 network in coastal areas and in meeting conservation objectives for coastal habitats and species. June 2017 LIFE Nature Focus publication illustrates the scope of innovative and best practices measures carried out by LIFE projects to improve the conservation status and resilience of coastal habitats across the EU. These range from coastal lagoons, estuaries and salt marshes, to dunes, coastal grasslands and meadows and near-shore marine habitats such as reefs and seagrass meadows. LIFE projects have also helped addressing a number of cross-cutting conservation management issues, including the threats posed by invasive alien species and climate change and the challenge of reconciling business with biodiversity. Indeed, the projects featured in this publication show that conserving natural capital also improves the supply and quality of ecosystem services provided by coastal areas, including coastal protection, and ultimately supports economic growth and jobs.