In line with the European Green Deal and, in particular with the objectives of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the EU proposal for a nature restoration law^[1] and the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, the new approach for a sustainable blue economy, the EU guidance document on integrating ecosystems and their services in decision-making, the projects should contribute to the destination impacts of mainstreaming biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital in the society and the economy, and addressing direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity decline. They should provide public authorities, as well as related infrastructures operators in their design, engineering, construction, installation and exploitation, with nature centred solutions that are beneficial for biodiversity, ecosystem services and the original infrastructure purpose (renewable energy production, or coastal protection).

Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Pave the way for a new level of ecosystem-based management, in which future marine and coastal infrastructures (e.g., protection of coastal and urban areas from climate change impacts, offshore windfarms, harbours, tourism development, bridges, etc.) are intentionally designed and actively used to support the restoration (where the term encompasses multiple approaches to actively rehabilitate, repair, reallocate or reinvent damaged biodiversity and ecosystem processes and services) of marine ecosystem health and services (including climate mitigation & adaptation), where nature-based solutions alone cannot be envisaged;
• Contribute to the development of a framework for “blue buildings” rating based on the model of the LEED^[2] (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system;
• Upscale Blueprints integrating the conception, installation, exploitation, maintenance of hybrid blue-grey infrastructures that are beneficial to ecosystem functioning and restoration;
• Mainstream biodiversity in marine and coastal infrastructures and activities.

Climate policies trigger the development of several-large scale infrastructures in the marine and coastal environment. In particular, the EU offshore renewable energy plan targets for 40 GW of EU wave and tidal energy by 2050 from the 13 megawatts (MW) operating today. Climate adaptation and impacts reduction strategies imply the increase of an already important development of coastal and urban protection from erosion, sea level rise and extreme events. Global trade is supported by enlarging or building new ports. They may cause trade-offs against endemic biodiversity and alter on-going natural eco-evolutionary responses. They may cause trade-offs against endemic biodiversity and ecology, but they could protect, restore or harbour functional ecosystems (even if mostly novel) providing critical functions and services opportunities to biodiversity by mimicking and integrating natural processes and features in their design.

Proposals should be large scale demonstration of hybrid nature-based solutions with built coastal and marine infrastructures to preserve ecosystems and/or support their restoration. The infrastructure purpose should be originally aiming at climate policy targets (e.g., hard and soft coastal or urban protection from climate change impacts – sea level rise, extreme events, erosion - , renewable energy farms or islands, maritime services and safety, etc.) and with the highest potential for being replicated, scaled-up and deployed. Proposals should also assess the putative impacts/secondary effects of these infrastructures, notably regarding cumulative impacts of the biodiversity drivers such as climate, land and sea-use change (infrastructures), invasive alien species, etc. The action should consider impacts and opportunities from ecological connectivity with neighbouring ecosystems.

Proposals looking at infrastructures serving several purposes (such as Low Trophic Aquaculture; educational and recreational purposes; support of fishery via creation of nursery habitats; bio filtration and bio depollution) are encouraged. Proposals should integrate the relevant results of other Horizon 2020 or national projects on multi-use of the marine space.

Proposals should look how nature benefits could be put at the centre of the infrastructures by addressing the selection or the development of materials for their construction, design, installation, and maintenance, to maximise the positive effects on natural processes and enable their preservation (if in good status) or restoration of the local marine ecosystems and their socio-ecological management.

Proposals should explore and improve co-creation approaches with the relevant actors (infrastructure owners, governance, civil society and end-users or beneficiaries) for the design, installation and management of these built infrastructures with nature centred design. Social innovation is recommended when the solutions are at the socio-technical interface and require social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. Proposals should provide evidence and data of the multiple benefits and potential trade-offs of these hybrid solutions on short and long-term timescales and, in particular, for the purposes of marine biodiversity and ecosystems functions protection and restoration, but also for the blue economy and society as a whole.

In particular, for hybrid infrastructures aiming at protection against climate impacts, the proposals should provide evidence-based analysis of their efficiency compared to more usual infrastructure approaches, and to usual nature-based solutions, or as alternatives where “NBS alone” cannot be envisaged due to local environmental features. The projects funded under this topic should build links with projects funded under the European Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’, in particular with the Mission activities under objective 1 – protect and restore marine ecosystems and their biodiversity, and with the Mission lighthouse activities and Blue Parks as well as with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the Mission Implementation Support Platform for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant implementation activities. Proposals should also connect with relevant projects under Horizon Europe topics, such as (HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03), on support of development of policies, business models and market conditions to scale up and speed up the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Projects are expected to contribute to the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative^[3] by interacting with the NEB Community, NEBLab and other relevant actions of the NEB initiative through sharing information, best practices, and, where relevant, results.

In order to achieve the expected outcomes in integrating and coordinating these different scaled approaches, international cooperation is strongly encouraged. A strong linkage should be ensured with the ongoing activities under the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance. Actions under this topic will build upon and link with Horizon projects. All in-situ data collected through actions funded from this call should follow INSPIRE principles and be available through open access repositories supported by the European Commission (Copernicus, GEOSS, and EMODnet). Where relevant, creating links 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) is expected.

Collaboration with the relevant existing European Research Infrastructures is considered necessary.

[1] EUR-Lex - 52022PC0304 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu).

[2] https://www.usgbc.org/leed

[3] See COM/2021/573 final on ‘The New European Bauhaus - Beautiful, Sustainable, Together’ and https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en