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Nature & Economy - establishing regional win-win relationships (LIFE+EcoBusiness)
Start date: Sep 1, 2014, End date: Apr 30, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Background Regional companies lack awareness of the importance of protecting biodiversity. A stronger focus on biodiversity issues will also enhance climate protection measures in Lower Austria. The business sector would benefit from being confronted with the need to halt biodiversity loss and to protect ecosystem services. But in recent years, the benefit of safeguarding natural resources for industries has hardly been communicated. Objectives The EcoBusiness project aims to increase support for the protection of natural ecosystems and to foster sustainable spatial development. To reach this goal, the project, together with its partners, aims to increase cooperation with enterprises across all sectors. The project aims to raise awareness among SMEs (including the employees) of the relationship between enterprises and biodiversity, thereby increasing the knowledge and understanding of regional ecosystems and the value of ecosystem services. Another key aim of the project, ‘Action follows knowledge’, is to strengthen the capacity of those enterprises to act in favour of biodiversity. For example, the project will jointly develop guidelines through pilot nature activities, the ecological planning of company premises and two pilot training sessions. The information campaign will extend to the wider public to highlight the value of biodiversity and the activities of the enterprises involved. Expected results: Increased awareness of the economic importance of biodiversity and the capacity of enterprises to act in favour of biodiversity; Of a total of about 21 000 companies informed by the project; 300 deal intensively with this subject; 25 implement measures within the project period; 20 participate in pilot consultations concerning the ecological planning of company grounds and six of which will implement measures within the project period; 15 take part in nature cultivation activities on 10 areas (e.g. combating invasive species, conservation of a moor, installation of bat roosts and the reduction of soil sealing, sponsorships); 150 companies participate in the final conference; and Increase in the number of biodiversity consultations and company projects; Specific results of biodiversity conservation; 10 areas maintained within the project; Reduction of invasive species in two of these areas; Two alternative roosts for bats installed on company grounds; and One company contributing financially to bat conservation measures in the region; The general public is informed about the economic value of biodiversity and the activities of individual companies.
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