Background The Natura 2000 network action plans in Denmark were finalised and implemented in 2015, mainly on a voluntary basis. This was facilitated by appropriate communication methods and the effective implementation of action plans. A complication was the fact that most Natura 2000 sites are not owned by a homogenous group of landowners with one voice, but by many different types of landowners having a wide range of interests. Furthermore, many landowners find the issues surrounding biodiversity and Natura 2000 difficult to understand and often irrelevant or even a threat to their individual farms or forests. These issues needed to be addressed in order to obtain the voluntary agreements with landowners necessary for achieving the objectives of the Natura 2000 network plans. Objectives The overall objective of the SMART Natura project was to ensure a smooth and cost-effective implementation of Natura 2000 network plans in Denmark, to the benefit of biodiversity, natural amenities, and the people who live and work in the Natura 2000 sites. Specifically, the project aimed to involve landowners actively and positively in the implementation of the Natura 2000 action plans. The project also aimed to ensure that developments in Natura 2000 network sites spread to surrounding areas (e.g. by creating ecological corridors). Finally, the project aimed to bring about a higher level of strategic thinking in Natura 2000 planning, so that the landscape is not further fragmented by poor implementation. Results The SMART Natura project ensured the smooth and cost-effective implementation of the Natura 2000 network plans in Denmark, through the development of tools to facilitate cooperation between landowners, municipalities (authorities) and agricultural advisors. The tools included a Natura 2000 Handbook and an Inspirational Catalogue. The project benefitted biodiversity, natural amenities and the people who live in Natura 2000 sites. The project produced the ‘Natura 2000 Handbook - Landowner dialogue and cooperation’ in two parts. The first is a theoretical part (external), which can be used as a tool all over Denmark, and the second is a practical part (internal), which is targeted specifically at local communities in Denmark based on the experiences gained from implementing Natura 2000 plans in two project areas in Vejle Municipality (an associated beneficiary). In the annexes to the Handbook there are concrete tools, such as templates, diagrams and overviews. An Inspiration Catalogue was produced that brought together experiences from successful nature projects, with a focus on project management. In particular, it shows how project managers are often very dependent on political support, as well as professional support from politicians and managers in the project areas, the municipality and the agricultural advisory service. Both these tools were developed using the experiences gained in the pilot areas in the Grejs River Valley and Egtved River Valley, where cooperation between the different parties has been implemented. The other important source of information was meetings between the project and municipalities all over Denmark, the so-called flying squad meetings. In addition, barrier studies were done to identify the background for problems in different areas. At the end of the project, an exhibition was created at the Ecolarium in Vejle to disseminate the results and to raise awareness about the Natura 2000 network among landowners, municipalities and other interested groups. The exhibition was opened a few days before the project’s final conference, which was attended by approximately 130 participants, where the tools developed were presented and disseminated to a wide audience. From an evaluation of its actions, involving a questionnaire sent to all parties, the SMART Natura project team concluded that respondents were very pleased with the material produced, and that in the future there should be closer cooperation between landowners, agricultural advisers and municipalities. This improved level of communication and cooperation was confirmed as vital for successful nature projects. The evaluation process resulted in the project management team formulating a series of recommendations: nature projects should ensure that landowners are involved in finding the appropriate solutions; it is important that landowners, municipalities and agricultural advisers cooperate in finding solutions; project management is vital to ensure a successful nature project; it is important to clarify the purpose of the project at a very early stage; and in all cases it is important to clarify the roles and tasks amongst project participants as well as landowners. The SMART Natura project developed new relations between landowners, advisers and municipalities, based on the idea that dialogue, cooperation and active involvement between them yields the best results for all parties. To encourage landowners to enter into voluntary conservation agreements with municipalities, they need to be involved at an early stages and to have adequate information and advice. The tools produced by the project helped make this happen, with wide-ranging environmental benefits, such as the creation of varied flora and fauna through landscape management and the reduction of agricultural nutrient-rich discharges. This has helped to ensure the favourable conservation status of habitats and species in Denmark’s Natura 2000 network sites. Within a wider socio-economic perspective, the environment contributes to creating added value, for example, in relation to settlement, tourism, housing prices and health. SMART Natura reached most of the agricultural advisers and municipal Natura 2000 advisers in Denmark, through widespread distribution of its Handbook, Layman’s Report and Inspiration Catalogue. Much of the project’s material was translated into English, and it has been sent to relevant contacts in the Baltic region, Poland, Germany and England. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan/After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).