The Natura 2000 management planning project undertaken by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), and implemented through Adi Associates and Epsilon International between October 2012 and May 2014, has won the CIEEM Best Practice Award for Stakeholder Engagement 2016.
The EAFRD project, titled: “Management Planning and Implementation of Communication Measures for Terrestrial Natura 2000 Sites in the Maltese Islands” included a strong Stakeholder Engagement Campaign that aimed to raise awareness in the Maltese Islands on the Natura 2000 network and its importance and the role of stakeholders in the success of the network.
The Project was nominated by Adi Associates for the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Best Practice Awards under the Stakeholder Engagement category. These flagship project-based awards recognise high standards of professionalism and ecological and environmental management practice by CIEEM members. After scrutiny by a panel of judges composed of chartered environmentalists and ecologists hailing from Universities, Environmental Consultancy Groups, Wildlife & Environmental Trusts, Environmental Authorities and Local Authorities in the UK, the Maltese Natura 2000 project was shortlisted as a finalist.
The winners of the awards were announced at an Awards Ceremony held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on 30th June 2016. In total, 14 different categories were awarded. The Best Practice Awards are reserved for projects that have been completed and have not been funded or managed by CIEEM itself. The Categories for the Best Practice Awards included:
Best Practice Awards for Large Scale Nature Conservation;
Best Practice Awards for Small Scale Nature Conservation;
Best Practice Awards for Innovation;
Best Practice Award for Knowledge Sharing;
Best Practice Awards for Stakeholder Engagement.
In the Stakeholder Engagement category, the project competed with a project for the Strategic Land Use and Development Plan for the Seychelles, nominated by Arup, the Seychelles Planning Authority and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, which was also highly commended by the judges.
CIEEM is the leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad. Its Vision is of a society which values the natural environment and recognises the contribution of professional ecologists and environmental managers to its conservation.
Each year, CIEEM presents a series of awards with an overall aim to celebrate achievements of both the profession and of individual practitioners; and to raise the profile of CIEEM, highlighting our role in championing the importance and practice of ecology.
Link to Natura 2000 Poster Exhibit

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