EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for Grant "Assessing and modelling ecosystems’ dynamic processes to guide restoration activities and to improve models used for climate" (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-05)

1. Strategic Alignment with EU Green Deal & Climate Law

• Coherent implementation: project outcomes feed directly into the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, Biodiversity Strategy 2030, CAP eco-schemes, Climate Law and forthcoming Soil & Forest Monitoring Laws, ensuring one integrated knowledge base instead of fragmented national tools.

• Policy leverage: results will be automatically visible to DG ENV, DG CLIMA, DG AGRI, JRC, Biodiversity Knowledge Centre and the BioAgora Science Service, accelerating uptake in delegated regulations and impact assessments.

2. Transnational Data Integration & Interoperability

• Continental coverage: only an EU-wide consortium can aggregate Copernicus Sentinel data, national inventories, Natura 2000 monitoring, EMODnet, ICES, LTER-Europe and citizen science observations into a single FAIR-by-design workflow.

• Closing data gaps: partners can allocate field campaigns where observation density is low (e.g. Carpathians, Baltic seabed) and rely on high-density regions (e.g. Netherlands, Germany) for model calibration, improving overall accuracy.

• Standardisation: one common ontology (INSPIRE, OGC, GBIF) reduces transaction costs for Member States when reporting under Art. 11 Habitats Directive or MSFD.

3. Critical Mass & Scientific Excellence

• Access to top EU labs in modelling (e.g. ICOS, Euro-CORDEx, ECMWF), restoration ecology (ALTER-Net, LIFELandscape), socio-economic valuation (Biodiversa+, Water4All) creates a knowledge hub that no single MS could assemble.

• Synergies with ESA Earth System Science Initiative guarantee cutting-edge EO analytics and HPC resources.

4. Complementarity & Portfolio Balance

• Built-in coordination with sister topics (BIODIV-04 in-situ observations & BIODIV-06 socio-economic impacts) enables end-to-end pipeline: Observation → Ecological Modelling → Socio-Economic Scenarios → Policy Advice.

• The call’s area split (A terrestrial / B marine) ensures at least two funded projects; pan-EU partnership can bid for both, sharing a core technical engine while tailoring modules to land or sea.

5. Economies of Scale & Simplified Financing

• Lump-sum model rewards efficient internal risk-sharing; partners with lower personnel costs (e.g. Eastern & Southern MS) can contribute extensive field work, while high-tech modelling nodes focus on algorithm development.

• Single audit & reporting template for the whole consortium removes cumulative administrative burden seen in multiple national calls.

6. EU Research Infrastructures & Digital Commons

• Guaranteed priority access to EOSC, Copernicus Data Space, ICOS Carbon Portal and LifeWatch ERIC increases data throughput and long-term preservation at no additional cost.

• High-Performance Computing: EuroHPC petascale/soon exascale machines (LUMI, Leonardo) are reserved for Horizon Europe actions, enabling multi-decadal, high-resolution ecological simulations.

7. Market Creation & Global Standard-Setting

• By embedding restoration modules into climate & land-use models (e.g. CLMS, LUCI, C3S), the consortium helps define the de-facto European standard for nature-based solutions accounting. Software released as open source under EU aegis gains rapid international adoption, opening export markets for EU SMEs.

• Compliance with EU Taxonomy & CSRD disclosure needs creates immediate demand from private sector (finance, agrifood, insurance) for project deliverables.

8. Strengthened Cohesion & Capacity Building

• Twinning Work Packages can transfer know-how to cohesion countries and EU outermost regions, reducing the implementation gap and supporting Just Transition objectives.

• Citizen science components mobilise pan-European networks (ECSA, iNaturalist EU) increasing social acceptance and fostering a shared European environmental identity.

9. Risk Mitigation through Geographic Diversification

• Climate, political or logistical risks are distributed: if fieldwork in one region is delayed, parallel sites keep overall milestones on track, securing lump-sum payments.

• Multiple biogeographical zones (Atlantic, Boreal, Mediterranean, Alpine, Macaronesian) improve model robustness under diverse climate futures.

10. Long-Term Sustainability & Replicability

• Consortium can negotiate with LIFE, Interreg, CAP EIP-AGRI and Mission Soil/Ocean projects for post-project scaling, ensuring continuity beyond the 4–5-year Horizon grant.

• Deliverables feed the EU Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity, guaranteeing visibility in UN CBD, IPBES & IPCC processes and positioning Europe as global leader.

11. Concrete Opportunities for Applicants

1. Build a dual-area consortium (Area A + Area B) with:

• Modelling powerhouses (e.g. IIASA, SMHI, CNRS).

• Restoration practitioners (LIFE, Natura 2000 site managers, fisheries co-ops).

• EO & digital firms (SMEs developing AI-ready APIs).

2. Integrate novel financing pilots (blended finance, green bonds) under WP on socio-economic coupling to attract private co-funding.

3. Use project’s FAIR data pipeline as demonstrator for upcoming EU Data Space for Green Deal – additional valorisation pathway.

4. Prepare policy briefs timed to 2027 Nature Restoration Regulation review and 2028 CAP mid-term evaluation to maximise uptake.

Bottom Line: Operating at EU scale unlocks unparalleled policy relevance, data richness, scientific excellence and market potential, making a pan-European proposal the most competitive and impactful route under HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-05.