News Published: 19 February 2024

LIFE4ZOO is an EU programme whose funding has been already been agreed. It was originally configured around a group of zoos purely for historic reasons (hence its title), but is equally relevant to botanic gardens. BGCI member Dundee University Botanic Garden is already involved.

The European Commission is providing approximately 1.7 million euros to develop new ways to recycle water on busy visitor sites and to using nature based solutions to reduce various problems at botanic and zoological sites associated with water use and waste water. LIFE4ZOO will also address issues resulting from drought or other water supply complexities.

There are obvious financial saving costs as well, especially for organisations led by environmental missions, as sustainability benefits. However these new processes will also have ramifications in:

• giving back to the wider community in terms of ‘green lungs’
• an educational offer to botanic garden visitors on water conservation
• potential funding for travel to other botanical or zoological sites in Europe to share relevant problems and solutions

A small number of core partners ( in Barcelona, Spain and Liberec, Czech Republic) who invested in the original bid will be the direct beneficiaries where the technology will be prototyped and demonstrated at their sites.

There is an opportunity though for FURTHER BOTANIC GARDENS, UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES and OTHER COMPLEX VISITOR VENUES to be ‘secondary beneficiaries’ with privileged access to the solutions that will be developed over the next 3 years. This applies to institutions ANYWHERE IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE, so not just within Member States of the EU. Partners in geographies immediately adjacent to Europe can also be considered.

NO FUNDING IS REQUIRED from the benefitting organisations. A small degree of time will be needed. This is purely to share your own situation as to water management. We will be especially interested in those in countries outside of those already participating and which bring ‘interesting’ water management situations to the table.

BGCI members should email John Regan (john@johnreganassociates.com) for a non-committed conversation.