This database gathers European R&I projects on NBS from several major European research and innovation or implementation programmes: BiodivERsA, Horizon 2020, Seventh framework programme (FP7), Interreg and LIFE (EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action) over the years 2011–2021. Their project databases were screened using two successive keyword searches (‘biodiversity’ and then ‘services and approaches’) on the title and abstract of each project, and results were screened manually to retain NBS-relevant projects using criteria derived from the European Commission’s definition of NBS (i.e., biodiversity benefits, social and economic benefits and/or Increased resilience, and response to a societal challenge).
Beginning with more than 60.000 projects, the resulting database of NBS projects is composed of 300 projects with 100 projects from H2020 and FP7, 35 NBS projects from BiodivERsA, 86 NBS projects from Interreg and 79 NBS projects from LIFE.
The database was subsequently used to perform a mapping of EU R&I projects on NBS, in terms of types of NBS, societal challenges addressed, environments, approaches studied. This mapping allowed setting the scene of what R&I has been supported so far at European level on NBS. View the key results from analysing this database of EU R&I projects on NBS.
The general objective of the Steps for LIFE project is to transform cultural and tourism infrastructures (LDNMW) into multifunctional green infrastructures (GIs), integrating conservation and improvement of biodiversity, optimising ecological connectivity, providing ecosystem…
Human use and exploitation of the biosphere is increasing at such a pace and scale that the sustainability of major ecosystems is threatened, and may not be able to continue to function in ways that are vital to the existence of humanity. Re-framing environmental resource use…
PhytoSUDOE highlights the environmental, economic and social benefices during and after the phyto-management and promotes the use of this techniques among managers and owners of fields. For this purpose, it builds up a network of contaminated places to use phyto-management ,…
Rivers rank among some of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, and are the focus of costly restoration programmes that cost billions to taxpayers. Much of Europe depends on water from rivers for drinking, food production, and the generation of hydropower, which is…
- Procurement of multifunctional equipment for nature protection in Sungurlare and Süloğlu.
- Conservation activities for nature protection in Sungurlare Municipality - improvenet of the conservation status of natural habitat “91M0 Pannonian-Balkanic turkey oak –sessile…
Forestry impact and water management in Torne International River Basin
Start end date:
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Funding programme
Interreg
Description:
The goal is a concrete and detailed action plan that can be used by regional authorities, municipalities, associations of fish and fisheries at the restoration of streams affected by forestry. The action plan should be anchored among local and regional actors along the Torne…
The Belini IP will be implemented within the Scheldt International River Basin District (IRBD). The population density of this IRBD is among the highest in Europe (over 350 inhabitants/km²), causing significant pressures on the water system (urban wastewater, hydro-morphological…
The Duero river basin is an international basin shared by Spain and Portugal. It is located mainly within a Mediterranean climatic area, though water availability and desertification are not significant problems when compared with other Spanish catchments. However, the basin is…
River networks are among Earth’s most threatened hot-spots of biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services (e.g. supply drinking water and food, climate regulation) essential to sustaining human well-being. Climate change and increased human water use are causing more rivers…
Freshwater ecosystems are essential to people´s economic, cultural and social wellbeing, yet are still one of the most seriously threatened ecosystems on the planet. This conflict is reflected in political regulations that ask to halt the loss of, restore and safeguard…
The natural environment is dependent on water to provide society with many essential benefits or “ecosystem services” (e.g. drinking water, biodiversity, food production, recreation, carbon sequestration). A number of EU directives aim to protect and improve the delivery of…
Nutrient loads transported by the Danube affect its ecological status and have to be reduced, active floodplains can have a significant retention potential. But floodplains are subject to multiple human uses which strongly affect water quality of rivers. So far, these uses were…
The economic values of clean and safe water are well established. Lakes, ponds and reservoirs can provide water for drinking, irrigation, recreation, fish, natural and cultural values and other ecosystem services. Domestic and national tourism in lake districts are often of high…
The river Thaya forms the border between Austria and the Czech Republic and both countries profit from its usage (e.g. energy production, recreation, fishery). This has negative effects on the river system, like the canalisation and the separation of flood areas. This leads to a…
Since 2014, Europe allocated €5.5 billion in sustainable watershed management, including Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) of green-blue infrastructure to combat aquatic ecosystem decline and climate change impacts (e.g. flooding, urban heat). Reliable integrated Planning Support…
Woody riparian buffer strips along rivers (referred to as woody buffers in the following) offer multiple ecosystem services and increase biodiversity. Their beneficial effects potentially add up in downstream direction. Woody buffers may provide migration corridors and connect…
