Database of EU research and innovation projects on nature-based solutions
Introduction to the database
As a partner in NetworkNature, Biodiversa+ has expanded the R&I and implementation projects database.
About this database
In 2021, NetworkNature and Biodiversa+ created the NbS projects database to offer insights into where major funding for NbS is allocated at the European level. This tool serves as a vital resource for policymakers, funders, and programmers, facilitating a better understanding of funding trends and enabling a more coordinated approach to NbS R&I investment.
Latest insights
The 2024 update expands the database significantly by:
Adding the latest NbS-focused projects funded by already explored programmers like LIFE, Horizon 2020, Interreg and Biodiversa+.
Incorporating NbS-related projects funded by additional programmes or initiatives, including Horizon Europe, Water4All, the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP), Driving Urban Transition (DUT) and EJP Soil.
To identify NbS-focused projects, an exhaustive process was undertaken, involving strategic keywords selections and detailed abstracts reviews.
To facilitate analysis and database navigation, each selected project was then categorised by:
NbS type
Ecosystems
Approaches
Societal challenges
Across 471 projects spanning from 2011 to 2024, this update highlights several trends:
Biodiversa+ projects encompass 10% of all NbS-focused collected projects.
Ecosystem coverage: Overall, urban ecosystems dominate; however, recent projects show a shift towards multi-environment solutions. Other commonly studied environments include coastal, shelf, and open ocean areas and croplands - which are the two predominantly ecosystems targeted by Biodiversa+ relevant projects.
Adopted approaches: A substantial proportion of projects adopts ecosystem-based approaches. Among these, ecosystem-based agricultural approaches are prominent. Conversely, ecosystem protection approaches are relatively less adopted in the context of NbS, and these projects mainly target marine environments. Biodiversa+ relevant projects mainly adopt ecological restoration and ecosystem-based agricultural management approaches.
Societal challenges: A significant proportion of projects tackles climate resilience, the second most addressed challenge after food security in Biodiversa+ projects
Diffuse losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural areas contribute significantly to eutrophication of waterways, lakes, estuaries and coastal zones and water pollution is a growing and serious problem across much of the world. The role of wetlands in improving surface…
The main objective of the LIFE VIA DE LA PLATA project is to create an adaptation model for climate change in Salamanca, a world heritage city in Spain, through the construction of Green Infrastructure and the improvement of Ecosystem Services. The project team aims to transfer…
Forests represent the largest terrestrial carbon sink that can be economically managed to combat climate change. In this context, sustainable forest management will become a major tool of the EU Green Deal on the road to an economic growth decoupled from resource use. But…
The main goal of LIFE URBAN-ADAPT is to demonstrate an innovative, participatory approach as an essential element in creating acceptance and commitment among the public and stakeholders for large-scale implementation of urban adaptation strategies and related measures. The…
PHUSICOS, meaning 'According to nature' in Greek, demonstrates how nature-based solutions (NBSs) provide robust, sustainable and cost-effective measures for reducing the risk of extreme weather events in rural mountain landscapes. Although mountains amplify risks, and…
Currently there is a range of Nature-based solutions (NBS) emerging mostly with strong public funding elements, but a market for NBS has not yet emerged. While mostly small scale NBS are implemented as pilots for urban resilience to climate change the full range of economic and…
Globally, carbon capture should be increased maintaining biodiversity at the same time. In Northern periphery (NP), there are degraded and neglected areas whose utilization could be developed towards efficient carbon capture. In Finland cut-away peatlands are underutilized areas…
The Information-based Strategies for LAND Remediation (ISLANDR) project is cross-disciplinary and multi-actor and aims to promote the delivery of Green Deal objectives, in particular achieving Zero Pollution by reducing soil pollution and enhancing restoration. ISLANDR will…
The LIFE DELIVER project aims to introduce adaptation and mitigation measures in residential areas consisting of mostly prefabricated buildings. The aim is to increase their resilience and reduce carbon footprints so as to boost the health and comfort of the local citizens,…
LIFERADOKLIMA PL's overall objective is to make the city of Radom more resilient to climate change by building demonstration 'green/blue infrastructure' for managing extreme storm water flows and controlling local flood risks. The aim is to mitigate extreme flows…
This project is tackling the common challenge – pollution reduction and biodiversity inclusiveness in the urban environment. The overall objective of the project is to develop, install and pilot floating islands on urban waterbodies (i.e. lakes and ponds in populated areas or…
LIFE METRO ADAPT aims to mainstream adaptation strategies and measures in the development of a territorial plan for CMM and in the planning and building rules of the 134 CMM municipalities. It will achieve this aim through the adoption of an innovative approach that identifies…
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…
The systemic use of urban landscapes for food production is a major step towards more sustainable, liveable and healthier cities. A multitude of initiatives around the World, however fragmented, are prospering, forming a global movement of Edible Cities. Their products,…
