This topic contributes to the implementation of the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Soil Strategy for 2030, the Bioeconomy Strategy and the EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil'. It addresses the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ specific objective 4 – reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration, targets T.4.2 – reducing fertiliser use by at least 20% and T.4.3 – reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%. It relates to the Mission Ocean and waters’ objective 2 – prevent, minimize and remediate pollution of marine and freshwater ecosystems, which has a focus on the Mediterranean Sea basin. It also contributes to the objectives of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) - including in terms of Good Environmental Status and restoration of aquatic ecosystems - and the Marine Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD).

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

• accelerated uptake of integrated innovative and reproducible approaches to prevent, minimise and remediate soil and water pollution from excess nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) in the landscape-river catchment-sea system and transition waters in the Mediterranean Sea basin;
• accelerated uptake of integrated innovative and reproducible approaches to reduce the use of fertilisers and to prevent, minimize and remediate nutrient pollution and reduce ocean and inland water eutrophication;
• foundations for future demonstration and upscaling activities on integrated innovative approaches to prevent, minimise and remediate soil and water pollution from excess nutrients, and to reduce the use of fertilisers, in ‘associated regions’;
• empowerment of citizens to take action against pollution of soils, waters and the ocean.

Soils are essential for all life-sustaining processes in our planet. If they are healthy and managed sustainably, they provide many benefits to people, nature and climate. However, 60-70% of soils in Europe are in an unhealthy condition^[1]. One of the reasons for poor soil health in Europe is the excess of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) due to an excess of fertiliser applications. The presence of nutrients in soil at concentrations higher than plant requirements not only reduces their capacity for providing their vital ecosystem services, but the nutrient runoff contaminates groundwater, streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes and seas, and increases the risk of water and ocean eutrophication. Addressing nutrient pollution is crucial to achieve the objectives of the Water Framework Directive, in particular in relation to nutrient losses in agriculture.

Consequently, proposals should demonstrate scalable breakthrough innovations (technological, business, social and governance) in the landscape-river catchment-sea system, including coastal ecosystems, in the Mediterranean Sea basin addressing all following issues:

• Upstream prevention and reduction of nutrient (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) losses from soil, and of soil and water pollution from excess nutrients, such as through reduction in the use of traditional/mineral fertilisers and/or their sustainable substitution with bio-based fertilisers, improved nutrient retention in soil and slower release to crops, improved nutrient use efficiency, integrated landscape and soil management, reduction of nutrient losses from rural and urban communities;
• Prevention of entry of nutrients in river catchment areas and their reduction, for example through improved wastewater treatment, use of green filters and other measures for reducing the flow of nutrients through the river system and prevention and reduction of their entry into the estuary/sea;
• Measures to reduce/eliminate excess nutrients in/from the estuary/sea to reduce or eliminate the risk of eutrophication.

Proposed solutions for pollution prevention, elimination and remediation should not increase the level of anthropogenic air emissions or underwater noise, or lead to other potential environmental impacts. Proposed solutions should be in line with the EU taxonomy regulation^[2] and delegated acts.

The consortium must carry out demonstration activities in 3 different Member States or Associated Countries of the Mediterranean basin, involving and including in the consortium partners from these respective countries. The demonstrations should be carried out at the level of territorial units, such as a rural area, an urban community, a region, a river basin or an estuary, to show effectiveness of the demonstrated solutions.

The demonstration of solutions should be fully adapted to the local conditions for reduction of use of fertilisers and of nutrient losses from soil, and they should take place in a real-life demonstrative context (e.g. actual farms and/or forests ) with well-defined system boundaries. Demonstrations should also involve actual users of the solutions (e.g. land owners, soil managers, water managers, river management authorities, etc.). Proposals should ensure a balanced regional distribution of the demonstration sites, taking into account pedo-climatic conditions, topographic conditions, soil types, farming/forestry systems, soil water regimes, and include all relevant elements of the water system (ground waters, surface waters, streams, as well as, where relevant, coastal and estuarine waters).

In line with the impact-driven approach of the Missions, proposals are expected to work with and engage at least five ‘associated regions’^[3] to showcase in additional geographic areas the feasibility, replicability and potential for upscaling of the solutions developed within the projects. The funded projects should ensure that the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium. Regions located in European sea basins other than the Mediterranean Sea basin are eligible to be selected as associated regions, with a view to upscaling and deployment of the demonstrated solutions in other areas.

The consortia should proactively reach out to the associated regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration activities. The projects should continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with associated regions and may provide them with technical assistance to build capacity and to implement solutions to reduce fertiliser use and to prevent, minimise and remediate pollution of soil and water from excess nutrients in their territory. The technical assistance to the associated regions may include advice for the preparation of roadmaps, plans and projects to reduce fertiliser use and to prevent, minimise and remediate pollution from excess nutrients, to address possible barriers and show the feasibility of implementing integrated innovative approaches.

As a mechanism to provide knowledge transfer and technical assistance to the associated regions, the selected projects may provide support to third parties in the form of grants. The maximum amount of the envisaged Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100 000 per third party for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of transparency, objectivity and fairness. An associated region shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this topic only once.

Proposals should:

• Ensure the involvement of different stakeholders with complementary expertise in different stages of the projects and take into account the needs of the stakeholders and users;
• Build upon existing knowledge and solutions and support the upscaling of successful solutions, including from beyond the EU, designed and developed in the frame of projects funded by current and previous European and national programmes, in particular the European Union Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (such as Horizon 2020);
• Include dedicated training and communication activities taking place in the demonstration sites, for dissemination and accelerated adoption by other potential users of the approaches demonstrated in the project, as well as for citizen engagement and soil, water and ocean literacy improvement (including for advisory services);
• Include a mechanism and resources to establish links with the Implementation Support Platform of the Mission Ocean and Waters and the Implementation Platform of the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe; as appropriate, also link with other Missions’ relevant initiatives.
• Include dedicated tasks and adequate resources for coordination measures, networking and joint activities with other relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, and in particular with the other project funded under this topic. These coordination measures, networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the organisation of and participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the coordinated development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities.
• Collaborate with the JRC’s EU Soil Observatory, in particular as regards interoperability, sustainability and longevity of data and knowledge; and
• Support the Ocean and Water Knowledge System, in particular by contributing to knowledge creation and data collection.

Potentially, projects financed under this topic could cooperate with future Living Labs and Lighthouses created under dedicated call topics from the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe and working in the area of reduction of fertiliser use and of soil pollution from excess nutrients. Moreover, the sites for demonstration of solutions for reduction of use of fertilizers as well as reduction of nutrient losses from soil established within the projects funded under this topic could themselves qualify to be considered as Lighthouses in the sense of the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe, if they comply with the criteria laid down in the Implementation Plan of that Mission^[4].

[1] EU Mission Soil Deal for Europe Implementation Plan, September 2021, https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_mission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf

[2] EU taxonomy for sustainable activities | European Commission (europa.eu).

[3] ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or in a different sea basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to implement the innovative solutions to reduce fertiliser use and to prevent, minimise and remediate pollution from excess nutrients. The proposals should ensure that the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium.

[4] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_mission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf