Conservation of Biological Diversity of Carpathian Mountain Grasslands in the Czech Republic through Targeted Application of New EU Funding Mechanisms

The overall objective of the proposed project is the protection and maintenance of globally significant biodiversity in Protected Landscape Areas located in the Carpathian Mountain region. Project Rationale and Objective The objective of this project is to strengthen the conservation management of globally significant biodiversity in species-rich mountain grassland habitats (grasslands and pastures) in two Protected Landscape Areas (PLA) in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic. The project will address the objective chiefly by drawing in, on a demonstration basis, targeted support from newly available EU funding opportunities for integrated rural development (principally CAP support payments and Natura 2000/LIFE programme grants) and making the lessons learned and best practices developed widely available for replication throughout the Czech PLA system and the Carpathian Eco region as a whole.