The project, which was implemented between 2016 – 2021 with a total budget of €1,342,850, aimed at the integrated and sustainable management of the Cedrus brevifolia (i.e. Cypriot Cedar) forests located exclusively in the Paphos forest and within the Natura 2000 network. This habitat is endemic as it is found only in Cyprus and nowhere else in the world.

Through the project, measures were taken to enhance the trees’ resilience to climate change, to reduce the likelihood of its loss in case of fire, to restore and expand it and to enhance its natural regeneration.

Furthermore, actions were implemented to raise awareness among the public and the scientific community about the habitat and the Cedar of Cyprus, one of only four cedar species in the world.

It was implemented by the Department of Forests, Frederick University and the Cyprus Forestry Association as part of the Life Programme, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action.

“This is an innovative good practice project, as it designed and implemented management measures based on the dynamics of nature itself and the ecological balance of the ecosystem,” said the project manager, Dr Nicolas-Giorgos Eliades, member of the research team of the Nature Conservation Unit of Frederick University.

The project is competing for the Life Award which is decided by a panel of experts and the Life Citizens’ Prize which will be determined through an online public vote.

In total 12 innovative projects that received funding from the EU’s Life programme are competing for this year’s awards. The award ceremony will take place during the EU Green Week, between May 30 and June 5, 2022.

Frederick University has been involved in two other LIFE projects that have been awarded in the past, the 2013 Plant-Net CY which aimed to improve the conservation status of four plant species and two priority habitat types in Cyprus, and Junipercy in 2015 which aimed to promote the long-term conservation of native juniper forests in Cyprus.

Vote for the LIFE-KEDROS project here: https://www.lifeawards.eu/project/life-kedros/

Source: Cyprus Mail