About the project

Within this six-year project, a variety of measures will be implemented with the aim to promote different valuable species and habitats within the EU Special Protected Area "Wälder und Wiesen bei Burbach und Neunkirchen" (DE 5214-401). Protected within the EU-wide Natura 2000 network, the area is home to a variety of habitats for forest and grassland birds, but also many other rare species such as the violet copper. Within the forested areas, the project aims to promote deciduous forests with particular focus on the preservation of old-growth forest and nesting trees with breeding cavities. These measures are intended to benefit the three different woodpecker species, the Red Kite and various co-occurring species.

This project further aims to conserve historical forms of forest usage such as coppice with standards and so-called “middle forests”. Apart from forests, the conservation of species-rich extensive grassland (i.e., meadows and pastures) with a focus on insect diversity will be promoted. As flagship species, the two rare butterfly species, the Violet Copper and the Marsh Fritillary will be promoted by connecting isolated populations within the EU Special Protected Area and by re-introducing the latter species in the region. In addition to that, grassland bird species - especially the whinchat – will also benefit from the planned measures.

This project is executed by the Biological Station Siegen-Wittgenstein, one of 40 Biological Stations in North-Rhine Westphalia. The Biological Station was founded in 1990 by the "Verein zur Förderung der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Naturschutz und Landwirtschaft im Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein e.V." with the purpose to conserve valuable habitats for especially rare and endangered animal and plant species. Together with local land users, the character of the diverse cultural landscapes of the Siegerland should be maintained. The Biological Station Siegen-Wittgenstein has five main areas of responsibility, which are:

• Protected area management
• Technical supervision of the program for maintenance of cultural landscape (KULAP)
• Species conservation
• Scientific and advisory tasks
• Nature and environment-related public relations and educational work

Characteristic for the natural environment of the region are beech forests of the Luzulo-Fagetum and Asperulo-Fagetum habitat types, forests on steep slopes of the Tilio-Acerion habitat type as well as cultural landscape biotopes like as coppice forests (locally called “Hauberge”) and extensively managed species-rich mountain and lowland hay meadows, dry and humid meadows as well as pastures.

Extensively managed grassland habitat types with characteristic grass species like Nardus stricta or Molinia caerulea have been widely preserved, especially in old communal pastures. Some grassland areas have turned into fallows due to wetness or remoteness. Remarkable are also the numerous small rivers with their riverine tree communities. Due to its geology, the high diversity of valuable habitat types and the still largely practiced extensive cultivation, a high species richness has been preserved in the area, both in floristic and faunistic terms, typical for the German central mountains of the past.

The project area comprises the entire EU special protected area "Wiesen und Wälder bei Burbach und Neunkirchen" (DE 5214-401) in the southern corner of the Siegerland. The area is characterized by a structurally complex mosaic of cultural and natural landscapes. The EU special protected area is bordered by two other EU special protected areas across the federal state borders of Hesse (DE-5115-401 "Hauberge bei Haiger") and Rhineland-Palatinate (DE-5212-401 "Hoher Westerwald"). Measures implemented within this project are designed to contribute to the connection of grassland target species (e.g., the whinchat and the two butterfly species) between these Natura 2000 sites and across the federal state borders.

LIFE (L'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement) was launched in 1992 and is a program of the European Commission that supports the development and implementation of the European Union's (EU) environmental, nature conservation, energy and climate policies. The new LIFE program (funding period: 2021-2027) has a total budget of €5.43 billion and its objectives will be implemented in four subprograms:

• nature and biodiversity,
• circular economy and quality of life,
• climate change mitigation and adaptation,
• clean energy transition

Natura 2000 is an EU-wide network of protected areas for the conservation of endangered and/or characteristic habitats and species. It is composed of so-called special areas of conservation protected under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) and special protected areas under the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC).

In contrast to nature reserves or national parks, special areas of conservation are designated to serve the protection of certain plant (flora) and animal (fauna) species as well as endangered habitat types that are rare throughout Europe. A list of valuable plant and animal species or habitat types has been defined, which can be found in the "Annexes" of the Habitats Directive.

The legal basis for the special protected areas is the EU Birds Directive. It came into force in 1979 and regulates the protection of wild bird species and their habitats in the European Union. Those species considered particularly valuable and can also be found in the Annex of this directive.

With currently about 27,000 protected areas covering 17.5 % of the EU's land area, Natura 2000 is the largest transboundary, coordinated network of protected areas in the world. It represents a major contribution to the conservation of biodiversity in the EU.

Particularly relevant for the designation of special protected areas under the Birds Directive are the species listed in Annex I, which are considered particularly endangered or worthy of protection. In the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, 17 of these species can be found as breeding birds. The region has one special protected area, which is located the communities of Burbach and Neunkirchen. Among other valuable species, this area is home to the largest breeding population of the whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) in the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia and furthermore the project area of the LIFE project "Siegerländer Kultur- und Naturlandschaften" (cultural and natural landscapes of the Siegerland). In the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein there are a further 30 special areas of conservation protected under the Habitats Directive with a total size of 15,494 ha (corresponding to about 13.7 % of the district area). Seven of these special areas of conservation are located within the project area.

Partners of the LIFE project are the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of North-Rhine Westphalia (MULNV NRW) and the NRW Foundation.

The MULNV NRW (https://www.umwelt.nrw.de) is the principal nature conservation authority in Nort-Rhine Westphalia and responsible for the implementation of Natura 2000 and thus for the implementation of the Priority Action Framework (PAF). The MULNV NRW is therefore also responsible for the subsequent designation of Natura 2000 protected areas or for the extension of these areas. Within the framework of the obligations for the implementation of Natura 2000, the MULNV NRW in cooperation with its subordinate area (i.e., the 5 district governments and the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection) and together with the districts and especially with the network of biological stations in North Rhine-Westphalia, have been using the EU program LIFE for the implementation and development of the Natura 2000 network or the relevant species and habitats for years. Since 1996, more than 30 LIFE Nature projects (https://www.umwelt.nrw.de/naturschutz/natur/foerderprogramme/life) have been successfully implemented or are being implemented in North-Rhine Westphalia. These were supported technically and financially by the MULNV NRW. In some projects the MULNV NRW was an associated beneficiary. In this LIFE-Project "Siegerländer Kultur- und Naturlandschaften" the MULNV NRW acts as a co-financing body with the amount of 1.104.192 €. It is particularly involved in the process of land acquisition for later implementation of nature conservation and maintenance measures.

The NRW Foundation (https://www.nrw-stiftung.de) aims to support non-profit organizations and interested groups in the conservation of nature, homeland and culture in North-Rhine Westphalia. Concerning nature conservation, one focus lies on the acquisition of land worthy of protection in order to preserve suitable habitats for endangered animals and plants in the long term. In the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein for example, the NRW Foundation has acquired 110 ha of land for nature conservation purposes, including the 280 ha former military training grounds of the heathlands near Trupbach (incl. the special area of conservation "Heiden und Magerrasen bei Trupbach" DE-5113-301). In the project area, 40 ha of land are already owned by the NRW Foundation and have thus already been permanently secured for the conservation of natural habitats and species. With a budget of 430,000€, the NRW Foundation is also involved in land acquisition within this LIFE project.