Grants to Monitor Critical Ecosystems and Biodiversity Loss and Vulnerability

Deadline: 06-Oct-21

The European Commission (EC) is pleased to announce the User-oriented solutions building on environmental observation to monitor critical ecosystems and biodiversity loss and vulnerability in the European Union.

The projects are expected to further the harmonisation, mobilisation, and uptake of monitoring and environmental data to better characterise and understand the natural and anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity, the extent of the destruction of natural biological resources and its connection with ecosystem conditions within safe planetary boundaries. There is a need for knowledge of both better quantified and more precisely characterised changes in biodiversity and related ecosystem services (in coastal, marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems), and of ecosystem status and quantified impacts of the main direct drivers of changes (i.e. land and sea use changes, pollutions, climate change, invasive alien species and exploitation of natural resources) on European natural capital.

The projects should deliver new Earth observation (EO) data services building on the potential of EO capabilities in order to address end-user needs facing the deterioration and destruction of their living environment and ecosystems. The projects under this topic should tackle issues raised within the European Green Deal calls and provide solutions to halt biodiversity loss and protect vulnerable ecosystems, and ensuring ecosystem capacity to continue to provide services to society and the environment.

The projects should make mapping tools and information solutions available, which are needed by a wide variety of end users in order to meet targets for conservation and restoration of diverse terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems. Hence, the development of tools to support decision-making and participatory management are crucial in this context. Solutions related to improving ecosystem health and resilience should be integrated into best practice monitoring activities within respective monitoring governance schemes. This should enable stakeholders and policy makers to take the right conservation and restoration measures, in particular with the use of a holistic ecosystem-based management in response to the urgent need for halting biodiversity loss and, consequently, alterations to ecosystem functions and sustain the delivery of precious ecosystem services.

Funding Information

The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:

public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).

Expected Outcomes

Proposals are expected to contribute to at least four of the following outcomes:

Better informed policy formulation for biodiversity & ecosystem services on European/national and regional level, built on enhanced understanding of better quantified and characterised changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services and the prediction of their trajectories;
Enhanced understanding of the adverse cumulative impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and in particular on habitats and key species at risk of extinction in sensitive ecosystems to define enhanced management, adaptation and mitigation actions;
Enhanced planning and ecosystem-based management of land and sea with the objectives to minimise the adverse effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on ecosystems and biodiversity;
Dependable data, information and knowledge to support adaptation and mitigation of biodiversity loss resulting from climate change and anthropogenic activities, through maximised exploitation of information and data from European data infrastructures, European programmes (such as EMODnet and European research infrastructures) and GEO initiatives;
Support to the development of the European service sector regarding end-user climate services related to biodiversity and ecosystems and deliver usable results to the monitoring framework of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030;
A contribution to the EC-ESA joint Earth system science initiative (in particular to the flagship action on biodiversity and ocean health);
Improved governance of biodiversity monitoring and reporting, in particular together with the ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard live on Earth’ partnership, the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and GEOBON.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
eligible non-EU countries:
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- low- and middle-income countries.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3xjMPys