Technical Annex

Financing Natura 2000 – Guidance and Workshops

IBackground information

The Natura 2000 network of protected areas made up of sites designated under the Community Birds and Habitats directives is a key pillar of Community action for the conservation of biodiversity.

The establishment of the Natura 2000 network is a major achievement. It is crucial that, as the designation process set out in the Habitats Directive nears its conclusion, attention now turns more towards management of the sites. The formulation of management plans has already started in most Member States and should be completed in the coming 2 to 3 years. The implementation of these plans clearly raises the issue of the availability of the financial and other resources required.

The provisions of the Habitats Directive clearly establish that the responsibility for ensuring the management of Natura 2000 sites lies with the Member States. In practice, for many Member States this responsibility is delegated to national or regional conservation agencies or in the case of federal states it may be defined as the responsibility of regional authorities.

The financial needs of the Natura 2000 network relate to a broad range of measures required to ensure the efficient conservation management of the designated sites. It also includes actions that promote the public use and access to the sites in ways compatible with their conservation objectives. These actions can relate to one-off ‘investments’, such as land acquisition or the restoration of damaged habitats or features, or they may involve actions over extended periods, such as the regular active management of vegetation and other land features, and site or species monitoring. They can be directly related to on-the-ground action, or they may involve broader site management, educational and awareness-raising activities, which ensure that sites and their special qualities are protected from a variety of local and more strategic impacts.

The co-financing for NATURA 2000 at EU level is justifiable for several reasons. On one hand, the benefits of enriched biodiversity are shared widely throughout the Union, whereas the costs are borne by those Member States having the most diverse and rich biodiversity and hence the most protected sites as it is recognized in the “whereas” clauses of the Habitat Directive. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that Natura 2000 makes a substantial contribution not only to EU environmental policy, but can also contribute towards regional and agricultural/rural development policies.

In a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on Financing Natura 2000[1] the Commission presents its view that integration of the financing of Natura 2000 into existing Community funds is the best approach for the following reasons:

  • it will ensure that the management of Natura 2000 sites is part of the wider land management policies of the EU. Thus, farming inside Natura 2000 sites will be part of the CAP financial support and, structural interventions, being part of rural and regional development policies. This complementary approach will enable the network of Natura 2000 sites to play its role in protecting Europe’s biodiversity better than if Natura sites are seen to be isolated or different from the wider policy context.
  • it will allow Member States to set priorities and to develop policies and measures which reflect their national and regional specificities.
  • it will avoid duplication and overlap of different Community funding instruments and the administrative complication and transaction costs which would be associated with such duplication.

It is important to ensure that the choice of integrating the funding needs of the Natura 2000 network into other policy areas, results in sufficient overall funding to secure the objectives of the network. The Commission will therefore encourage Member States to give due consideration to the needs of Natura 2000 when establishing their programmes for these funds.

IIObjectives

The Commission wishes to advise and support Member States in using the options of Community co-financing for Natura 2000 in the period 2007-2013. This is intended to be achieved by two different means:

  • Publishingdetailed guidance on how the Community funds for the period 2007-2013 can be used to support the Natura 2000 network
  • Organisation of workshops in each MemberState to explain on the spot how the Community funds for the period 2007-2013 can be used for the Natura 2000 network.

The Commission will establish a working-group[2] to accompany and support the objectives of the contract.

III Description of the tasks

A.Guidance

Objective

A guidance document(hereinafter: the Guidance) needs to be draftedcontaining information for potential beneficiaries[3] on

  • Which costs related to Natura 2000 sites are eligible for co-financing
  • The relevant Community funding instrument to be used
  • How to apply for the co-financing

Structure and content

The information should be structured for each beneficiary by types of land use, activities needed for establishment and management of Natura 2000 sites[4] and indicating the relevant funds available.

Beneficiaries:

–Public administrations

–Farmers

–Foresters

–Fishermen

–Private landowners

–Land managers

–NGOs

–Other stakeholder

Types of land use:

–Agricultural land

–Forests

–Other terrestrial land

–Inland waters, marshes, bogs

–Costal areas

–Marine

Activities needed for establishment and management of the Natura 2000 network

Categorisation / Types of Activities
Finalisation of the Natura 2000 list of sites -
Establishment of the Natura 2000 network /
  • Administration of selection process
  • Scientific studies/inventories for the identification of sites – surveys, inventories, mapping, condition assessment
  • Preparation of information and publicity material

