Call: Observing and mapping biodiversity and ecosystems, with particular focus on coastal and marine ecosystems

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal that will put Europe’s biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030, for the benefit of people, the climate and the planet. It will also prepare the EU to take a leading role in the upcoming international negotiations on a new global framework to halt biodiversity loss. With the Green Deal’s ‘do no significant harm’ vision, all EU policies will become more biodiversity-friendly, focusing more on the sustainable use of ecosystems, supporting the recovery in a post-pandemic world[[COM/2020/380 EU biodiversity strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives]]. This policy vision is fully supported in the strategic plan of Horizon Europe for 2021-2024 in its first key strategic orientation ‘Protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity and managing sustainably natural resources on land and at sea, and achieving climate neutrality and adaptation’. Consequently, Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ intends to achieve the following expected impact from Cluster 6 ‘Biodiversity is back on a path to recovery, and ecosystems and their services are preserved and sustainably restored on land, inland water and at sea through improved knowledge and innovation’. All actions funded under this destination must therefore help to deliver this main impact.

Research and innovation is key to delivering results that will have an important impact on biodiversity, food, health, water and climate, which are all interconnected, and to achieving the goal of healthy and resilient ecosystems by 2030. It will also enable transformational change engaging European society and economy and their global impacts, making decisions more biodiversity-friendly. R&I will support policy targets, develop nature-based solutions[[Nature-based solutions are “inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem services.”]] and holistic approaches to address the main causes of biodiversity loss, particularly in connection to production systems, bringing all sectors together to be integrated in ecosystem-based management. Investments in R&I will help to protect and restore the integrity of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems, currently under multiple pressures, and protect and restore their capacity to deliver a wide range of essential services. Under Horizon Europe, a long-term strategic research agenda for biodiversity will also be developed.

The sixth mass extinction is taking place: one million species are at risk of extinction, and the degradation of ecosystems severely affects the fabric of life that enables the survival of humankind[[IPBES global assessment (2019). Summary for policy-makers.]]. None of the globally agreed targets of the 2011-2020 strategic plan for biodiversity has been fully achieved[[United Nation’s 5th Global Biodiversity Outlook (2020).]], with the biodiversity crisis even deepening. Our knowledge on biodiversity status, pressures, impacts and responses needs to be improved, requiring even basic taxonomic work in certain ecosystems. Understanding biodiversity decline and addressing its main drivers through data-driven science, integrated multidisciplinary knowledge, new tools, models and scenarios, will support Europe’s policy needs and boost global biodiversity science. Solutions for preventing and addressing the individual and cumulative effect of direct drivers of biodiversity loss (land use change, overexploitation, climate change, invasive species, pollution) need to be further developed and made available to policy makers and practitioners, such as through the new EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity[[https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en]]. For more impact on society and economic sectors, citizen science and crowdsourcing also require big data analysis, artificial intelligence, social sciences, communications and policy tools.

Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services is necessary to develop tools to guide decisions, inform and implement policies on the environment, water, health, climate, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, forests and other land use types, protected areas management, the sustainable bioeconomy, the blue economy, maritime and cross-sectoral spatial planning, and responsible business practices. The continued degradation of the ecosystems and their services affects biodiversity and climate change[[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0738-8]], and increases the risk of severe ecological disasters and pandemics. The European Green Deal and its biodiversity strategy call for urgent action to restore damaged aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in order to increase biodiversity and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services.

The contribution of ecosystems to human wellbeing and the economy is not properly accounted for in market transactions, or in planning and investment decisions: the social and economic co-benefits of healthy ecosystems are often disregarded. Natural capital accounts need to be developed and mainstreamed. Investments in R&I will also lay the ground for scaling up and speeding up the implementation of technological, societal and nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS support vital ecosystem services, biodiversity and biomass provision, as well as access to drinking water, clean soil, improved livelihoods, healthy diets and food safety and security from sustainable food systems. NBS deployment will also create green jobs and build resilience to climate change and natural disasters. Citizens, authorities, businesses, social partners and the research community must be engaged at local, regional, national and European levels.

