The European Commission must do a better job to make sure that the nature projects it co-funds in member states deliver sustainable results regarding environmental protection, argues a new report from the European Court of Auditors.

Despite the EU's LIFE-Nature projects having made a "huge contribution" to the conservation of targeted habitats and species, a number of shortcomings reveal that there is "room for improvement" in the effectiveness of the Commission's management of the scheme, says the European Court of Auditors' (ECA) assessment .

The paper, published 22 September, points to imprecise sustainability criteria in the project selection procedure, insufficient focus on project outcomes, absence of project management plans and insufficient dissemination of project results and lessons learnt to relevant stakeholders.

Kikis Kazamias of the ECA said the assessment shows that "in 2000-2006, the Commission did not pay as much attention as it should have done to the projects" once the final payment was made.  

"A few cosmetic changes to lakes, mountains or forests are not enough. We want longer term sustainable changes," he said, stressing the need to sustain results after the projects have ended. 

The ECA also regrets that there is no long-term management of the projects, pointing to the lack of an established set of appropriate indicators for evaluating the results achieved. 

In short, the Court notes that "there is still room for improvement in the Commission's management and control systems" to ensure that conservation measures financed by the EU "fulfil their objectives more effectively and are sustained after EU financing of the projects has ceased". 

Kazamias said he hoped the report will help the Commission pay attention to the shortcomings, rectify them and avoid repeating the errors. 

Source: www.Euractiv.com