GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Particular attention needs to be paid to ensuring that the ecosystem services these areas can provide are resilient to climate change and that the areas are adequately protected to prevent new degradation. Proposals should develop innovative, efficient and cost-effective tools and methods to measure the conservation results/outcomes in terms of improvements of biodiversity in demonstration areas.

The proposals should also address the creation and long term maintenance of adequate conditions for habitats and/or for the movement of individuals and more generally species and for increasing ecosystems’ capacity to adapt to climate change. Proposals should cover a wide range of ecosystem functions and services using a coherent and systemic approach and avoid the risk of trade-offs of focusing on one or very few ecosystem services at the expense of others. In this respect, seabed protection and restoration should be integrated, including preservation of seabed carbon sequestration capacity. The approach proposed has to show the potential to be up-scaled and reproduced at European level and beyond and develop a scalability plan.

National and local authorities and coastal communities should be involved in the design and implementation of innovative solutions to ensure that these solutions are successfully implemented in the long term. Citizen engagement is a pillar concept for the Mission and a key element in relation to conservation and restoration actions.  Awareness raising actions to inspire and generate co-ownership for protection of local habitat and biodiversity should be included as well as collaboration with existing initiatives. Citizen engagement related activities should also be gender-responsive and socially inclusive.