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2025-2026 Joint Call

Restoration of ecosystem functioning,
integrity, and connectivity

#BiodivConnect

In September 2025, Biodiversa+ launched the BiodivConnect call, inviting proposals for 3-years research projects. This Call aims to support interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and/or cross-sectoral research and innovation projects that will address the need for:

  • coherent and operational restoration targets and measurements of success in terms of ecosystem functioning, integrity and connectivity;
  • a better understanding of the possibilities and methods for meaningful and effective scaling and transferability of nature restoration efforts;
  • long-term sustainability of restored species, habitats and ecosystems, including resilience to climate change and other pressures.
Original call text

The call attracted a remarkable response, receiving 278 pre-proposals and 123 eligible full proposals. An independent Evaluation Committee rigorously evaluated these submissions, carefully ranking the projects. Subsequently, adhering strictly to the rankings, the Biodiversa+ Call Steering Committee, composed of all participating funding organisations, selected 36 research projects for funding. This decision represents a substantial financial commitment of over €49 millions, including contributions from the European Commission.

These 36 funded projects showcase academic excellence while addressing pressing scientific and societal challenges. They foster collaboration across diverse disciplines and engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

36 projects recommended for funding

pending final decisions by all the national/regional funding organisations

  • 4C REST – Connecting Corals for Conservation and Climate-Resilient Reef Restoration (ES, BE, NL)
  • AFIRE – Assessment of post-FIre Restoration: a network for Evaluation and prediction (ES, TR, FR, PL, SI, CZ, GR, TN, DE, PT, SK, CH)
  • BeeConn – Bee Genetic Connectivity Across Landscapes: Insect Translocation and Population Establishment for Ecological Restoration (DE, PL, SE)
  • BiocultuRe – Capitalizing on biocultural diversity for restoration of Europe’s pasture landscapes (DE, NL, AT, GR, FO)
  • BIONETWORK – Co-design of Blue and Green Infrastructure Networks for biodiversity and ecological connectivity restoration (ES, DE, PT, BE, FR)
  • BirdBridge – Waterbirds as agents for restoring ecological connectivity of aquatic ecosystems in Europe (ES, BE, HU, DE)
  • Blue Forest Genesis – A Model-Driven Strategy for Scalable, Verifiable, and Policy-Enabled Seaweed Restoration in Europe (NO, SE, FR, DK, FO, IE)
  • CIRCuMAR – Upscaling Marine and Coastal Restoration Across Continents Using Circular Waste Innovations (NO, DE, BE, NL, BR, ID)
  • connect4future – Integrating connectivity modelling and landscape genetics for future-proof habitat networks (DE, FR, BE, LV, EE)
  • ConnectRivers – Reconnecting Floodplains: Restoring Hydrogeomorphic Drivers of River–Floodplain Connectivity for Habitat and Ecosystem Function (SE, DK, FR, SK, PT)
  • EARTHSMILES – Effective Assessment of Restoration THrough Scalable Measurement of biophysical Impacts in arid and semi-arid african LandscapES (DE, CH, BE, DK, ES, KE)
  • FLORES – Flood-related Restoration for Resilient Ecosystems and Societies (PL, AT, GR, TN, BD)
  • GENBIOCYM – Genetic and Microbial Foundations for Functional Restoration of Cymodocea nodosa Meadows (ES, FR, PT)
  • GEWARS – From genes to waterscape: how spatial connectivity predicts restoration success at multiple scales (DK, SE, ES, NO, DE)
  • KAZAnova – A future-proof multifunctional landscape in southern Africa through restoring and sustaining connectivity under global change dynamics (NL, PT, DE, BW)
  • MICROBRIDGE – MIcrobioCROme-Enabled forest restoration for BIodiversity and climate ResIlience, Diversification and Green Ecosystems (DE, IT, FR, NL, BR, HU, SE)
  • MIRECO – Functional indicators for microbiome-based restoration of coastal sediment health (SE, PT, DE, NL)
  • MON EMYS – Monitoring Emys with novel ethical technologies for assessing ecological functionality and connectivity in wetlands (ES, FR, DE, LV, UA)
