Grants for the maintenance and improvement of biodiversity

Grants for the maintenance and improvement of biodiversity have been published in actions that affect the state of conservation of the Natura 2000 Network, within the framework of the Rural Development Program of Castilla-La Mancha 2014-2020. These grants are aimed at the preservation of species and habitats, requiring actions aimed at maintaining and strengthening their state of conservation through the implementation of actions to maintain, and even improve, the environmental quality of the areas included in the territorial scope of the Natura 2000 Network and those of other systems of high natural value.

Beneficiaries

They may be recipients of aid, the owners of an agricultural holding or a group of owners, municipalities, local entities smaller than the municipality, associations of municipalities, private companies and individuals who carry out an economic activity, as well as associations and non-profit institutions.

Eligible actions

All investments aimed at the protection of habitats considered as priorities and for species classified as of community interest:

a) Investments aimed at the protection of habitats considered as priorities and for species classified as of community interest:

1. Conducting censuses and inventories, studies on ecology, biology, distribution or conservation, as well as cartographic improvement, of the species or habitats of the Birds Directive and Directive 92/43/EEC, provided that they are carried out and/or endorsed by universities or other official research centers.
2. Conservation actions included in species conservation and recovery plans and management plans.

b) Preventive actions aimed at preventing damage caused by species classified as priorities of community interest included in Directive 92/43/EEC.
c) Actions that increase faunal biodiversity in agricultural farms (construction of nurseries, naturalization of water points on livestock farms for use by wildlife, installation of elements for nesting and shelter of birds)

1. Recover and restore agricultural and livestock buildings of interest to fauna and incorporate construction elements that allow breeding and serve as a refuge for species. Build and restore platforms, artificial nests, and nesting towers.
2. Restore pastures and shrubs through fencing, planting and planting with their own shrub species, selective clearing to maintain the pasture and scrub areas established for each Natura 2000 area or around threatened flora sites, the use of controlled burns and livestock to control excessive scrub, and others.
3. Restore or build temporary water points, rafts or watersheds as important areas for aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna, compatible with wildlife, limiting access to livestock and human disturbances.

d) Costs associated with the elimination and population control of species included in the national catalog of invasive alien species. These actions will entail the restoration of the affected ecosystem.

Download the Order here