Deadline: 22-Jul-21
European Commission is calling proposals for European Partnership Rescuing Biodiversity to Safeguard Life on Earth.
Scope
- The European partnership on biodiversity ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard life on Earth’ is one of the actions included in the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030.
- It should coordinate research programmes between EU and its Member States and associated countries and trigger combined action.
- For the first time, it should mobilise environmental authorities as key partners in carrying out biodiversity research and innovation, along with ministries of research, funding agencies, and environmental protection agencies.
- The partnership’s co-created strategic research and innovation agenda for seven years should include calls for research projects, biodiversity- and ecosystems monitoring and science-based policy advisory activities.
- The partnership and its members should be committed to the Global 2050 Vision of ‘Living in harmony with nature’ adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity – by 2050, biodiversity and its benefits to people should be protected, valued and restored.
- The long-term goals in the zero-draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, adding up to this 2050 Vision include:
- net zero ecosystem loss by 2030, with a decreased risk of species extinction risks decreasing, and an increase in abundance of endangered species and their genetic diversity;
- rolling out of nature-based solutions at sufficient scale to contribute to people’s and environmental needs across Europe;
- good biodiversity status fully acknowledged as one of the basis for sustainable development and a green economy, and EU/AC leadership is recognised in this context.
Objectives
- Produce actionable knowledge to tackle both the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss; produce knowledge on biodiversity status, trends and dynamics, and in integrating drivers, pressures, impacts and responses; produce knowledge on the trade-offs and synergies between multiple drivers of biodiversity change; and an assessment of new tools and approaches to biodiversity/ecosystem conservation and restoration;
- Expand and improve the evidence base, accelerate the development and wide deployment of nature-based solutions to meet societal challenges across Europe in a sustainable and resilient way, contributing to protecting biodiversity while tackling multiple challenges such as the climate crisis while improving food and nutrition security, the water supply, addressing flooding and water scarcity, and tackling other societal priorities.
- Making the business case for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, by contributing science-based methodologies to account for and possibly value ecosystem services and the natural capital, and to assess the dependency and impact of businesses on biodiversity.
- Improved monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem services across Europe (status and trends), building on existing national/regional monitoring schemes, building new capacity for setting up new schemes, promoting new and efficient technologies and experience from processes related to mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services (MAES) with regard to enhancing and standardising tools for mapping and assessment.
- Science-based support for EU, Member States and associated countries policy-making, including for strengthening and implementing environmental policies and laws, and improving cross-sectoral links synergies with other European sectoral policies. More generally, R&I programmes should be better linked to the policy arena, providing greater input to policy making and improving the assessment of policy efficiency.
Funding Information
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
In line with the European Green Deal and the Convention on Biological Diversity, this partnership will contribute to the objectives and targets of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 under the overarching objective that, by 2030, biodiversity in Europe is back on the path to recovery.
A successful proposal will contribute to the EU Green Deal priorities, the Birds and Habitats Directives, and to EU climate and agricultural policies.
It will help connect biodiversity research across Europe, supporting and raising the ambition of national, EU and international environmental policies and conventions.
The expected outcomes of the topic will also contribute to other impacts of Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’, as well as to the Commission priority ‘A stronger Europe in the world’, and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13, 14, 15, 17.
- Biodiversity research and environmental policy institutions build up coherent initiatives through a co-funded European partnership.
- National/local and EU research & innovation programmes share information between programmes and with environmental ministries and agencies, combining in-cash and in-kind resources. EU and national/regional biodiversity research agendas from EU Member States and associated countries- are complementary; a long-term pan-European strategic research agenda is co-created and implemented.
- Biodiversity monitoring in Europe is structured in the form of a network of coordinated observatories providing accessible knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services to users via the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.
- The partnership increases the relevance, impact and visibility of R&I and European leadership in tackling the biodiversity crisis.
- Biodiversity is mainstreamed across sectors and policies across Europe by using tools such as natural capital accounting and by rolling out nature-based solutions, including traditional and new technologies, which provide multifunctional and resilient solutions to complex societal challenges
Eligibility Criteria
- Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
- A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
- 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/2Tu7gu0