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European partnership: Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future
Funding Program
Horizon Europe: Cluster 6 - Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call number
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-15
deadlines
Opening
06.05.2025
Deadline
17.09.2025 17:00
Deadline - 2nd stage
Opening
17.05.2025
Funding rate
30%
Call budget
€ 70,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 70,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
In line with the European Green Deal and its vision for a climate-neutral, prosperous economy by 2050, and the EU forest strategy for 2030, this partnership will mobilise research and innovation to accelerate the transition to a sustainable forest bioeconomy to enhance forest sector value, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
Call objectives
As the main instrument for public organisations in EU Member States and Associated Countries to collaborate in the forest-based sectors, the partnership will facilitate concerted research and innovation actions on Europe's diverse forestry challenges, with the participation of a wide range of stakeholders, thus reducing fragmentation of related R&I.
The partnership should mobilise key partners and stakeholders, including ministries in charge of research, forest-related areas, and environment, funding agencies, research performing organisations, research infrastructures, foresters, industry, NGOs, international networks, etc.
The partnership should align with transnational research and innovation activities, as defined in its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and address all the following:
- identify R&I priorities to strengthen alignment of European and national research, development and innovation programmes and to increase their policy relevance;
- develop new knowledge and innovative solutions for a systemic and inclusive approach to forest and forestry challenges, looking for synergies in complementary actions and trade-offs between competing actions;
- reinforce the European collaboration on improving the understanding of resilience of forest ecosystems and forest-based sectors, and their underlying constituents to multiple hazards, driven by ongoing climate change and other human made impacts as a basis for adaptation and mitigation measures;
- strike an optimal balance in a range of forest functions and related societal values, including views of different stakeholders, thus responding to societal expectations while supporting the forest industry in a transition towards a greener and circular bioeconomy;
- focus on the multifunctional role and the sustainable management of forests as well as the interplay between forestry biomes, regimes and the continuous provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and resilience to climate change (drought, fire, pests and diseases, compound and cascading risks etc.) as well as climate adaptation;
- consider the cascading use of forest products and higher added value, supporting business and social enterprise development (creating employment and quality job opportunities and diversified revenue for foresters) in rural areas and industrial development in crucial sectors such as sustainable forest-based industries (traditional and emerging branches), construction, transport, and energy;
- stronger focus on the processes that lead to transformations toward sustainability in the forest-based and bioeconomy sector at European level, which will also be key to the forest industry´s long-term competitiveness, in Europe and globally;
- ensure forests and forest management monitoring to ultimately anticipate future developments, provide early alerts on disturbances (e.g., pest outbreaks and climate change driven impacts), and assess the impact of forestry practices on forest and forest soil health and conservation and local communities;
- increase and strengthen international cooperation to develop a critical mass in relation to the global challenges faced including climate mitigation and imported deforestation.
The partnership is open to all EU Member States, as well as to Countries Associated to Horizon Europe. Specific action should be taken to integrate Ukraine in the Partnership to strengthen European sustainable forest management. Partners are expected to provide financial and/or in-kind contribution, in line with the level of ambition of the proposed activities. The partnership should be open to include new partners over its lifetime. Its governance should allow for engaging a broad range of stakeholders, together with the full members of the partnership. Guidelines, standards, and legislation in the field should be taken into consideration, to facilitate the marketing of the methods and products developed in the partnership.
The partnership should allocate resources to cooperate with existing projects, initiatives, platforms, science-policy interfaces, and/or institutional processes at European level, and at other levels where relevant to the partnership’s goals.
To ensure that all work streams are coherent and complementary, and to leverage knowledge and innovation investment potential, the partnership is expected to foster close cooperation and synergies with the Horizon Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’, and ‘Climate-neutral and Smart Cities’, with the existing European Partnerships Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), Biodiversa+, Water4All, Agroecology, Built4People, Sustainable Food Systems, and with other relevant future partnerships, in particular the project that may follow from the topic “HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data”. Where relevant, creating links and using the information and data of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus are encouraged.
Cooperation with the JRC may be envisaged, in particular for actions related to forest monitoring and forest management.
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Expected effects and impacts
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes to implement joint calls for transnational proposals resulting in grants to third parties. The partnership will provide financial support to third parties as one of the means to achieve its objectives. To explore the full range of financing options available under Horizon Europe, the general annexes of the main Work Programme setting out the general conditions applicable to calls and topics for grants should be considered.
To achieve the international cooperation objectives, and given the global dimension of forests, collaboration with strategic third country partners with proven added value in the field of forests and forestry is strongly encouraged. In particular, the participation of legal entities from international countries and/or regions, including those not automatically eligible for funding, is encouraged in the transnational co-funded calls and/or in other activities of the partnership. Cooperation with international organisations may be considered.
Applicants are expected to describe in detail how they would carry out this collaborative work in practice.
Efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities disciplines.
In order to enhance the societal impact of the activities, the approach should empower citizens to contribute to the co-design/co-creation/co-assessment of research and innovation agendas/contents/outcomes.
Cross-articulation with data spaces, and notably with the European Open Science Cloud should be foreseen, exploiting synergies and complementarities of the different approaches.
The Commission envisages to include new actions in future work programme(s) to continue providing support to the partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
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Expected results
The partnership will deliver knowledge and solutions that will support the implementation of several other European Green Deal strategies and initiatives, notably: the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target, the EU forest strategy for 2030, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the EU bioeconomy strategy, the European industrial strategy, circular economy action plan, the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF), the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and the proposal for a Regulation on a forest monitoring framework.
The expected outcomes of the topic will contribute to impacts of various Destinations under Cluster 6 of Horizon Europe, notably Destination ‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors’.
The partnership is expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
- a robust European R&I system for forests and forestry, co-created through complementary forest research agendas across the EU Member States and Associated Countries, leading to strengthened collaborations, enhanced understanding of forest ecosystem resilience, and reinforced role of the EU in the international forest agenda;
- strong consistency between social, environmental and economic dimensions of forests and forestry, and improved knowledge of their interplay is established;
- increased knowledge of the functioning and the role of forests in climate action and ecosystems protection and restoration and improved guidelines on innovative and adaptive forestry regimes for different European regions in order to reach climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, and bioeconomy objectives;
- better understanding of the role of forests in achieving climate and biodiversity objectives in times of accelerating climate change. New knowledge and tools for the timely, consistent, and comprehensive monitoring of forest condition, biodiversity, resilience, and productivity;
- new knowledge, methods, and processes to support major transitions (including increased carbon removals and the restoration of forest ecosystems) and innovations in the sustainable forest-based bioeconomy are developed towards higher added value;
- better understanding of the trends and bottlenecks in the new green forestry business models, including carbon farming, ecotourism and payments for environmental services.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Canada, Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
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 - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
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.
other eligibility criteria
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- Legal entities created under EU law (EU bodies) including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.
- Joint Research Centre (JRC)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
- EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
- Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity. - Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.).In case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
project duration
seven to ten years
Additional Information
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 70 pages.
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. As financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the primary activities of the action in order to be able to achieve its objectives, the EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 207(a) of the Financial Regulation No 2024/2509 does not apply. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 10 000 000 for the whole duration of Horizon Europe.
The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70 million committed in annual installments over years 2025-2027 (EUR 10 million from the 2025 budget, EUR 30 million from the 2026 budget and EUR 30 million from the 2027 budget). The total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership is EUR 70 million.
Call documents
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 6 - Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and EnvironmentHorizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 6 - Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment(kB)
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