UNDP/Serbia announces Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions

Deadline: 12-Jul-22

With the support of the European Union, and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia announced the Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions: Forests and Green Infrastructure for Improving Natural Capital and Climate Resilience.

This challenge aims to support the implementation of innovative ideas that will contribute to increasing the forested areas and improving the functionality of ecosystems, thus enriching the biodiversity and increasing the resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather events caused by climate change. The application of these ideas in practice will contribute to a healthier environment, further accelerate the green transformation of the economy and society, and the implementation of the EU Green Agenda in Serbia.

Best solutions under this call will receive mentoring and technical support, while co-financing will be provided to the most successful among them, so that these ideas may be applied in practice. Project applications that result in the formation of forests and green urban areas by using diverse indigenous species of forest vegetation would be particularly welcomed. Also, projects that have multiple benefits for local communities, such as better air quality, improvement of biodiversity, preservation of the quality of agricultural land, and greater absorption of carbon dioxide – will be prioritised.

The Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions: Forests and Green Infrastructure for Improving Natural Capital and Climate Resilience has been published within the “EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia” project, which, with the financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and the EIB.

Funding Information

Based on the financial plan and the total value of the project budget, project proposals are divided into two categories:

• Small projects (total investment values up to 100,000 euros) – financial resources for the implementation of such projects can also be provided from alternative sources of funding (for example, crowdfunding),
• Medium projects (total investment values up to 1 million euros).

Eligibility Criteria

• All interested local self-government units, public companies, managers of protected areas, and/or cooperatives can apply for projects on publicly owned land; and all interested forest owners (e.g. cooperatives, associations, companies) can apply for projects on forest and agricultural land in private and cooperative ownership.
• Only legal entities can apply to the call under the following two components/sub-challenges:
  • Component (sub-challenge) 1 – for projects ON PUBLIC PROPERTY LAND (agricultural, forest, water and building land):
    • Local self-government (city or municipality) and/or
    • Public enterprises and utility companies and/or
    • Managers of protected areas and/or
    • Cooperatives
  • Component (sub-challenge) 2 – for projects ON FOREST LAND AND AGRICULTURAL LAND IN PRIVATE AND COOPERATIVE PROPERTY:
    • Forest proprietors (e.g. cooperatives, associations, companies)
• All applicants have to be registered in Serbia, in accordance with the national legislation.
• Applicants can apply individually or in Consortia. Whether individually or in a consortium, the members of the team applying to the public call should meet the professional, personnel and organisational requirements for the implementation and realisation of the innovative idea. Members of the consortium in both components (sub-challenges) can be representatives of the private sector (small and medium-sized enterprises, companies and legal entities), scientific institutions (institutes and universities) and citizens’ associations (civil society organisations) if it contributes to project’s innovation and/or allows the project’s life cycle to be extended. In the case of a consortium under Component 1, the lead applicant must be the local government, a public company or a manager of a protected area, who should be clearly identified together with a contact person appointed for all questions related to the application. The lead applicant is also the main beneficiary of the funds provided under the project.

For more information, visit UNDP.

For more information, visit https://zelena-agenda.euzatebe.rs/en/open-calls