In 1992, as a result of two important community directives - namely the "Birds Directive" 79/409/EEC, and the "Habitats Directive" 92/43/EEC - a community financial instrument called "LIFE" (acronym of the french phrase "L'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement") was established through the EEC Regulation n. 1973. Aim of this regulation is to contribute to the implementation and development of the community policy concerning the environmental sector and the environmental legislation.

It is the only community financing channel  specially dedicated to environment, and thanks to it about one thousand projects have been funded through the implementation of three different community programs: Life I from 1992 to 1995, Life II from 1995 to 2000 and Life III from 2000 to 2006.

The new program, called LIFE+, has been published in June 2007 with a total financial appropriation of 2,143 million Euros during a period included between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2013. This project is divided into three parts:

• LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity: this part finances projects aiming at the conservation of habitats and of species of community interest, at the implementation of community policies and legislation as far as nature and biodiversity are concerned, in particular of the directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC, in order to support the further development and implementation of the Natura 2000 Network.

• LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance: this part is designated for projects aiming at facilitating the fulfillment of the community policy as far as environment is concerned, to contribute to the development and application of innovative strategic, technological, methodological and instrumental approaches, especially in the priority fields of climate change, environment, life's health and quality, natural resources and waste. 

• LIFE+ Information & Communication: this part mainly addresses the spread of information and the public awareness campaign concerning environmental issues, and the prevention of wildfires.

The peculiarity of the LIFE+ project is to give particular significance to the awareness aspect, and to the involvement and active participation of stakeholders in the development of the different realization stages of the project. 

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/