Living labs co-creating innovative solutions for forests and freshwater ecosystems restoration
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage
- Programme
- Cluster 6 Call 01 - two stage
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- May 6, 2025
- Deadline
- September 4, 2025
- Deadline Model
- two-stage
- Budget
- €10,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stageHORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stageBiodiversity conservationBiodiversity status and trendsEcologyEcosystem managementForest biodiversityForest ecosystem servicesForest faunaForest floraForest resilienceForest soilsForestryFresh water biodiversityFresh water ecosystemsFreshwater ecologyGender in social sciencesHabitat and species restoration and rehabilitationInnovation policyNature conservationPopulation dynamicsSocio-ecological systems
Description
Successful proposals will contribute to the impacts of this destination by improving knowledge and developing innovations, methods, pathways and tools to restore degraded ecosystems ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, including for adaptation and/or mitigation to climate change.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
- The capacities of researchers, policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders are enhanced, facilitating effective collaboration among research, practice, and policy to co-develop, test, refine and scale up solutions, methods and tools for ecosystem restoration and for their non-deterioration;
- Practice-oriented knowledge and tools are available to stakeholders having to restore ecosystems and to ensure their non-deterioration, and to provide advice, such as to public and private land managers, foresters or environmental NGOs;
- Competent authorities in charge of preparing and updating national restoration plans to implement the EU Nature Restoration Law and of national climate adaptation strategies and plans are aware of effective solutions, methods and tools for ecosystem restoration and they are able to propose appropriate restoration measures;
- Collaborations between actors across territories and sectors are strengthened and consideration of effective solutions for ecosystem restoration and for their non-deterioration in regions where living labs are operating is increased, and business models to finance them are developed;
- Social, economic and environmental co-benefits and trade-offs of nature restoration activities are demonstrated, including for climate mitigation and adaptation.
The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 set the following targets for 2030: significant areas of degraded and carbon-rich ecosystems are restored; habitats and species show no deterioration in conservation trend and status, and at least 30% reach favourable conservation status or at least show a positive trend. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation establishes a framework within which Member States shall put in place effective and area-based restoration measures with the aim to jointly cover, as a Union target, at least 20 % of land areas and at least 20 % of sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The European Climate Law requires Member States to adopt and implement national adaptation strategies and plans in which they should promote nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation. It notably acknowledges that forests are carbon sinks, which contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, while ensuring that forests continue to grow and provide many other services.
Successful proposals are expected to set up living labs which will develop and widely deploy innovative solutions for restoring key ecosystems, which deliver multiple ecosystem functions and services relevant for climate action, including carbon sequestration, regulating water regimes, and other climate adaptation aspects. Proposals under this proposal are expected to combine research on forest and freshwater ecosystems.
Proposals should apply the three main principles of the living labs research concept: (a) co-creating innovative solutions in real-life sites focusing on end-users’ needs; (b) co-deciding / co-creating with end-users all along the project; (c) bringing together actors with complementary knowledge in a targeted combination as best suited to achieve the expected outcomes/objectives of the projects.
Living labs should correspond to the definition of the European Network of Living Labs and involve partners from different backgrounds, disciplines and/or sectors that are most relevant to achieve the project objectives and be composed of at least seven experimental sites. By working together in a living lab, the various partners involved in the different sites will be able to co-develop, experiment, test, replicate and benchmark innovative actions and solutions, compare results, exchange good practices, validate methodologies and benefit from cross-fertilisation within a local/regional setting.
More specifically, proposals should:
- set up at least three living labs to work together on ecosystem restoration, covering forests and freshwater ecosystems. The living labs are expected to be located in at least three different EU Member States and/or Associated Countries. Proposals should describe the rationale for cooperation across the various living labs and among the various stakeholders within the living labs;
- establish a detailed work plan of the activities to be undertaken in a transdisciplinary way, ensuring the co-design, co-development, and co-implementation of locally adapted innovative solutions
- conduct participatory and transdisciplinary research and innovation in living labs with the objective of finding practical solutions to ecosystem restoration, while considering relevant drivers of biodiversity loss, in particular climate change and invasive alien species, and related pressures. Challenges with scaling up and transferability of solutions should be addressed. Proposed strategies and solutions should be adapted to the different environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts in which the living labs are operating and should consider the cultural and natural heritage. Sites should be selected along a gradient of anthropogenic pressure to evaluate restoration challenges in heterogeneous areas from highly disturbed to relatively intact areas. Action oriented and collaborative approach combining local expertise in economics, ecology and locally created sustainable innovations to capture the full range of knowledge in addition to scientific knowledge should be sought. Gender dimension should be integrated;
- establish for each living lab a satisfactory level for ecosystem condition, in order to allow for an accurate assessment of the conditions and changes and a clear monitoring of progress towards the objectives. Where relevant, the overall objective should be to reach the good conservation status defined in the Habitats or in the Water Framework Directives. Impacts of forestry and forestry practises on freshwater ecosystem health and how changes in forestry practises/management can support the restoration of freshwater ecosystems, including sediments, should be considered;
- monitor and carry out an assessment of the innovative practices for ecosystem restoration and their effectiveness, including the conditions for non-deterioration. This should include a demonstration of the economic viability of the proposed innovative solutions for the end-users and appropriate business models and actions possibly involving local authorities, business communities, SMEs, investors, entrepreneurs should be developed, including with co-funding schemes;
- document the newly developed solutions in an intuitive and accessible way and widely disseminate them in order to facilitate their uptake by practitioners and transmit the acquired knowledge to all relevant actors.
