Spanish team wins Quarry Life Award 2016
On 8 December 2016, the winners of the International Quarry Life Award were presented in Brussels. The Grand Prize was awarded to a Spanish project, which studied the ecological connectivity between quarries and their surroundings. Through the competition, HeidelbergCement supports and explores innovative ideas to promote biodiversity at quarry sites. More than 450 proposals from 21 countries were submitted in 2016, of which 94 participated in the competition.
“The protection of species diversity and the sustainable extraction of raw materials are fundamental pillars of our sustainability strategy,” said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board, in his opening speech at the award ceremony. He also emphasized the importance of the competition to the company: “Through the Quarry Life Award, we promote new knowledge about biodiversity in our quarries, as well as innovative, practical conservation concepts. The projects and research results do more than serving our own interests. We seek to cooperate with various stakeholders from the spheres of education, science and conservation to increase awareness about the biological value of quarrying sites.”
Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for Environment at the European Commission, also underlined the importance of cooperation between industry, conservation organisations and civil society to help promote species diversity as part of environmental protection.
The winners of the Quarry Life Award 2016
Grand Prize (€30,000):
Project: “Linking quarries and surroundings by restoration ecology for semi-aquatic mammals”, Spain
International prizes (€10,000 per category):
Category “Habitat & Species Research”
Project: “Arthropod & earthworm diversity as a bio-indicator for reclamation success”, Indonesia
Category “Student Project”
Project: “Nature only works if we do it together - students “understand” insects and biodiversity”, Germany
Category “Biodiversity Management”
Project: “Optimising wetland functions to local conditions in connection to quarries”, Northern Europe
Category “Education and Raising Awareness”
Project: “Biodiversity in space and time”, Russia
Category “Beyond Quarry Borders”
Project: “Stepping ponds - enhancement of connectivity for amphibians in riverside gravel pits”, Spain
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