Managing biodiversity in primary production: Biodiversity is the basis for sustainable and resilient agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry, as also recognised in the farm to fork and biodiversity strategies under the Green Deal. With diverse genetic resources, it is possible to use in primary production plants and animals that are adapted to different environments, ecosystems and meet diverse needs. Furthermore, the interplay between species below and above ground delivers important ecosystem services, such as pollination, soil fertility, pest and risk control. Despite these recognised benefits, current production systems tend to be specialised and rely on a limited number of crops, breeds and forest tree species whose genetic basis is narrow. Reversing this trend and increasing their resilience is critical and of global concern in particular in the current context of accelerated climate change and a growing population whose production and consumption footprint is increasing.

Enabling transformative change [[Transformative change has been defined by IPBES as “A fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values”. IPBES global assessment (2019). Summary for policy-makers.]] in biodiversity: Science (IPBES and IPCC) and Policy (the global post-2020 biodiversity framework and the EU biodiversity strategy) clearly underline that biodiversity loss can only be successfully addressed if transformative changes are initiated, accelerated, and up-scaled. There is however hardly any knowledge on potentials and challenges arising from transitions focused on biodiversity. System-level change of this kind starts with social innovation in the form of, for example, regulations, incentives, local and participatory processes, and through the introduction of new technologies, new production processes, or new consumer products, which change how socio-technical and socio-ecological systems operate and impact their environment. Such transformative change must decrease the impacts of indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, which are in turn, underpinned by societal values and behaviours. Indirect drivers of biodiversity loss are understood to mean here: production and consumption patterns, human population dynamics and trends (including their footprints), trade, technological innovations, and local to global governance (including financing). Research and innovation can enable these transformative changes to happen and initiate processes, behaviour changes and actions which are transforming the way we impact biodiversity. Socio-economic and multidisciplinary research, including on the role of education, will develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity policy making, address the indirect drivers for biodiversity loss, and accelerate transformative changes in our society that are relevant to biodiversity.

Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies refers to the establishment of the European Partnership ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard life on Earth’ and to the support to other science-policy interfaces. The European partnership on biodiversity[[https://www.biodiversa.org/1759]] will connect national, local and European research, innovation and environmental programmes, combining resources in support of one goal, i.e. that by 2030 biodiversity in Europe is back on the path to recovery. It will co-develop multidisciplinary research and innovation programmes with stakeholders, set up a European network of coordinated observatories for biodiversity monitoring, and implement a broad range of activities to increase the relevance, impact and visibility of EU research and innovation in tackling the biodiversity crisis in line with the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030.

Science-policy interfaces on biodiversity and nature-based solutions have made good progress in recent years[[Good leverage effects have been achieved, notably through EKLIPSE, Oppla, the NBS platform, the EU4IPBES support action 2018-2021.]], and must be stepped up to achieve targeted impacts on biodiversity-relevant policies, that can in turn be used as structured policy input into the research cycle. These interfaces are also key to guiding biodiversity governance, and to implement the EU Green Deal and international conventions[[In particular, the UN Convention on Biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030]]. In line with the Commission priority 'A stronger Europe in the world', the EU must take and demonstrate leadership in this field, notably by increasing its support to IPBES[[The Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] -to bring it up to the same level as the IPCC-, and to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Besides economic support, this also includes efforts to create synergies and cooperation between IPBES, regional Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other relevant research communities to ensure a full coverage of all relevant aspects of biodiversity and ecosystem services in order to underpin the full scope of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework.

All topics will directly contribute to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13, 14, 15, 17.

Several missions will also help to achieve biodiversity-related impacts, notably in the areas of ‘Adaptation to climate change including societal transformation’, ‘Climate-neutral and smart cities’, ‘Ocean, seas and waters’ and ‘Soil health and food’.

