Biodiversity is key to our very existence. We depend on healthy ecosystems for our food, air, water and climate. Moreover, the cost of failing to address the biodiversity crisis vastly outweighs the investments needed.

Individuals, groups of citizens and non-governmental organisations across the European Union may often face projects in their surroundings that are or may be harmful to nature. They are therefore key actors in identifying, monitoring and, where necessary, submitting complaints to the authorities to improve environmental conditions or to prevent such projects from going ahead altogether.

However, determining whether a project is harmful, gathering sufficient evidence to support such claims and knowing how to best proceed can be challenging. This is often due to a lack of capacity, information, and resources to fully assess potential impacts.

This project documenting tool aims to address these challenges by offering a practical, step-by-step approach to gathering information on problematic projects. It guides individuals, informal groups and organisations to quickly evaluate a project’s potential impact.

After collecting the necessary information to present the current situation and potential harm, it will be much easier to determine the best course of action to stop the project or prevent it from harming biodiversity.Through these examples, we aim to prevent and/or mitigate the harm they may cause, as well as to ensure similar projects do not receive EU funding in the future.