Time is running out to achieve a more sustainable development. Post COVID-19 economic stimuli need to deploy a green new deal (GND) that ReSETs economic systems to create secure and meaningful employment whilst protecting nature for people, for climate change and flood…
Mind4Stormwater aims to help cities achieve sustainable management of their “stormwater control measures” (SCMs). These nature-based solutions (e.g. wetlands, swales, infiltration trenches, bioretention systems) have emerged worldwide in the last few decades, meaning that their…
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…
In the EU, green infrastructure includes the Natura 2000 network and other significant and protected areas as its backbone, as well as natural and semi-natural spaces outside Natura 2000, such as parks, gardens, vegetated buffer strips along rivers, or ridge landscapes with…
The RENATURE proposal aims to establish and implement a strategy and research cluster to step-up and stimulate scientific excellence and innovation capacity in the area of nature-based solutions for sustainable development. Nature-based solutions, defined as living solutions…
It is critically important to protect society from the effects of floods and droughts, which will occur more frequently in future due to climate change. LandEX aims to improve landscape resilience to hydroclimatic extremes – both floods and droughts – by spatially optimising a…
LIFE SeagrassRIAwild aims at taking decisive steps to reverse the current conservation status of Zostera marina habitat in Ria de Aveiro and Portugal through the co-development of cost-efficient and policy relevant NbS (Nature-based Solutions). Subtidal seagrass beds are…
The project is expected to halt the decline and improve the population trend of 10 rare steppe bird species in southern Slovakia. Project aims to return the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) as a breeder to Slovakia and to foster the return of European Roller (Coracias…
SEAwise will address the key challenge preventing implementation of a fully operational European Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management: the need to increase fisheries benefits while reducing ecosystem impact under environmental change and increasing competition for space. The…
Coasts worldwide are experiencing ever-increasing flood risk and coastal erosion. To simultaneously enhance the efficiency of coastal defence and improve the ecological status of coastlines, the scientific community has recently proposed the use of nature-based solutions.…
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…
The present proposal, SMILE, aims to answer core questions on the current climatic and biodiversity crisis. Together with Dr. Francesco de Bello, a prominent authority on functional ecology and biodiversity, at the CIDE-CSIC, Spain, the applicant, Dr. Felícia M. Fischer, seeks…
with the long-term view of fostering synergies between crop production, biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services of local, regional and global relevance, the main objective of soildiveragro is the adoption of new management practices and cropping systems that enhance…
SOILGUARD envisages a future where the conservation of soil biodiversity and the environmental, economic and social wellbeing of EU biogeographical regions is guaranteed. Unsustainable management and climate change are increasing land degradation and threatening soil…
The objective of SponGES is to develop an integrated ecosystem-based approach to preserve and sustainably use vulnerable sponge ecosystems of the North Atlantic. The SponGES consortium, an international and interdisciplinary collaboration of research institutions, environmental…
In the EU, more than 80% of the fishing fleet is composed of small vessels less than 12 m of length. These vessels belong to the so called Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) sector that provides around 100,000 direct jobs for fishers and a similar number of indirect jobs for women.…
Large areas of agricultural land in W. and N. Africa are heavily degraded, with water scarcity, low soil fertility and poor plant health, due to use of unsuitable agronomic systems and inappropriate management. In W. Africa, poor water, organic matter and nutrient retention…
Biodiversity policy is a fundamental component for sustainable development and actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. For efficient and effective policy implementation it is crucial to understand where policy interventions can generate greatest ecological and socio-…
Nature-based solutions (NBS) aim to help societies to address a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in sustainable ways. They are actions which are inspired by and supported by nature. Some involve using and enhancing existing natural solutions to challenges…
European forests play a crucial role in carbon balances, with an impact on climate change mitigation of around 13% of total EU emissions. However, in the past decade, saturation in the carbon sink capacity of European forests have been recorded, and no improvement is expected in…
Climate change induced hydrological risks are making Central European (CE) cities increasingly vulnerable against urban floods and at the same time water scarcity problems. This coupled with growing drinking water consumption and consequently rising amount of wastewater to be…
In Italy, 31,5% of the land is covered by forests but only 15% of these has a Management Plan in place. This is mainly due to the high land fragmentation of public and private properties, low economic returns from forest activities, and lack of capacity to market ecosystem…
In many EU cities it is difficult to save large areas for planting greenery. The attractive sites are often used for settlements or investments which provide profits for the city budget.
