There have been positive results from Phase 2 of BID-REX in all the project’s regions. Of these, the long term relationships with stakeholders and the project impact on new policy instruments are among the most valuable.
The local stakeholder groups created during Phase 1 are still active and working closely with partners to implement the regional Action Plans. In the Basque Country, this has led to the creation of the Biodiversity Social Forum, an annual participatory workshop to improve governance and connect public and private stakeholders. The Basque Government identified the opportunity to create smart synergies between the BID-REX local stakeholder group, the framework of the Strategic Plan for Governance and Public Innovation 2020 and the White Paper on Democracy and Citizen Participation of Euskadi. A forum with all these players has been created and its work will continue beyond the BID-REX project.
On the other hand, Wallonia and Slovenia set up agreements between stakeholder and data providers to ensure biodiversity data provision to the public administration. In Catalonia, an official working group has been created to develop the Action Plan while in Italy, the Marche Region established agreements with municipalities to implement an ecological network to their localities, which will also serve as pilot areas to engage other municipalities in the future.
However, BID-REX's progress has not always been easy. The regional context has changed since the beginning of the project. Regions have had to adapt legislation to new challenges, such as the UK leaving the European Union, the climate crisis, the finalisation of ERDF period, and an earthquake, to name but a few. The lessons learned thanks to the cooperation through BID-REX have proved useful in adapting regional policies to these changes.
In Norfolk, new policies are being developed to manage the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. Norfolk County Council is using the knowledge and experience gained through BID-REX to develop a 25-year plan for the environment in Norfolk and Suffolk. This work culminated in new Environmental Policy adopted in December 2019.
Moreover, the new Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Strategy of Catalonia 2030, the new regional Policy for Wallonia 2019 – 2024 and the new Regional Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Marche Region also include learnings and good practices identified thanks to BID-REX cooperation.