Expected impact

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and more specifically to one or more of the following impacts:

• Biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations are better understood and addressed through the production, integration and use of open data, knowledge, education and training, innovative technologies, solutions and control measures, in collaboration with European and international initiatives.
• Biodiversity and natural capital are integrated into public and business decision-making at all levels for the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their services; science base is provided for planning and expanding protected areas, and sustainably managing ecosystems.
• Europe builds competitive sustainability and tackles climate change and natural disasters through the deployment of nature-based solutions, including ecosystem-based disaster risk-reduction approaches fully reaping their economic, social and environmental benefits for a green recovery across all European regions.
• The interrelations between biodiversity, health, food, soil, water, air and climate are better known and communicated to citizens and policy-makers; in particular, risks associated with microbiomes and biodiversity-friendly prevention/mitigation measures, and opportunities for biodiversity recovery are identified.
• Practices in agriculture and forestry support biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystems services based on a) a better understanding of functional biodiversity (above and below ground), b) effective knowledge and innovation systems and c) ready-to use solutions for land managers, adapted to specific conditions.
• Access to a wider range of crops and breeds with a broadened genetic base is improved in line with global biodiversity commitments by gaining greater insight into the characteristics of genetic resources and by enhancing capacities for their preservation and use in breeding and in primary production (farming, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture). More (bio)diverse, resilient production systems will have positive knock-on effects on value chains, consumption, healthy diets and the wider, non-managed biodiversity.
• Approaches for enabling transformative changes in society for biodiversity and ecosystems recovery are identified, tested and implemented in policy, governance, law business and society; all indirect drivers of biodiversity loss are addressed and ‘do not harm’ biodiversity policies become a mainstream part of all sectors.
• Biodiversity research is interconnected across Europe, supporting and enhancing the ambition of national, EU and international environmental policies and conventions.

When considering the impact of the proposals, their compliance with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle[[As per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)]] has to be assessed. Also it has to be ensured that the research and innovation activities do not cause a significant harm to any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

The portfolio of actions under this destination will have impacts in the following areas: “Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters”; “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”; “Clean and healthy air, water and soil”; “Sustainable food systems from farm to fork on land and sea”; and “A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats”.

Expected Outcome:

In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity strategy, successful proposals will contribute to all the following expected outcomes notably to better understand biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations:

• Next generation fit for purpose and user friendly, validated and integrated coastal, marine and terrestrial biodiversity observation, mapping and monitoring tools (from remote sensing to eDNA, AI, robotics and citizen science framework) that provide data to feed models of prediction of biodiversity (for global and regional scales to define and update ecosystem-based management approaches).
• Fulfil the objectives of the Global Biodiversity Observation Network (The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network – GEOBON, MBON, GOOS)
• Empowering ocean observations (e.g., citizen science framework, robotics, artificial intelligence, big data analytics) and robust science-based thinking at national and international levels will promote science diplomacy and wider societal actions to support responsible and sustainability thereby enhancing ocean governance
• Coastal, marine and terrestrial biological processes and biodiversity are integrated into national, regional (including EU and AC sea basins), and global observation systems. Reliable and affordable methods for monitoring water quality in line with the MSFD and WFD, which would generate information that is geo referenced and available more in real time.
• In line with the targets of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, contribute to establish a network of effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, protected areas and/or other area-based effective conservation measures.
• “Blue Carbon” balance model in the different marine ecosystems for possible use for carbon offsetting and for Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)

Scope:

Better biodiversity observations are needed to assess the health of ecosystems and the impact of measures derived from EU policies, and to feed data into models for the predictions of effects and the development of management measures for the implementation of EU policies.

Observation and mapping of coastal and marine biodiversity are key tools to manage and share the “ocean commons” in a fair and responsible way under the present global challenges and rapid environmental changes. They also help ensure that the benefits derived from the exploitation of ocean resources can be sustainably managed and equitably shared. The distribution of these “ocean commons” is changing. The melting polar ice caps, stagnation in wild seafood provisioning opportunities, emergence of harmful pathogens and parasites, and previously inaccessible ocean spaces (e.g. the deep sea) now increasingly within human reach, are challenges that need to be addressed by responsible ocean governance to reduce the potential for conflicts at all levels and ensure human well-being. Current knowledge on how to relate and govern marine natural resources and associated societal changes is fragmented, and observations of resource distribution, use, state and dynamics are scant and insufficiently accessible. We need to advance observations to support modelling of the complex links between marine ecosystems and societal developments to forecast, manage and mitigate these changes.

Adequate scientific knowledge is also fundamental to protect and restore favourable conservation status of habitats and species under EU nature legislation, notably the Birds and Habitats Directive and good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. Reliable data and knowledge are necessary inter alia to define protected areas in line with the EU biodiversity strategy and its underlying legislation, to develop conservation objectives, conservation and restoration measures, to define the conservation status and to undertake environmental impact assessments.