  • Networks – Recovery of species networks following restoration of riparian habitats (SE, PT, HU, ES, EE, FR)
  • PATHS AGRILAND – Pathways to successful restoration of soil biodiversity and function on agricultural lands (ES, SE, CH, IT, BE)
  • PEATFUN – Plant indicators of restored PEATland FUNctioning and integrity (SE, NO, NL, DE, IE, IS, FI)
  • POWERNATURE – A pan-European framework for biodiversity restoration and connectivity along powerline corridors (PT, FR, ES, SE, NO, BE, SI, NL, DE)
  • RECODE – Restore, conserve or let degrade: Historical and ongoing degradation of riparian forests and options for recovery (SE, NO, ES, PT, IT, BR)
  • RECONNECTDUNE – REstoring CONNECTivity and functionality in Europe’s coastal DUNE systems (BE, NL, FR, ES, PT)
  • REFRAME – REconnecting rivers: an integrated FRAMEwork for assessing barrier removal success (ES, BR, DE, NO, AT, FR)
  • RestoKelp – Restoration baselines and tools for Europe’s kelp forest habitats and their associated biodiversity (NO, ES, SE, DK, FR, PT, IS, IE)
  • Restore4Water – Improving water availability and use efficiency through community-based restoration activities in semi-arid rangelands of East Africa (SE, ES, CH, KE, UG)
  • RestorIAS – Connecting restoration ecology and invasive alien species management for resilient ecosystems (ES, BE, DE, AT, LT, GR, CH)
  • REWEED – Restoring cropland biodiversity with weeds: co-creation of agricultural restoration practices for weed functional diversity, pollinators and soil ecosystem functioning across Europe (AT, FR, SE, CH, ES, NL, DE, BA, GB)
  • SEAGRASS CONNECTS – The Scaling-up of a European Alliance for Growing Restoration Actions and Sustainability, through Strategic Collaborations and Objectives, and through KNowledge Networks Enhancing Collaborations for Transnational Synergies (BE, NL, IE, DK, DE, FR, NO, ES)
  • SOILRECONNECT – Soil Multifunctionality as a Foundation for Ecosystem Restoration and Connectivity (GR, DE, NL, ES, CZ, SI, SE)
  • TROPHICRESTOR – Large Carnivores as Ecological Restoration Tools (NO, PL, SE, DE, DK, NL, AT, GB, IT)
  • TURQUOISE – Connecting blue and green infrastructure for biodiversity and human well-being in cities (NL, DE, FR, BR, HU, SE, RO, BE)
  • UrbanBioHubs – Co-creating urban nature hubs through citizen science and education to restore the functioning, connectivity, and biodiversity of urban ecosystems (SE, AT, NO, DE, SI)
  • Viable restoration – Restoring marine ecosystems while respecting social and economic constraints (DE, FR, DK, SE)
  • WILD2050 – How can rewilding contribute to achieving the EU biodiversity and climate targets for 2050? (FR, DK, PT, DE, EE, NL, ES)
Evaluation Committee
Co-Chairs of the Committee
  • Scientific co-Chair: Carolyn Lundquist
  • Policy-management co-Chair: Simon Gardner
Other members of the committee
Scientific panel
  • Ronit Amit
  • Rosalind Bark**
  • Nana Bolashvili
  • Gediminas Brazaitis
  • Yu-Chung Chiang
  • Ancuta Fedorca
  • Tamás Felföldi
  • Paul Franklin**
  • Christopher Frissell*
  • Laura Guimarães
  • Stan Harpole
  • Hiroe Ishihara
  • Sven Jelaska
  • Hefin Jones
  • Sarah Klain*
  • Judith Krauss*
  • Francesca Leucci
  • Boris Lipták
  • Balázs András Lukács
  • Frank Matose*
  • Anselmo Matusse**
  • Aileen Mill
  • Jana Müllerová*
  • Deepa Senapathi**
  • Ester Serrao
  • Stephen Swearer
  • Javier Velázquez
  • Kati Vierikko
  • Astrid Zabel
  • Regino Zamora
Policy-management panel
  • Mora Aronsson
  • Karma Bouazza
  • Claire Brown
  • Vito Emanuele Cambria
  • Natalia Cisneros**
  • Peter Cochrane
  • Amanda E Cravens*
  • Anne Durand*
  • Adriana Ford
  • Sonja Gantolier
  • Carlos Mario Gomez
  • Colin Hindmarch
  • Floyd Homer
  • Maimuna Jawara
  • Beate Jessel*
  • Valérie Kapos**
  • Neeraj Khera
  • Manuel Lago
  • Elizabeth MacPherson
  • Isabel Mesquita
  • Patricia Mupeta-Muyamwa
  • Shane Regan
  • Norbert Röder
  • Cecilia Simões
  • Nadia Sitas
  • Sunandan Tiwari
  • Nikolaos Voulvoulis

* Only step 1
** Only step 2

Funding organisations

In total, 38 funding organisations from 32 countries participated to this Call.

