Project

Raising water levels is the key factor for habitat optimisation in many areas. Water management that benefits meadow bird conservation can permanently only be carried out on public land. Thus, land acquisition is an essential requirement to achieve the project goals. Further funds must be raised for this purpose. We aim at purchasing 2,000 ha of land for meadow bird conservation in Lower Saxony.

In total, grassland habitats of 21,000 ha shall be optimised in Lower Saxony, including high water tables, low predation rates, open landscapes, and low-intensity farming. Additional funding is necessary to carry out these habitat optimisation measures. For this purpose, we primarily use European and federal funding sources.

The project team has successfully applied for another project in the scope of the European funding programme LIFE: LIFE Godwit Flyway. In addition, the European EAFRD and ERDF funds are used to get further funding to implement measures on public land. The State of Lower Saxony usually provides the co-financing for these projects.

Smaller measures with a shorter duration are financed by the state's own funding programmes. Here, we collaborate with the responsible nature conservation authorities.