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  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

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Call key data

Networking to scale up living labs for nature restoration solutions and to address bottlenecks to implementation

Funding Program

Horizon Europe

Call number

HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-03

deadlines

Opening
13.10.2026

Deadline
14.01.2027 17:00

Funding rate

100%

Call budget

€ 4,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

€ 4,000,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 defines nature restoration objectives in line with target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) provides that Member States shall put in place effective and area-based restoration measures.

Call objectives

Support to nature restoration living labs has been granted under Horizon Europe and more living labs are expected to be settled, making coordination and transfer of implementation frameworks increasingly important. including to capture recurring implementation bottlenecks. The Soil Mission has gathered experience on living labs for soil restoration notably through the project SOILL.

The Commission announced in the Bioeconomy Strategy the creation of a Buyers’ Club for carbon farming; its aim is to bring together potential buyers of carbon farming credits certified under the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, for instance by facilitating alliances between land managers and potential financiers. The Commission has adopted a roadmap towards nature credits.

Proposals should:

  • organise a European network of living labs and lighthouses dedicated to nature restoration to ensure a cohesive development and the effective uptake of validated deployment frameworks. It should notably facilitate the development of common methodologies, standards, impact frameworks and capacity-building activities for living labs across Europe, ensuring strong involvement of national and regional living lab networks and fostering cross-border collaboration. It should ensure adequate coverage of EU Member States and Associated Countries so that as many as possible countries can benefit from the experience gained;
  • ensure that living labs are adequately informed on the relevant legislation notably the NRR and about experience and knowledge on nature restoration including from the LIFE programme and Biodiversa+ Knowledge Hubs;
  • inform about nature restoration financing (existing or future) opportunities, including the Nature credits roadmap and the CRCF certification framework, and their implementation; promote where relevant existing CRCF and nature credits methods for agriculture, including organic agriculture, agroforestry, peatland restoration and rewetting, and/or afforestation with a view of testing them in the living labs;
  • consolidate scientific results from the living labs and lighthouses in policy and implementation-focused outputs, fostering multi-level governance and supporting competent authorities in translating restoration challenges into operational priorities; encourage the development of shared spatial frameworks and optimisation tools that enable transferability of restoration solutions across regions;
  • based on living lab and lighthouses activities, advocate ecosystem restoration and promote knowledge sharing and cultural exchanges on biodiversity as shared legacy with a view to strengthen legitimacy, to foster intergenerational communication and to counter misinformation;
  • develop a mapping of current and emerging living labs and lighthouses dedicated to nature restoration and make it available;
  • build on existing knowledge and on the experience of successful living labs and lighthouses to provide practical recommendations and transferable implementation models to new ones dedicated to nature restoration; facilitate alliances between actors of the living labs and coalitions of buyers of certified carbon farming credits with biodiversity benefits (“Buyers’ Clubs”), with a view to future replication for nature credits.

The network should integrate coordinators of living labs projects funded under topic HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-02: Living labs for co-creating solutions for the restoration of ecosystems addressing implementation bottlenecks and improving resilience to risks of this call. It should also be open to living labs funded under Cluster 6 topics or under other initiatives, in particular under the Mission ‘Soil Deal for Europe’, under the Agroecology partnership, under the Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 and under national or regional programmes, provided ecosystem restoration is their main objective. Balance in the involvement of Member States and Associated Countries and gender balance should be ensured in the network.

Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The network should involve relevant stakeholders, such as:

  • land-owners and managers, farmers, foresters; freshwater and seawater related sectors, for their concrete experience in living labs;
  • competent authorities for nature restoration; in particular rural/local communities, private actors and public authorities - including water management authorities - to help to better identify concrete implementation needs and evidence gaps;
  • local residents, environmental NGOs, youth organisations to represent civil society’s views;
  • researchers to provide scientific coordinated guidance to the living labs;
  • financing institutions; coalitions of buyers of certified carbon farming credits with biodiversity benefits (“Buyers’ Clubs”), to facilitate alliances with actors of the living labs and with a view to support them to test and possibly replicate concepts for nature credits.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines including economics, finance, cultural and communication science, and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

In order to increase synergies and the impact of the project, the selected proposal should ensure close cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and its Science Service, including participating in answering science to policy requests.

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Expected results

Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

  • Living labs working on nature restoration are better connected, they are better involved in policy developments, and they benefit from existing knowledge and experience, leading to scale up of solutions for nature restoration and to address bottlenecks to implementation in particular through strengthened ownership including by local communities, private actors and public authorities;
  • the cooperation between research, practice and policy on nature restoration is increased, with attention to practitioners involved in nature restoration (farmers, foresters, fishers and/or other businesses depending on ecosystem services) and rural/local communities and authorities as well as traditional and local knowledge holders;
  • public authorities, land owners and/or managers, water related stakeholders, food and bioeconomy actors and practitioners have access to shared, validated deployment and governance frameworks that support the scale up of nature restoration actions as well as estimates for demand for certified environmental outcomes supporting restoration objectives (certified carbon farming credits and, once methodologies are available, nature credits).

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

Candidate Countries, EEA - European Economic Area, EU Member States, Eastern Partnership, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Morocco (المغرب), Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), 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; Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom;
  • the following low- and middle-income countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (Arab Republic), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

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.

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, 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.

As affiliated entities do not sign the grant agreement, they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any).

Specific cases

Affiliated entities — 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 — 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 specific call/topic conditions.

Entities without legal personality — 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.

EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.

International organisations — 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/topic 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 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 the 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

Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Circular Economy, Natural Resources, 
Disaster Prevention, Resilience, Risk Management

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)

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.

Applications must include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results including communication activities, unless provided otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions. The plan is not required for applications at the first stage of two-stage procedures. If the expected exploitation of the results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan must include a strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation of the results primarily in non-associated third countries, the applicants must explain how that exploitation is to be considered in the EU’s interest.

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 28 pages.

The following additional eligibility criteria apply: The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in this work programme part.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Call documents

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Horizontal ActivitiesHorizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Horizontal Activities(1262kB)

Contact

National Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

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