Green Deal Projects Support Office

The European Research Executive Agency has acknowledged four projects funded under the Green Deal Call for their direct input to the Green Deal, the 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy and the proposed Nature Restoration Law. Find out more about these projects and the important work they carry out to promote biodiversity.

Projects: REST-COAST, WaterLANDS, MERLIN and SUPERB

Nature-based solutions (NBS) highlight the importance of biodiversity conservation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. They are a set of actions that protect, restore and sustainably manage ecosystems, while providing cost-effective environmental, social and economic benefits (read official UNEP definition here).

The Green Deal projects are actively supporting this important initiative and have produced: an online learning Academy; webinars on applying NBS; a portal of case studies; NBS reports and papers, including a focus on marine and coastal ecosystems; and a policymaker's handbook on restoring Mediterranean wetlands. Follow the 'More' link below to access these resources.

Projects: MERLIN, REST-COAST and WaterLANDS

Last year, the European Commission published its long-awaited draft proposal for a Regulation on Nature Restoration, a landmark step in the EU's efforts to protect and restore damaged European habitats.

Several Green Deal-funded projects had the opportunity to analyse and provide their comments on the draft proposal. Read more about what they had to say and the 10 improvements they would recommend.

Projects: MERLIN, WaterLANDS, REST-COAST and SUPERB

Attention for peatlands is growing as nature restoration, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation become increasingly important. Learn about the actions that the WaterLANDS project has been taking to protect peatlands - habitats that are important not only for biodiversity but also for acting as carbon sinks, improving water quality and reducing the severity of flooding.

Project: WaterLANDS

Over 15 months the European Green Deal call project “Citizen Voices for the EU Climate Transition” consulted more than 800 citizens and 260 national experts through a series of workshops in each Member State, to develop an EU Roadmap for Climate Transition.

To conclude this project, an online event has been organised to present the Roadmap and give the opportunity to citizens, experts and European Commission representatives to discuss and react to its findings and what action is being or will be taken.

Join the monthly webinars organised by SUPERB and IUFRO, which explore forest restoration questions from a diverse range of scientific perspectives, alternating their focus between a global and European level.

The series brings together researchers, practitioners, NGOs, policy makers and other interested stakeholders to explore practical forest restoration approaches, experiences and challenges worldwide.

Project: SUPERB

Biological diversity is often understood in terms of having a wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms. However, it also includes genetic differences within each species, for example, between crop varieties and livestock breeds, as well as the variety of ecosystems (lakes, forest, deserts, agricultural landscapes) that host interactions among their members (humans, plants, animals).

Given the importance of public education and awareness about this issue, the UN celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity annually on 22 May and invites all to take part.

Head over to our Events page to discover the latest events being organised by our Green Deal-funded projects. You can also find out about other upcoming European-awareness days that are relevant to the five working group themes, such as the International Day of Biodiversity.

In the next issue we will focus on knowledge and citizens and the cross-cutting actions from the projects in this working group, which aim to engage and empower people and communities, as well as support behavioural, social and cultural changes for a fair and inclusive transition.