The loss of high-status waters has been identified as an important issue within Irelandand across Europe. The protection and restoration of these waters is one of the underpinning principles of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This is recognised, with appropriate commitments…
The Vistula river basin covers eastern Poland and accounts for almost 60% (about 183 000 km2) of the countrys surface area. It covers the territory of 11 voivodeships (administrative divisions similar to provinces). This project concerns the basins Pilica river catchment, an…
LENAs main objective is to strengthen joint and integrated approaches and policies for the conservation and sustainable use of protected areas, in particular Natura 2000 sites, along the Danube and its tributaries, while creating new income opportunities in the nature-based…
The project "Joint Conservation Management and Development of Information Infrastructure of Protected Areas along the Romanian and Hungarian Course of Tur River" proposed by the legal administrators of protected areas situated along the lower course of the Tur River in…
The common challenge of the Danube area we are jointly tackling in our project is maintaining and promoting of natural and cultural heritage, the protection of biodiversity, environmental awareness raising, assuring the conditions for common water and risk management and…
The objective of Eau Concert 2 project is to restore and protect cross-border aquatic ecosystems, and to enforce ecosystemic systems, that’s means services offered by natural environment to humans (foods, sanitarian, economical). A particular attention will be bringing on the…
Тhe common challenge of the programme area that are jointly tackled in the project: The cross border region of Bulgaria and Romania is a dynamically developing Danube region with variety of activities such as Industrial, transport-logistic, agricultural, tourism, cultural and…
To develop, test and disseminate approaches to the co-creation of nature based and natural process solutions to improve adaptive capacity of the 2Seas region to the water related effects of climate change.
The project will develop more open and transparent governance for…
RECONECT aims to contribute to European reference framework on Nature Based Solutions (NbS) by demonstrating, referencing and upscaling large scale NbS and by stimulating a new culture for 'land use planning' that links the reduction of risks with local and regional…
The project is the continuation of many years of cooperation and joint activities of the official institutions of Slovenia and Austria in the field of water management, which operate under the bilateral commission for boundary waters. With the implementation of the project the…
The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive determine the future of rivers in Austria. Their implementation has led to 2 separate national programmes of measures. These are laid down in the RBMP (River Basin Management Plan) and the FRMP (Flood Risk Management Plan)…
Ponds and “pondscapes” (networks of ponds) are crucial for biodiversity conservation and their multiple societally beneficial ecosystem services (ES) provide the means to play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, ponds are largely neglected in…
Severe hydro-meteorological phenomena are having a high impact in European territories and are of global concern. The science behind these phenomena is complex and advancement in knowledge proceeds with progress in data acquisition and forecasting useful for real-scenario…
The enhanced delivery of all four River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) in Latvia is necessary to achieve the EU environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which requires achievement of good ecological and chemical status or good ecological potential…
Dr. FOREST - Diversity of FORESTs affecting human health
Forest ecosystems are an important reservoir for biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes within Central Europe, and deliver many ecosystem services. They are also a popular location for recreational activities,…
The Carpathians belong to the most important European eco-regions. Biodiversity loss and increasing pressures threaten its outstanding natural values. Traditional approaches to resource management and nature conservation are no longer sufficient to guarantee long-lasting…
Terrestrial and marine ecosystems provide essential services to human societies. Anthropogenic pressures, however, cause serious threat to ecosystems, leading to habitat degradation, increased risk of collapse and loss of ecosystem services. Knowledge-based conservation,…
Forests are impacted by climate change both directly and indirectly via increased natural disturbances such as wind, wildfire and insect outbreaks, with negative effects on wood production and the economy. Nature-based solutions (NbS) promise great potential to counter negative…
Many of the European and world's ecosystems undergo degradation of terrestrial, aquatic and transitional ecosystems with nMany of the European and world's ecosystems undergo degradation of terrestrial, aquatic and transitional ecosystems with negative impacts on…
The LIFE+ GARAJONAY VIVE achieved its objectives of supporting the natural regeneration of laurel forest habitats and the recovery of populations of threatened species damaged by the fire of 2012 on the Spanish island of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, as well as reducing the…
The overall objective of the LIFE RedBosques_Clima project is to achieve a greater capacity for adaptation to climate change in forests, promoting forestry with conservation objectives (promoting maturity, increasing heterogeneity and diversity) under the umbrella of ecosystem-…
Marginal Lands (MLs) could offer suitable carbon sinks by afforestation/reforestation projects without being competitive to food production, conforming to EU/Global policies. The main objective of MAIL is to trigger utilization of MLs as Carbon Sinks by activities related to…
