The United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
provides assistance to other countries through a scheme called the Environment for Europe (EfE)
Fund. This supports environmental activities and projects in EU Accession and Candidate Countries
and other countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Within EfE is the Small
Environmental Projects Scheme for EU Accession and Candidate Countries.
In Lithuania this scheme is supporting a project submitted by the Lithuanian Ornithological
Society to help track and protect the Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), a recent discovery in the country. The
species is under threat due to the increased rate of deforestation in the country, which has been blamed
for the loss of Golden Eagles, Spotted Eagles and some other species.
The main objectives is to make an inventory of the population and breeding sites with the aim
of ensuring the Ural Owl is legally protected according to the EUBird Directive. This Directive
requires evidence and the collection of scientific data to confirm their status as permanently breeding
species before legal protection is granted. The project began in August 2003 with the production of a
large number of nest boxes to be sited in 11 forest tracts and 16 Forest Enterprises or Protected areas
throughout the country. Society volunteers placed the boxes and during the late winter and early
spring field studies will record the birds’ movements.
Environment for Europe projects completed or still under way include solid waste
management in the Russian Federation; raising environmental awareness in Ukraine; protecting the
Black Sea from nutrient pollution; solar energy education in Poland; maintaining small fen habitats in
the Czech Republic; and translating handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands scheme in Turkey.
DEFRA are currently considering future funding for four candidate countries: Bulgaria,
Croatia, Romania and Turkey. Applicants should act quickly to contact their local British Embassy for
more details; final decisions will be announced in November