ABOUT PROJECT

Time framework of the project: 06/2021 – 04/2024

Title of the project:  Integrated approach to ecosystems protection against invasive alien plants in southern Poland – IAS/EcoSystemCARE

Programme: “Environment, Energy and Climate Change” Programme EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 for the action aimed at “Increasing the protection of ecosystems against invasive alien species”

Project value: 4 529 239,13 PLN

Co-financing: 3 849 853,20 PLN

  • from the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism: 3 272 375,22 PLN
  • from the state budget: 577 477,98 PLN

Own contribution: 679 385,93 PLN

Project objective

The overall objective of the Project “Integrated approach to ecosystems protection against invasive alien plants in southern Poland – IAS/EcoSystemCARE” is to strengthen the resistance of selected ecosystems, primarily riparian and terrestrial (forest, grassland, meadow), to the adverse effects of climate change through comprehensive protection against invasive alien plants, in particular species of the following genus: hogweed (Heracleum spp.), goldenrod (Solidago spp.), knotweed (Reynoutria spp.) and policeman’s helmet (Impatiens glandulifera).

The scope of the Project:

  1. Active protection of terrestrial and riparian ecosystems by reducing the negative impact of invasive alien plants (IAP – Invasive Alien Plants)
  2. Developing, improving and testing innovative methods to control IAPs
  3. Early detection of invasive plants and the sources of their spread by attempting to identify their pathways in the ecosystems / in the areas covered by the Project
  4. Increasing public awareness of the negative impact of IAPs on native wildlife – Information and communication

Localization of the Project:

The project is implemented in southern Poland in three voivodships (Silesian, Lesser, and  Subcarpathian) within protected areas: two national parks, four Natura 2000 sites, two nature reserves as well as in areas not covered by any form of protection, i.e. in the area of ​​7 communes: 3 in the Silesian voivodship (municipality of the cities Katowice and Jaworzno and the commune of Koszęcin), 3 in the Lesser voivodeship (municipality of the city of Kraków, and communes of Skawina and Świątniki Górne) and 1 in the Podkarpackie voivodeship (the commune of Krempna).