The General contact point for the follow-up of the funded projects are Anna Kotarba and Mateusz Sobczyk: biodiversa.projects@ncn.gov.pl (NCN, Poland)

Country Funding organisation Acronym Name Email
Austria Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung FWF Anna Dickermann Anna.dickermann@fwf.ac.at
Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels) Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique FNRS Joël Groeneveld joel.groeneveld@frs-fnrs.be
international@frs-fnrs.be
Belgium (Flanders) Fonds Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-Vlaanderen FWO Toon Monbaliu europe@fwo.be
Brazil Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies CONFAP Anna Amaral internacional.confap@gmail.com
Bulgaria Bulgarian National Science Fund BNSF Milena Aleksandrova aleksandrova@mon.bg
Czech Republic Technology Agency of the Czech Republic TA CR Ondřej Kusbach ondrej.kusbach@tacr.cz
Denmark Innovation Fund Denmark IFD Aila Lonka
Mathias Holm Tveen		 aila.lonka@innofond.dk
mathias.holm.tveen@innnofond.dk
Estonia Sihtasutus Eesti Teadusagentuur ETAG, MoC, REM Margit Suuroja;
Raili Allmäe;
Maarja Malm		 Margit.Suuroja@etag.ee
Raili.Allmae@kliimaministeerium.ee
Maarja.Malm@agri.ee
Faroe Islands The Faroese Research Council RCFI Maria Húsgarð
Annika Sølvará		 maria@gransking.fo
annika@gransking.fo
France Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR Amélie Kuroda biodiversa.cs@anr.fr
Germany German Research Foundation DFG Gaby Rerig;
Tanja Zdebel
Stephanie Saal		 gaby.rerig@dfg.de
tanja.zdebel@dfg.de
stephanie.saal@dfg.de
Germany Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space) PtJ (on behalf of BMBF) Saskia Wohlgemuth;
Stefanie Pietsch		 ptj-biodiversa@fz-juelich.de
Greece General Secretariat for Research and Innovation GSRI Anna Rosenberg a.rosenberg@gsrt.gr
Hungary Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal NKFIH Soma Kàdàr soma.kadar@nkfih.gov.hu
Iceland Icelandic Centre for Research Rannis Aegir Thor Thorsson aegir@rannis.is
Ireland Environmental Protection Agency EPA Caroline Wynne research@epa.ie
Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection MoEP Orna Matzner research@sviva.gov.il
Italy Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen BOZEN Elisa Sixt elisa.sixt@provincia.bz.it
Latvia Latvian Council of Science LZP/LCS Maija Bundule maija.bundule@lzp.gov.lv
Lithuania Lietuvos mokslo taryba LMT Viktoras Mongirdas Viktoras.mongirdas@lmt.lt
Moldova National Agency for Research and Development NARD Natalia Bolocan
Iana Tihon		 natalia.bolocan@ancd.gov.md
iana.tihon@ancd.gov.md
Netherlands (the) Dutch Research Council NWO Floor Hugenholtz biodiversa@nwo.nl
Norway Research Council of Norway RCN Jonas Enge jen@rcn.no
Poland Narodowe Centrum Nauki NCN Mateusz Sobczyk
Anna Kotarba		 mateusz.Sobczyk@ncn.gov.pl
anna.kotarba@ncn.gov.pl
Portugal Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology FCT Joana Pinheiro
Pedro Ferreira		 joana.pinheiro@fct.pt
Pedromiguel.Ferreira@fct.pt
Romania The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding UEFISCDI Adrian Asanica
Luciana Bratu
Andreea Popa		 adrian.asanica@uefiscdi.ro
luciana.bratu@uefiscdi.ro
andreea.popa@uefiscdi.ro
Slovakia Centrum Vedecko-Technický Informácií Slovenskej Republiky CVTI SR Magdaléna Švorcová
Erika Jankajová		 magdalena.svorcova@cvtisr.sk
erika.jankajova@cvtisr.sk
Slovakia Slovak Academy of Sciences SAS Zuzana Panisová zuzana.panisova@urad.sav.sk
Slovenia Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation MVZI Katja Žagar katja.zagar02@gov.si
Spain Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI Patricia Vera Bravo era-medioambiente@aei.gob.es
Spain Fundación Biodiversidad FB Raquel Sancho Rovira biodiversa@fundacion-biodiversidad.es
Sweden The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning Formas Katarina Buhr katarina.buhr@formas.se
Sweden Swedish Environmental Protection Agency SEPA Hannah Östergård Hannah.Ostergard.Roswall@Naturvardsverket.se
Sweden Swedish National Space Agency SNSA Ernesto Gutiérrez ernesto.gutierrez@snsa.se
Switzerland Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF Claudia Ellenrieder
Clémence Le Cornec		 biodiversa@snf.ch
Taiwan National Science and Technology Council NSTC Ching-Mei Tang cmtom@nstc.gov.tw
Tunisia Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research MHESR Hayet Souai
Saida Rafrafi		 souaihayet@gmail.com
coopint2@gmail.com
Türkiye Türkiye Bilimsel Ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu TÜBITAK Yeliz Tümbilen Özer
Ceren Uzun		 yeliz.ozer@tubitak.gov.tr
ceren.uzun@tubitak.gov.tr
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