Management planning, administration and maintenance of network related infrastructure /
  • Preparation of management plans, strategies and schemes
  • Establishment of management bodies
  • Consultation – public meetings, liaison with landowners
  • Review of management plans, strategies and schemes
  • Running costs of management bodies (maintenance of buildings and equipment)
  • Maintenance of facilities for public access to and use of the sites, interpretation works, observatories and kiosks, etc.
  • Staff (conservation/project officers, wardens/rangers, workers)

Ongoing habitat management and monitoring /
  • Conservation management measures – e.g. maintenance of habitat or species in favourable conservation status, Improvement of habitat or species favourable conservation status
  • Implementation of management schemes and agreements with owners and managers of land or water for following certain prescriptions (like allowing for hedgerows, creating riparian belts, apply special sylvicultural treatments to old growth forests, prevention of clear felling, etc).
  • Provisions of services; compensation for rights foregone and loss of income; developing acceptability "liaison" with neighbours
  • Monitoring and surveying
  • Risk management (fire prevention and control, flooding, etc.)
  • Surveillance of the sites
  • Provision of information and publicity material
  • Training and education
  • Facilities to encourage visitor use and appreciation of Natura 2000 sites

Investment costs /
  • Land purchase, including compensation for development rights
  • Infrastructure needed for the restoration of habitat or species
  • Infrastructure for public access, interpretation works, observatories and kiosks, etc.

Community funds and documents to be taken into account

–Structural Funds (

–Rural Development - EAFRD (

–European Fisheries Fund
(

–Strategic guidelines as soon as available to the respective funds

–LIFE+ Fund
(COM(2004) 621 final)

Elaboration of the Guidance

In compiling the Guidance all relevant Community funds for the period 2007-2013 need to be assessed (i.e. Structural Funds, Rural Development Fund, Fisheries Fund, LIFE+ Fund), the above indicated structure has to be applied and the results are to be presented in the final guidance document.

The whole process of elaboration will be accompanied by a working-group[5].

The contractor needs to ensure the agreement of the responsible General Directorates of the Commission with the respective part of the Guidance on working level.

Languages

The drafting of the Guidance should be done in English.

The final version has to be provided in all 20 languages of the European Union.

B.Workshops

1-2 daysWorkshops have to be prepared and conductedin all EU Member States. For Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece and Belgium there will be 2 workshops, for all other Member States there will be 1 Workshop. The number of participants in the individual workshops might vary (ca. 20-40) and need to be discussed and agreed with the responsible MemberState representative.

Contents of workshops

In a first part the Guidance will be presented.

In a second part the access to Community funds for Natura 2000 needs to be considered taking into account the concrete situation of the respective MemberState.

Organisation

An outline of the contents, the form of preparations and organisation for the workshops and a rough timetable has to be presented to the accompanying working-group during the kick-off meeting. It will be discussed and agreed in the group.

The workshops will be hosted by the competent authorities of the Member States, which therefore need to be involved in the preparing and organising of the event.

In particular for preparing the second part of the work-shops co-operation with the Member States is necessary to have all information needed in advance.

The workshops need to be conducted in the official language of the respective MemberState. Workshop materials need to be elaborated.

For each work-shop a report has to be compiled containing the results of the workshop and open problems coming up during the meeting.

At the end a final summary report has to be elaborated. This will be presented and discussed during the final meeting of the accompanying working-group and needs to be adopted by that group. The summary report should summarize the course of action of the workshops, the main problems arisen and possibly make recommendations for further activities.

C.Accompanying Working-group

DG Environment will establish a working-group to accompany and support the elaboration of the Guidance and to prepare the workshops in Member States. Participants of the working-group will be representatives of the MemberStates, Commission officials and stakeholders.

The following meetings of the working-group are foreseen in Brussels:

–A kick-off meeting for the elaboration of the Guidance document

–A mid-term meeting presenting and discussing a first draft of the Guidancedocument combined with
A kick-off meeting to prepare the workshops in Member States

–A meeting presenting and discussing the final draft of the Guidance document

–A final meeting to draw conclusions and give advice for the future

IVExperience required of the Contractor

In order to correctly carry out the tasks, the contractor’s core team should have

  • knowledge and experience in the field of nature conservation,
  • knowledge in the field of Structural Funds and Rural Development Regulation and their use by Member States,
  • experience in training and in communications techniques and
  • experience with organising large projects with complex logistics.

The tenderer will also have professional contacts with national administrations of the 25Member States, therefore,experience with administrative bodies will be an advantage.

VDuration of the contract

The duration of the contract will be for 18 months, from the date of signature of the contract.

VIValidity of the offer

The offer shall remain valid for a period of 8 months, as from the deadline for submission of offers.

