Deadline: 28-Mar-23
The European Commission (EC) is accepting proposals for Monitoring the Multi-Functionality of European Forests.
Scope
- In the context of climate change impacts, accelerated biodiversity loss and the need to adjust our socio-economic system to a more sustainable alternative, forests play increasingly a double role as victim and part of the solution. While their resilience and potential are under threat, they help to mitigate climate change (e.g., through carbon sequestration), and contribute to climate change adaptation (buffering thermal variations or variations in water flows), harbour large parts of terrestrial biodiversity and provide feasible solutions to support the transition to a bioeconomy.
- To adequately manage forests and the services they provide, reliable, up-to-date, and coherent European forest information is more important. However, one of the challenges remain how to integrate information from different sources on the many functions that forests fulfil and the benefits they provide to society. Currently, data are scattered and often focusing on a limited set of indicators, which do not adequately represent the multi-functionality of forests.
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
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
- Development of a comprehensive information base for all stakeholders involved in forest matters, from policy making, through forest restoration and conservation planning and funding of such activities, to practical forest management.
- Successful implementation of forest-related policy objectives under the European Green Deal, including the building of a forest-based bioeconomy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the increase of carbon removals, the contribution to climate change adaptation, the provision of ecosystem services and the conservation and restoration of forest biodiversity.
- Better understanding of the quantity and quality of European forests, their multifunctional role and resilience needs under climate change and contribution to halting the loss of biodiversity.
- Efficient implementation of possible certification schemes in relation to forest multifunctionality (e.g., closer-to-nature forest management practices, carbon farming).
Eligibility Criteria
- To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
- To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions,
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States,
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- the following low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit European Commission.