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Living labs co-creating solutions for the restoration of ecosystems addressing implementation bottlenecks and…

Full title in the source: Living labs co-creating solutions for the restoration of ecosystems addressing implementation bottlenecks and improving resilience to risks

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The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 6 awards of €10 million each, from a total budget of €60 million. Applications close on 14 Jan 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.

Expected outcome

Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• stakeholders are empowered to co-create, deploy and replicate viable ecosystem restoration measures leading to their wider uptake, with solutions to address implementation bottlenecks and financing issues;

• competent authorities in charge of implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) can design and reuse effective deployment frameworks, informed by evidence and lessons generated through living labs across different contexts;

• social, economic and environmental co-benefits, risks and trade-offs of nature restoration activities are demonstrated, addressed and made explicit to support informed decision-making and scaling, including, where appropriate, potential One Health aspects.

Scope

The NRR requires Member States to put in place area-based restoration measures, including Nature-based solutions, as highlighted and recommended in both the EU Climate adaptation strategy and in the European Water Resilience Strategy. Notably measures to implement the NRR article 9 on free-flowing rivers support the objectives of the European Water Resilience Strategy to restore and protect the water cycle, and the Water Framework Directive objective of good ecological status of rivers. NRR Article 11 on the restoration of agricultural ecosystems aims inter alia at developing high-diversity landscape features. Related strategies: the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the EU soil strategy for 2030, the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, the new EU bioeconomy strategy and the European Ocean Pact reflect the objectives of the NRR. The communication on integrated wildfire risk management [1] highlights the need for more research on preventive restoration integrating wildfire prevention and post-fire recovery objectives in nature restoration activities. More science-based operational restoration approaches are needed to identify scalable solutions that overcome implementation bottlenecks, notably financing. Nature restoration can deliver major biodiversity, climate adaptation, water resilience and overall One Health benefits. However, in some contexts, restoration may also modify the suitability of habitats (for instance disease vectors and reservoir/host communities). Proposals are therefore encouraged to consider these aspects in cooperation with relevant public health and environmental authorities. Synergies with the EU Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation which supports result-based incentives for carbon farming and carbon removal activities that demonstrate co-benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services have to be developed. Living labs [2] are expected to foster collaboration between sectors and communities through a strong place-based approach to co-design and co-create systemic solutions and to function as learning environments that enable reflection, comparison and feedback on implementation pathways, governance arrangements and enabling conditions for ecosystem restoration.

Who can apply

Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule).

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Agriculture Agrobiodiversity Agroecology Biodiversity conservation Biodiversity status and trends Bioeconomy Biological sciences Climate change adaptation Conservation biology, ecology, genetics Ecology (theoretical and experimental; population, species and community level) Ecosystem management Environmental change and society Environmental protection Environmental sciences Environmental sciences (social aspects) Flood Management Forest biodiversity Forest ecosystem services Forest fauna Forest flora

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

1. Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
2. Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
3. Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
4. Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
5. Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Single applicant or consortium

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where applicants must be based

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where to apply

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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