On the other hand authorities of the cities are aware of the necessity for…
The overarching objective of UNDERTREES is to form an international and inter-sectoral network of 15 organisations in 3 continents (Europe, Africa and South America) working on a joint research programme in the field of agroforestry (AF) and ecosystem services (ES) assessment.…
In 2050, approximately 66 % of the total population of the 26 European coastal countries lived in coastal regions (Iglesias-Campos et al., 2015 and Forzieri et al., 2017). Concretely, in Canary Islands the phenomenon of “littoralisation” is linked to the growth of old urban area…
Climate change adaptation is one of the greatest challenges that EU regional and local authorities will face in the 21st century. We cannot address climate change without addressing biodiversity loss since healthy ecosystems will be able to better maintain the supply of…
Trees and forests are a proven nature-based solution that contribute to sustainable urban development. Their potential for delivering ecosystem services, enhancing biodiversity and contributing to the wellbeing of urban societies is often underestimated and underused. CLEARING…
Urban systems globally experience significant and interlinked societal challenges including pressures on public health and well-being and growing inequalities and social disruption. At the same time, urban systems are particularly vulnerable to impacts of climate change and…
The overall objective of EU-VNP-Net is to establish, support and energise an EU Valuing Nature Network of Networks (EU-VNN) and to implement a prioritised EU Valuing Nature Programme (EU-VNP) that, together, build synergies and collaborations among relevant existing and emerging…
The EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030 promotes the recovery of the biodiversity of European natural ecosystems through extending conservation networks, preventing and reducing anthropic impacts, and restoring the degraded natural heritage. Marine Deep Reefs (DR) are…
The Mediterranean Sea and specifically the Adriatic coastal and marine areas are particularly vulnerable to climate-related risks. The sea surface temperature of the Adriatic Sea will increase of about +.
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…
Urban areas are both increasingly affected by climate change and among the major contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, generating up to 70% of global anthropogenic emissions. Increasing climate change-related risks in cities will affect infrastructure, ecosystems,…
This research aims to find out how urban green infrastructures can be most efficient in contributing to urban sustainability. This will evaluate which combinations of urban, peri-urban agriculture and green spaces result in the best performance in terms of local and global…
The most serious threat facing the North Sea Region (NSR) is climate change, increasing flood and coastal erosion risk from storm surges in coastal and estuarine areas and heavy rain causing flooding of rivers and lakes inland.The Building with Nature (BwN) project demonstrates…
CABFishMAN supports stakeholder cooperation within small-scale fisheries (SSF) to address shared transnational challenges that enhance (i) the protection of marine resources by improved spatial distribution of SFF activity knowledge towards an ecosystem-based approach to…
The Carpathian mountain chain is an important part of Europe's ‘green infrastructure’ and a region of great biodiversity. Its natural value reflects its location as one of the main ecological corridors both in Poland and in Europe (the Carpathian Corridor). Eighty-two…
As a response to the various health risks related to rapid urbanization and the densification of cities, the Health&Greenspace project promotes health-responsive planning and management of urban green infrastructure with an overall aim to bring health and well-being benefits…
LIFE HARWIN is part of the LIFE sub-programme “Nature and Biodiversity”. The project region suffers from several threats like habitat fragmentation and too small LIFE HARWIN is part of the LIFE sub-programme “Nature and Biodiversity”. In this project we aim for the ecological…
Healthy peatlands help regulate global climate by actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere, but damaged peatlands increase emissions. CANAPE combines North Sea Region (NSR) local authorities, NGOs, academic bodies to address challenges manage sustainable, integrated peat…
The North Sea Region (NSR) faces soil degradation and biodiversity loss resulting from present-day agricultural production processes. Adopting carbon sequestration (CS) techniques in land management can help to reverse these processes and play a crucial role in food security and…
Northern hemisphere peatland soils contain ~33% of global soil carbon, while accounting for only 3-5% of total land area. Many of these peatlands are degraded and emit rather than store carbon. Global annual GHG emissions from drained organic soils are ~1,600 MT CO2 eq., twice…
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…
CHANGE WE CARE fosters concerted and coordinated climate adaptation actions at transboundary level. The project explores climate risks faced by coastal and transition areas contributing to a better understanding of the impact of climate variability and change on water regimes,…
Protected areas in Lithuania cover 12 percent of entire territory. The percentage of protected areas in Poland, including Natura 2000 sites is nearly 20%. Local communities of such areas face some difficulties relating with economic activity because manufacturing is limited due…