2025-2026 Joint Call

Restoration of ecosystem functioning,
integrity and connectivity

#BiodivConnect

Sundarbans

Biodiversa+ is pleased to announce that it will soon launch a new transnational joint research call co-funded by the European Commission on “Restoration of ecosystem functioning, integrity, and connectivity” (referred to as BiodivConnect).

This call, along with actions from the Flagship Programme “Supporting protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem across land and sea,” aims to achieve one of Biodiversa+’s strategic objectives: producing actionable knowledge for transformative change to halt and reverse biodiversity decline.

Scope of the call
Geba River estuary

This call is focused on fostering innovative research to be integrated into nature restoration practices for interconnected and well-functioning ecosystems and habitats, with special consideration for long-term sustainability and future-proofing of restoration efforts, at scales from local to regional to cross-border and global, including their evaluation.

The call covers restoration efforts for biodiversity in all types of ecosystems and habitats, in all regions of the world, supporting high-quality research and innovation projects on biodiversity and ecosystem restoration with holistic, systemic, and integrated approaches.

Projects that will be proposed under this call can focus on a wide range of aspects, e.g.: different categories of indicators; multiple scales for restoration upscaling; ecological, socio-economic, and socio-cultural dimensions; and/or varying levels of environmental regulations and policies needing alignment.

Projects should support progress towards international biodiversity commitments, also beyond 2030, under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, and relevant biodiversity policy objectives at different levels in Europe and globally.

Topics

To adequately address the key challenges of nature restoration, it is essential to support knowledge exchange and capacity building across disciplines and societal sectors, and acknowledge, appreciate and integrate multiple forms of knowledge. This call is arranged into three main topics that partly overlap. Project proposals can address one or more of these main topics.

Topic 1: Setting restoration targets and measuring success

This topic addresses the need for coherent and operational restoration targets and measurements of success in terms of ecosystem functioning, integrity and connectivity. Projects are expected to consider shifting baselines and integration of ecological, cultural and social contexts, with objective-based or reference-based approaches.

Topic 2: Transferability and scaling of nature restoration efforts

This topic addresses the need for a better understanding of the possibilities and methods for meaningful and effective scaling and transferability of nature restoration efforts. There are many examples of successful local restoration efforts across the world, however the scale of the biodiversity crisis necessitates advancements in approaches and processes for reproducing successful efforts across different socio-economic and environmental contexts.

Topic 3: Resilience and sustainability of restoration efforts

This topic addresses the need for long-term sustainability of restored species, habitats and ecosystems, including resilience to climate change and other pressures. Given future environmental and societal changes, it will not be possible to rely solely on historical and current datasets and models to predict likely pathways to successful restoration. There is also a need for advanced predictive modelling and anticipatory strategic foresight based on policy learning, as well as the development of entirely novel approaches to restoration, experimental approaches with high risk tolerance, and/or open-ended restoration efforts such as rewilding.

Call schedule

Don’t miss the information webinar!

  • The call is planned to officially launch on 9 September 2025.
  • A two-step application procedure will be used, with the pre-proposal submission deadline in early November 2025. After a first evaluation of pre-proposals, the deadline for submitting full proposals will be in early April 2026.

SAVE THE DATE

An information webinar for potential applicants will be held on 11 September 2025, from 13:00 to 15:00 CEST. Registration is mandatory to attend.

BiodivConnect schedule
Assessment
Sierra Leone estuary

Research proposals (in English only) will have to be submitted electronically. They will be evaluated by independent experts against the following criteria:

  • At step 1 (pre-proposals): Fit to the scope of the call, novelty of the research, and impact.
  • At step 2 (full proposals): (Scientific) Excellence, quality and efficiency of the implementation (of the project plan), and impact (including expected societal/policy impact, and approach to stakeholder engagement).

Research proposals shall demonstrate significant transnational added value and are expected to be interdisciplinary, involving multiple academic disciplines. Proposals are also strongly encouraged to be transdisciplinary to include non-academic stakeholders working together with researchers to co-produce new knowledge relevant for society.

Detailed instructions regarding submission, eligibility, and evaluation criteria and other relevant information will be published with the official call announcement in September.

Building transnational research consortia

Looking for a partner or a project to join?

To be eligible, research consortia will have to include:

  • Teams from a minimum of three countries financially participating in the Call,
  • With at least two of these from EU Member States or EU Associated Countries.

Biodiversa+ has developed a matchmaking tool to help researchers connect and collaborate.

Please note that each funding organisation has its own eligibility rules for research partners. It is crucial that applicants consult the national or regional rules for each partner within their consortium and comply with the Horizon Europe Annotated Grant Agreement. National/regional rules will be available at the launch of the call in September.

Participating funding organisations
Guntersville estuary

At this stage, a total budget of ca. 40 million euros has been provisionally reserved by 32 countries together with the European Commission. This list is not final: countries and organisations may be added or removed between now and the official launch of the call in September. The list will regularly be updated and published on the Biodiversa+ website.

Country Funding organisation Acronym
Austria Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung FWF
Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels) Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique FNRS
Belgium (Flanders) Fonds Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-Vlaanderen FWO
Brazil Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies CONFAP
Bulgaria Bulgarian National Science Fund BNSF
Czech Republic Technology Agency of the Czech Republic TA CR
Denmark Innovation Fund Denmark IFD
Estonia Ministry of Climate MoC
Estonia Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture REM
Estonia Estonian Research Council ETAG
Faroe Islands The Faroese Research Council RCFI
France Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR
Germany (pending) Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space) PTJ (on behalf of BMFTR) (pending)
Germany (pending) German Research Foundation DFG (pending)
Hungary Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal NKFIH
Iceland Icelandic Centre for Research Rannis
Ireland Environmental Protection Agency EPA
Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection MoEP
Italy Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen BOZEN
Latvia Latvian Council of Science LZP/LCS
Lithuania Lietuvos mokslo taryba LMT
Moldova National Agency for Research and Development NARD
Netherlands (the) Dutch Research Council NWO
Norway Research Council of Norway RCN
Poland Narodowe Centrum Nauki NCN
Portugal Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology FCT
Romania The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding UEFISCDI
Slovakia Slovak Academy of Sciences SAS
Slovenia Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation MVZI
South Africa Department of Science and Innovation DSI
Spain Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI
Spain Fundación Biodiversidad FB
Sweden The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning Formas
Sweden Swedish Environmental Protection Agency SEPA
Sweden Swedish National Space Agency SNSA
Switzerland Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF
Taiwan National Science and Technology Council NSTC
Tunisia Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research MHESR
Türkiye Türkiye Bilimsel Ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu TÜBITAK

Biodiversa+ wishes to highlight countries and regions whose research communities have been less responsive in the past two Biodiversa+ Calls, but where there is strong potential for increased engagement. The following funding organisations have been identified:

  • BNSF (Bulgaria)
  • NARD (Moldova)
  • SAS (Slovakia)
Information and key documents
Rio San Pablo

Maximise your chances!

Biodiversa+ offers various resources to help you develop a strong proposal:

  • Stakeholder Engagement: Learn effective strategies for engaging stakeholders in your research project.
  • Policy Relevance: Ensure your research aligns with policy needs and promotes science-policy interaction.
  • Citizen Science: Explore ways to incorporate citizen science into your research activities.
  • Data Management Guide: Develop your data management plan to maximise the openness of your data and publications.

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