Proposals should foresee cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and the Science Service project BioAgora. Nature-based solutions are relevant to this topic if they concern the restoration of ecosystems.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH discipline in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
Destination & Scope
Under destination “Biodiversity and ecosystem services”, R&I in 2025 provides scientific support to the development and implementation of EU environmental legislation and of European Green Deal initiatives, in line with the new Commission priority “Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature”.
This destination is based on the vision developed in the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and supports its implementation, pursuing the orientations of the Work Programmes 2021-2022 and 2023-2024, and notably focuses on the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and other new European Green Deal initiatives such as the proposal for an EU soil monitoring and resilience law, the proposal for an EU forest monitoring law and the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities (specifically the Environmental Delegated Act) and the EU action plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries. R&I activities continue to support the environmental objectives of the common agricultural policy and reflect the strong interconnections between the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the European Green Deal objectives for a competitive, resilient and sustainable agri-food system, including the pollinators initiative.
R&I on biodiversity and ecosystems services, if translated into action, contribute to a clean environment for the EU and Associated Countries, including water, soil, air, health, climate adaptation and risk (including disaster risk) reduction, sustainable bioeconomy and blue economy policies.
This destination also contributes to the twin green and digital transition. Where relevant, advantage should be taken of the use of advanced digital technologies and tools such high-performance computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Environmental Observation where appropriate.
This destination supports the EU leadership in the relevant international fora and develops analysis and tools to reach our international biodiversity commitments, such as those taken in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), in line with the new Commission priorities. It will in particular support the monitoring framework of the GBF. Its activities serve the objectives of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and of the potential International/Intergovernmental Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS).
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “putting biodiversity on a path to recovery, and protecting and restoring ecosystems and their services” of the Strategic Plan 2025-2027, and more specifically to one or more of the following impacts:
- improved knowledge, innovations, methods, pathways and tools are available to protect healthy ecosystems and to restore degraded ones ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, including for adaptation and/or mitigation to climate change;
- the ongoing biodiversity crisis and its consequences, the benefits of ecosystem services and the need to protect and restore them are better understood. Policymakers and all relevant sectors of society are aware and well informed thereof, and fully grasp opportunities of biodiversity protection and restoration. Society is on a path of transformative change;
- farmers, foresters, and land managers test and implement biodiversity-friendly practices while safeguarding food security and the long-term sustainability of farming and forestry;
- progress towards reaching the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework contributes to reducing the pressure on biodiversity and to ensuring sustainable development worldwide.
R&I under Destination “Biodiversity and ecosystem services” will mostly deliver under Key Strategic Orientation (KSO) 1 of Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027: Green transition and to a lesser extent KSO 3: A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe.
Spending under this destination counts 100% against the target for biodiversity expenditure under Horizon Europe. In addition, most of the activities, especially in the area of ecosystem restoration, contribute to the target for climate expenditure in line with the European Climate Law, which acknowledges that the restoration of ecosystems can maintain, manage and enhance natural sinks.
The Work Programme 2025 supports additional activities of the European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+, while ensuring complementarity of actions with other instruments.
Synergies are sought with:
- EU missions, in particular “A Soil Deal for Europe” and “Restoring our ocean and waters by 2030” in topics dealing with nature restoration;
- Horizon Europe partnerships: in addition to Biodiversa +, several co-funded partnerships under Cluster 6 notably Water4All, sustainable blue economy and agroecology;
- JRC activities, notably the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and its Science Service for Biodiversity (SSBD), the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, the European Technical Support Centre for the Global Biodiversity Framework as requested by the Convention on Biological Diversity, European regional centre for biodiversity and the Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity (GKSSB).
To maximise the impacts of R&I under this destination, international cooperation is encouraged in topics as appropriate. International cooperation is sought, in particular in topics that support IPBES, the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and related international agreements such as the Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).
Under this destination there is a substantial need for more fundamental research and therefore there is a majority of Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs).
This destination benefits from interdisciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity, including the contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH), and takes into due account gender and other social categories and their intersections to ensure promotion of democracy and a socially just transition where relevant. Citizens and stakeholders’ engagement will be sought including with living labs. The destination is expected to contribute to the new Commission priority “Protecting our democracy, upholding our values” by engaging with civil society. Furthermore, it strives to take full advantage of the potential of nature restoration and nature-based solutions, to deliver multiple social, economic and environmental co-benefits.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
The following additional eligibility criteria apply: The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
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) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
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Latest Updates
PROPOSAL NUMBERS
Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stage has closed on 04/09/2025.
125 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage: 32
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage: 55
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage: 31
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage: 7
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in December 2025.
Please note that due to a technical issue, during the first days of publication of this call, the topic page did not display the description of the corresponding destination. This problem is now solved. In addition to the information published in the topic page, you can always find a full description of the 7 destinations (Biodiversity and ecosystem services; Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption; Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors; Clean environment and zero pollution; Land, ocean and water for climate action; Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities; Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal) that are relevant for the call in the Work Programme 2025 part for “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”. Please select from the work programme the destination relevant to your topic and take into account the description and expected impacts of that destination for the preparation of your proposal.