Forest landscape restoration and afforestation have recently received much international attention as a crucial opportunity for mitigating climate change (CC). Therefore, it features prominently in many political initiatives such as the EU Green Deal and the Bonn Challenge. Yet…
Climate projections indicate higher precipitation variability along this century with more frequent drought extremes, which would have strong influence on forest biodiversity due to impacts on ecosystem functioning, tree ecophysiology and microbial communities. Forest…
The overall objective of this study is to quantify how adaptive management can affect the provision of ecosystem services,
focusing on wood production, river runoff and climate change mitigation. The study will enhance our understanding of how
adaptive management can…
FIREURISK will develop, evaluate and disseminate a science-based integrated strategy to: 1) expand current wildland fire risk assessment systems, including critical factors of risk previously not covered; 2) produce effective measures to reduce current fire risk conditions, and…
WOODNET aims at providing innovative spatially-explicit tools for connectivity analysis along a range of landscapes from forest and shrubland to agricultural landscapes where woody vegetation elements play a key role for conservation or service delivery. Novel satellite images…
Forest ecosystems cover 42 % of the European Union’s total land area and strong efforts have been made to facilitate an increase of multiple forest ecosystem services to form robust forest stands. However, all ecosystems recently have been hit by rapidly changing climatic…
Forests are key components of modern landscapes, providing essential ecosystem services to humans and sustaining biodiversity. As they mitigate global warming, forest ecosystems are essential elements for meeting the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement and an increase of…
Climate change poses a major challenge for European forests, demonstrated by recent extreme events and forest disturbances of unprecedented intensity. As climate change continues, adverse impacts on the stability and production capacity of European forests could undermine the…
LIFE MycoRestore seeks to utilise diverse mycological resources and forest management practices to contribute to the biological resilience of Mediterranean forests. It also aims at generating new income sources and ensuring the stability of forest ecosystem services while…
The goal of B4EST is to increase forest survival, health, resilience and productivity under climate change and natural disturbances, while maintaining genetic diversity and key ecological functions, and fostering a competitive EU bio-based economy.
B4EST will provide…
The main aim of the project is to contribute to the adaptation to climate change of European mixed sub-humid Mediterranean forests by increasing their resilience, ensuring their conservation and enhancing their productive, environmental and social functions. In particular, the…
The objective of the LIFE FORECCAsT project was to provide forest owners and managers of Parc Naturel Régional du Haut Languedoc with the means to build their own management strategy, taking climate change scenarios into consideration, in order to protect territorial forest…
The LIFE SORIA FORESTADAPT project aims to increase the resilience of southern European forests to climate change, including through adaptation measures in public and private forest management plans. A Technical Reference for Forest Management with climate change adaptation…
The main objective of LIFE CLIMATE FOREST is to demonstrate a tree-oriented management approach for improving climate resilience of forest ecosystems on sandy soils, which are characteristic of Dutch forests. This improved resilience will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and…
To realise the full potential of tropical forests in climate change mitigation (CCM) & the provision of other ecosystem services in the face of ongoing global change we must improve our understanding of the relationships between biodiversity (BD) and the socio-ecological…
There are a number of divergent objectives between the requirements of forest and nature conservation law, which make the implementation of natural and nature protection goals more difficult. To this end, conflict resolution strategies are being developed with the active…
Global environmental and climate changes compromise forest resources in different ways, intensities and at various levels. Drought related losses in growth performance, the increase in intensity and frequency of wild fires and storms, and of biological risks are just a few of…
Natural pastures result from the combined influence of local environmental characteristics (mainly climate and soil properties) and centuries of managed livestock grazing. Properly managed pastoral farming is recognised as making a significant contribution to ecosystem carbon…
The objective of the project is the improvement of cross- border sustainable development through finding solutions for the rehabilitation of natural environment in Rosiori – Pocsaj cross-border area, protecting biodiversity on the Ier Valley from Rosiori to Pocsaj, lowering the…
PRINCESS will investigate the potential of alternative land uses on rewetted peatlands to tackle the major environmental challenges of Europe: greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen pollution and biodiversity loss. All relevant EU policy objectives include rewetting drained…
The project is taking place in the west and north-west of Ireland, focussing on 24 Natura 2000 sites (SACs) and will target the Annex I Habitats Directive habitat type Blanket bog. The overall status of blanket bog has been assessed as Unfavourable-Bad in both the 2007 and 2013…
(Research question) Belowground biodiversity is formed by fungi, bacteria, archaea, animals and plants that altogether affect soil functioning, particularly by controlling rates of production and decomposition of organic matter. Peat soils, being the most concentrated stores of…