Long-term impact and sustainability of LIFE Nature
The latest LIFE Focus publication takes stock of the achievements to date of the LIFE Nature strand of the LIFE programme. Titled Long-term impact and sustainability of LIFE Nature, the 60-page brochure provides a user-friendly snapshot of the detailed assessments contained in the ex-post (after project’s end) evaluations of LIFE projects.
This evaluation process involves visits by experts from the LIFE Monitoring Team to a random sampling of completed LIFE Nature projects a number of years after they have finished. Some 9% of all LIFE Nature projects have been evaluated thus far. As well as outlining the history and methodology of the ex-post evaluation process, this new publication draws on the results of that qualitative research, backed up by new interviews with key stakeholders across several EU Member States, to highlight the lessons that can be learned in terms of LIFE Nature’s long-term impact and sustainability at both project and programme level.
These lessons include the impact of LIFE on species and habitats, the effect of large-scale investments, LIFE’s role in capacity-building (with a particular focus on newer Member States) and long-term success factors for projects, such as good project design and engagement with stakeholders.