VIIReports and Documents/Deliverables

A.Guidance document

Electronic version (word-document) of the Guidance in English, French and German 5 months after signing the contract. Electronic version (word-document) of all languages 8 months after signing the contract.

B.Workshops

Reports need to be issued on each conducted workshop not later than 14 days after the meeting has taken place (English language, electronic document).

Summary report on all workshops 14 days after having finalised all workshops (English language, electronic document).

C.Working-group meetings

A report has to be issued on each of the 4 envisaged meetings of the accompanying working-group, no later then 1 week after the meeting (English language, electronic document).

VIII Subcontracting

Subcontracting is permitted subject to the following conditions:

  • the subcontractor is the sole responsibility of the main contractor;
  • tenderers must indicate in their offers the amount of the contract (if any) that they intend to subcontract to third parties, as well as the identity and availability of the potential subcontractor(s). The contractor will not subcontract to third parties not identified in the offer as potential subcontractors without prior written authorisation from the Commission;
  • the contractor shall not cause the contract to be performed in fact by third parties;
  • even where the Commission authorises the contractor to subcontract to third parties, thecontractor shall nonetheless remain bound by his obligations to the Commission under the contract;
  • the contractor shall make sure that the subcontract does not affect rights and guarantees to which the Commission is entitled by virtue of the contract.

Where the total amount envisaged for subcontracting is above 30% of the total contract value, evidence ofthe potential subcontractor’(s)ability to perform the tasks entrusted to him/them shall be included in the offer. Such evidence is the same as that also required from the contractor, as described and identified, in section XII below.

Where the total amount envisaged for subcontracting is above50% of the total contract value, the potential subcontractor(s) must also present evidence of compliance with the exclusion criteria (as required fromthe potential contractor) as described in section XI below.

Tenderers should note that the Commission willconsider intended subcontracting below 30% of the contract value as anindication that the potential contractor has the resources to complete the tasks under the contract, as well as a factor potentially enhancing the proposed team organisation.Therefore this point will be taken into account in the assessment of the award criterion “project management and availability”.

IX Formation of consortia for the purpose of the tender

Where consortia are formed for the purpose of this tender the following conditions shall be met:

- When the offer is submitted the members of the consortium must indicate their willingness both to be a member of the consortium and to enter into an agreement committing them to work together sharing the risks and rewards of a possible future contract;

- Tenders from consortia must specify the role, qualifications and experience of each of the members.In addition, the lead consortium member must be clearly identified;

- Potential contractors should note that prior to the Commission signing the contract with the lead consortium member, all members must sign, and provide to the Commission, an agreement committing them to work together sharing the risks and rewards of the contract;

In addition proof of eligibility, a declaration that there are no conflicts of interestand documents on exclusion and selection criteria must be supplied by each member of the consortiumsubmitting a tender, as follows:

  • All members of a consortium must prove compliance with the exclusion criteria laid down in section XI below. For this purpose, further to the declaration signed by all its members (see a model in Annex C to the invitation to tender) the supporting documentation referred to throughout section XI must be provided.
  • A consortiummust, as a whole, comply with the selection criteria laid down in section XII.A and Bbelow, which concern technical and professional capacity requirements and the financial standing of the tenderers.Moreover, the lead consortium member shall be in full compliance with all selection criteria.
  • Each firm in a consortium must comply with the requirements laid down in section XII C and D below (authorisation to perform the contract and access to the market, respectively).

X Method of payment

This contract will be paid on a lump sum basis:

  • A pre-financing payment of 30% will be paid upon signature of the contract
  • An interim payment of 20% will be paid upon acceptance by the Commission of the Guidance document issued at least in English, French and German
  • An interim payment of 20% will be paid upon acceptance by the Commission of the first 10 reports on conducted work-shops
  • A final payment of 30% will be paid upon acceptance by the Commission of the summary report on all workshops

The Commission is exempt from all taxes and dues, including value added tax, pursuant to the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities with regard to its financial contribution under the contract.

XIExclusion criteria:

Tenderers must submit all the supporting evidence and statements listed in sections XI.1 and XI.2 below. Moreover, where subcontracting above 50% of the total contract value is envisaged, potential subcontractors mustalso submit all the evidence listed below.

1.Tenderers will be excluded from participation in the contract procedure:

a) if they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

b)if they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;

c)if they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means, which the contracting authority can justify;

d)if they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established, the country of the contracting authority or the country where the contract is to be performed;

e)if they have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;

f)if, following another contract or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

Tenderers must certify that they are not in one of the situations listed above by providing: