Nature Pact – Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall

The Nature Pact is an instrument to support municipal initiatives for nature and water conservation and thus promote the restoration of biodiversity. It was launched in 2021 by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development and will initially run until the end of 2030.

The 12 member municipalities of the Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall signed the Nature Pact at the end of 2021 / beginning of 2022, thus committing themselves to actively implement measures for nature and water conservation and to a significant contribution to biodiversity.

But what exactly is the Nature Pact?

The Nature Pact is similar to the Climate Pact, with the difference that actions in favour to biodiversity are financially supported. It is based on:

The goals of the national nature conservation plan
The ecological objectives of the water management plan
The ecological objectives of the strategy for adaptation to the effects of climate change.

The municipal achievements/performances for the conservation of biological diversity are evaluated in relation to the implementations from the Nature Pact catalogue of measures, which was developed for this purpose. The catalogue of measures is divided into six subject areas:

Nature conservation in general
Urban environments
Open environments
Aquatic environments
Forest environments
Cooperation & Communication.

A total of 77 measures are intended to be implemented and a maximum of 233 points can be achieved. Based on the efforts in the field of nature and water protection, the certification grant is calculated and the municipality receives the certification “Naturpakt Gemeng”. There are four levels of certification: “Basic (40%)”, “Bronze (50%)”, “Silver (60%)” and “Gold (70%)”. The subsidy is granted by the state.

In order to support the municipalities with the implementation of the catalogue of measures, towards a sustainable policy in the field of biodiversity protection, a Nature Pact advisor is made available to them by the state. The 12 member municipalities have agreed to have an internal Nature Pact advisor from the Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall, thus supporting the regional cooperation.