In order to do so, projects are expected to encompass all of the following aspects:

• Use of satellite and drone images (earth observation) to assess pressures on freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems (fragmentation, hydromorphological changes, etc.);
• Develop eDNA protocols complementing established biological indicators to monitor ecological status, in the context of the Water Framework Directive.
• New platforms and integration of variety of sensors in situ, autonomous unmanned vehicles, acoustic monitoring, satellite applications, holistic approaches (e.g., systems biology, meta-omics, and ecosystem approaches) and novel theoretical frameworks linking evolutionary theory and oceanography as well as marine social sciences and humanities can provide an integrated framework to inform decision making, particularly in inherently dynamic coastal ecosystems.
• Where relevant, creating links, contributing to and using the information and data of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), European Space Agency Earth Observation Programme and in particular the flagship actions on biodiversity and ocean health of the EC-ESA Joint Earth system science initiative, is expected.
• Contribute to improving the knowledge on marine and terrestrial habitats and species protected under the Birds and Habitats Directive.
• Contribute to improving the knowledge on how invasive alien species interact with local biodiversity to better feed policies on their prevention, eradication and management In line with EU Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species,
• Implement the Essential Ocean Variables for sustained observations of marine biodiversity and ecosystem changes identified by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
• The projects should benefit from the large datasets recovered from the long-term environmental monitoring conducted through the national and European dedicated Research Infrastructures (e.g. eLTER).
• Technical, theoretical and practical development and validation for the use of environmental DNA (eDNA), combined with other ocean data (both biotic and abiotic). These approaches promise leaps in our ability to sample ecosystem-wide data at increasingly low costs.
• Investigate all key processes (ecological and anthropogenic) controlling the fate of carbon and its sequestration in marine and costal ecosystems. Evaluate the “Blue Carbon” balance in the different marine ecosystems through high-resolution mapping and modelling of marine ecosystems of the European EEZ, characterised by habitats, species, processes and functions, from deep sea, offshore to coastal.
• The tools, models and geo-referenced information systems that should be designed should be focused on user needs and designed with user experience.
• Standardised minimum set of Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables (EOVs / EBVs)
• Contribution to enhancing the overall societal and public understanding of link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through education and training (school & adult education, citizen science platforms)
• All the marine observations connected though these actions should be incorporated into EMODnet.
• Cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and other relevant existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms.
• Contribute to the free and open access to biodiversity data of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
• Opportunities for cooperation with relevant projects, such as EUROPABON awarded under the call ‘SC5-33-2020: Monitoring ecosystems through research, innovation and technology’ or the projects resulting from topics under the Heading ‘Understanding biodiversity decline’ in Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ and from Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’ (Carbon cycle and natural processes) and Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’ (environmental observation) should be identified. Furthermore, cooperation is expected with the European co-funded partnership on biodiversity (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant Horizon Europe missions and partnerships. Proposals should outline a plan on how they intend to collaborate with other projects selected and with the mentioned initiatives, by participating in e.g. joint activities, workshops, common communication and dissemination activities, etc. Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover the plan. Relevant activities of the plan will be set out and carried out in close co-operation with relevant Commission services, ensuring coherence with related policy initiatives.
• This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
• In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged.

eligible non-EU countries:

• countries associated to Horizon Europe

• low-and middle-income countries

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

Specific cases:

• Affiliated entities - Affiliated entities are eligible for funding if they are established in one of the countries listed above.
• EU bodies - Legal entities created under EU law may also be eligible to receive funding, unless their basic act states otherwise.
• International organisations - International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. Unless their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority, other international organisations are not 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 and when provided for in the specific call conditions.

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions , legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes:

• 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.

Proposal page limits and layout:

The application form will have two parts:

• Part A to be filled in directly online  (administrative information, summarised budget, call-specific questions, etc.)
• Part B to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system

Page limit - Part B: 45 pages

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project.

To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all types of ecosystems, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but with at least two-third of the topic budget to projects highest ranked within marine/coastal ecosystems, and one third of the topic budget to the highest ranked projects within the terrestrial/freshwater ones, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.