Latvian Natural Fund invites farmers to become a natural grassland restoration project GrassLIFE 2.0 partners

Latvian natural grassland has remained only 0.71 TP1T national territories, so the Latvian Natural Fund (LDF) has implemented the project since 2017 Grasslife: renovation of grassland and promotion of their various uses. In order to continue the work of GrassLIFE to restore natural grassland, LDF is looking for new farms that care for our natural grassland and are prepared to become partners of the GrassLIFE 2.0 project. The partners will rebuild and maintain their natural grassland in cooperation with the experts involved in the implementation of the project and fully integrate them into the farm production system.

We are invited to apply for farms which manage natural grassland and whose farming has a significant role in the natural grassland. The applicants must complete the application form by 30 April: https://ej.uz/piesakiesGrassLIFE.

In view of the conditions of THE LIFE programme, the project participant must fulfil the following conditions:

• The farm is located in a protected nature area OF EU importance Natura 2000;
• The holding shall be managed not less than 50 hectares of permanent grassland, part of which is natural grassland or specially protected grassland habitats of European Union importance;
• The economy requires funding to increase the area of natural grassland: the restocking of overgrown grassland (bush felling, strain milling, and etc.), the restoration of species diversity (harvesting of invasive species, the use of natural grassland species, and etc.) and/or the provision of renewable herbal facilities (the establishment of pasture infrastructure, the harvesting of bushes and chickens, improvement of cutting methods and etc.);
• The economy has specific plans for integrated grassland to be integrated into farming and willingness to cooperate in the development of new grassland products;
• The farm is prepared to cover up to 25% of the farm renovation costs: the rest of the financing will be provided by THE LIFE programme and the national co-financing programme;
• The farm is prepared to continue to manage the restored grassland for at least 20 years.

Preference will be given to holdings:

• which intend to restore natural grassland at least 30 ha;
• where there is a higher value of renewables (it will be assessed by our experts on the basis of natural data management oak data, if necessary the grassland will be surveyed in nature);
• specialised in livestock farming.

The project may include a wide range of measures for the restoration of natural grassland and the establishment of a system for their management, such as the enrichment of grassland with natural herbal species, in order to promote biodiversity and support pollinators; the release of grassland from invasive or explosive species, the preparation of their preparation for mowing or grazing (harvesting of trees and bushes, strain milling, the alignment of chickens and wild boar excavations or soles, the purchase of small grassland necessary for the management of grassland). As part of the project, farms can purchase grazing animals or form pasture infrastructure. In particular, we will assess the willingness of farms to develop the production of natural grassland products.

The selected holdings will prepare a joint project application FOR THE EU LIFE programme, which will be submitted to the European Commission in autumn 2021, in cooperation with the Latvian Natural Fund and the University of Latvia. In the event of the approval of the project, the activities will start in autumn 2022 and continue for 5-6 years.

The budget available for one holding will depend on the area of grassland applied for and their renovation needs. The budgets of previous project partners range from eur 30 000 to EUR 150 000 per holding or 1000-2,000 euro per hectare of reconstituted grassland.

The grasslife 2.0 project will continue the construction work of grassland launched in the GrassLIFE project financed by the European Union LIFE Programme and the Latvian Environment Protection Fund Administration. On this project, its objectives, the projects involved in the project and the progress made so far, www.grasslife.lv.

Grasslife 2.0 application form: https://ej.uz/piesakiesGrassLIFE.

The deadline for application is 30 April 2021. In the period from 1 May to 15 June, we will carry out an evaluation of the applications received and provide an answer as to whether the farm will be included in the preparation of the project.

In case of questions and uncertainties, please contact Mr GrassLIFE project manager Ingu Račinsk (inga.racinska@ldf.lv, tel. 26498448).