Awards

Environment and Soil Management AwardThe Environment and Soil Management Award was created by ELO under the auspices of Commissioner Stavros DIMAS. It is promoted by ELO, DG Environment, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences of Vienna, the Centre for Soil and Environmental Sciences of the University of Ljubljana, the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Syngenta International AG.
With an amount of 2500 € and a diploma of recognition, the Environment and Soil Management Award recognizes outstanding tools and management practices contributing to the protection of soil and land, and improving environmental quality.
The project:
•Must contribute to the increase in land sustainability, land protection and the improvement of soil quality and particularly to the mitigation of the threats below;
•Shall be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable;
•And must be innovative, original and transferable as a model.
The Environment and Soil Management Award 2009 was given to Ms. Jana MADĚROVÁ (the Czech Republic) for her efforts in preserving her family estate. The second ranked application "The Domains LISTEL” (France) was awarded with a diploma of excellence.

The aim of this prize is to encourage new concepts of protection and their implementation and to enhance awareness of the importance of soil and environmental activities. This prize will reward professionals working in the area of land use and management, while pursuing the soil protection from threats defined by EU criteria in a preventive approach. These threats are erosion, reduction of organic matter content, pollution, soil sealing and compaction as well as the reduction of soil biodiversity, salinisation, flooding and land slides.

Eligibility criteria:
The Environment and Soil Management Award is intended to recognize quality instruments and management practices which contribute to the protection of land and the soil, by improving the quality of the environment.

Selection criteria:
The project must contribute to added value to sustainable land management practices, the protection and improvement of soil quality and particularly to the fight against the above-mentioned threats.
The project must be sustainable environmentally, socially and economically.
The project must also be innovative, original and transferable as a model.
Appropriate measures must be taken to avoid:

• Erosion;
• decline in organic matter;
• soil contamination;
• soil compaction;
• decline in soil biodiversity;
• salinisation;
• floods and landslides.

Prize description:
With an amount of 2500 € and a diploma of recognition, the Environment and Soil Management Award Certificate will recognize outstanding tools and management practices contributing to the protection of soil and land, and improving environmental quality.


Deadline: The call for proposals is open until 30th November 2010.
Please find the application form HERE and send it to the following address:

Environment and Soil Management Award
European Landowners’ Organization
Rue de Trèves 67
BE - 1040 Brussels
Tel: + 32 (0)2 235 2004
Fax: + 32 (0) 2 234 3009
AND by email to forest@elo.org
 

Belleuropa Award

Belleuropa® was born in Italy in the late 1990’s thanks to the initiative of Giuseppe NATTA, a leading environmental figure. It was spearheaded by Gruppo Ecodeco®, a leading Italian firm in the environmental sector.

It is based on the principle that in Europe, the rural territory is highly degraded, and a quality environment is thus a scarce good upon which much value should be placed. The Belleuropa Award will reward an agricultural company or a rural property, which has realized an important example of “Third Generation Agricultural Production” using agri-environmental measures, achieving significant results from an environmental point of view.

Eligibility criteria:

The Belleuropa® Award is intended to recognize recovered and managed natural habitats whose value was recognised, which have been constantly maintained in a close collaboration with local authorities, associations and volunteers, in order to improve the rural landscape, enhance biodiversity, and create a new kind of rural tourism based on typical, biological products, traditional cuisine and on the environmental and historical assets of the territory.

Selection criteria:

• Environmental impact in line with the EU Policy
• Economic impact by creation of activity and employment in rural areas
• Sustainability of actions
• Innovation and creativity
• Reproducibility of initiatives

Prize description:

The Belleuropa® Award will recognize outstanding tools and management practices to recover and manage natural habitats, contributing to the protection, conservation and sustainable management of land.

Belleuropa® Award 2008

The Belleuropa Award 2008 was given to Mr Hardegg for the rehabilitation of his estate located in Lower Austria, another important example achieving significant results from an environmental point of view.

Deadline: Call for proposals is open until 15^th October 2009.

Please find the application form HERE and send it to the following address:

Belleuropa® Award
RISE Foundation
Rue de Trèves 67
BE - 1040 Brussels
Tel: + 32 (0)2 235 2004
Fax: + 32 (0)2 400 7709

AND by email to rise@risefoundation.eu

Anders Wall Award

Since 2002, the Anders WALL Foundation (Sweden), Friends of the Countryside, DG Environment and the Royal Agriculture Academy of Stockholm have given an award each year to encourage and promote efforts made by creative entrepreneurs who have contributed to creating a « positive rural environment »: landscape preservation, biodiversity enhancement, cultural heritage conservation and contribution to the rural economy within the European Union.

Eligibility criteria:
Importance at local, national and European level is expected, use of quality instruments and management practices which contribute to the improvement of the quality of the environment.

Selection criteria:
Their achievements should preferably include the following elements:
Preserving and enhancing the landscape;
Providing biodiversity;
Preserving the countryside’s cultural heritage.

The landowner/manager of the selected project will receive a prize of 10,000 €.

Deadline: Call for proposals is open until 30th November 2010.

Please find the application form HERE and send it to the following address:

Previously know as Euroducks International, the ELO Water and Habitat Found created an award dedicated to the development of initiatives by private land managers, companies or institutions for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of water resources and water shaped habitats. The 2004 Award was given by MEP Michl EBNER to Grupo Empresarial ARICAM (Spain) for the elaboration of a water-saving industrial process and the sustainable management of a quarry in a sensitive environmental area.


Up to date the prize has been awarded to :
1998 - Laguna El Taray, Toledo (Spain) - D. José Luis Oriol

1999 - Complejo palustre de Veta de la Palma, Sevilla (Spain) - D. Telesforo and D. Antonio Hernández Barrera

2000 - Cabildo Insular de Fuerteventura, Canarias (Spain)

2001 - Brazo Muerto of the Guadalhorce river, Málaga (Spain) - Confederación Hidrográfica del Sur

2002 - La Cassinazza , la Cassinazza di Baselica, Pavia (Italy) - Ing. Giuseppe Natta

2004 - El Castillo, ARICAM Group (Spain)