16/10/2020 (Agence Europe) – The six winners of the Natura 2000 award, which recognises achievements in nature conservation and biodiversity, were unveiled on Thursday 15 October at a virtual ceremony. Projects from Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France and Spain, as well as a cross-border project involving partners in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine were awarded prizes. To make the EU Biodiversity Strategy a success, “these are the models of cooperation and solutions that need to be scaled up”, stressed Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius. 85 candidates competed in 5 categories: conservation, socio-economic benefits, communication, reconciliation of interests, and cross-border cooperation and networking. The special ‘European Citizens’ Award went to the project ‘Partnership for the Protection of Bulgarian Old-growth Forests’, part of the Natura 2000 framework. (AN)