Duration: 01/09/2017 to 31/12/2022
Principal Investigator: Promponas Michalis
Funding: LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity

Program website – Program Facebook – Program Twitter – Program YouTube channel

The Life IGIC project “Improvement of green infrastructure in agroecosystems: reconnecting natural areas by countering habitat fragmentation fragmentation” [LIFE16 NAT/GR/000575] will develop Green Infrastructure (GI) and supporting Sustainable Farming Methods in pilot olive orchards, in Western Messara plain, south Crete, Greece.

The project area, surrounded by Natura 2000 sites, is of great cultural, natural and agricultural value. Land-use change towards intensive farming has been applied the last decades, led to reduction of species and loss of habitats. Overall biodiversity has suffered and ecological conditions of the area has been deteriorated.

The main objective of the project is the development of a GI network which will play a demonstrative role in regional, national and EU level, while conserving biodiversity, enhancing agroecosystem services and providing the basis for reconnecting existing nature areas.

Coordinator beneficiary of the Project IGIC is the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation DEMETER and associated partners the University of Crete-Natural History Museum of Crete, the Technological Educational Institute of Crete (TEI of Crete) and the Foundation for Research and Technology-HELLAS (ITE).

The project is co-funded by the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union and the enterprise MINERVA S.A.