Why the EU supports biodiversity research and innovation
Biodiversity - the variety of life in the world - is essential for us, but also vital on a genetic and ecosystems level. Nature provides us with food, health and medicines, materials, recreation and wellbeing. A healthy ecosystem filters our air and water, helps keep the climate in balance, converts waste back into resources, pollinates crops and much more.
Yet we are losing nature like never before because of unsustainable human activities. The global population of wild species has fallen by 60% over the last 40 years according to the Living Planet Report 2022, and the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published in 2019 estimated that one million species are at risk of extinction.
The European Green Deal, and its EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, require intensifying research and innovation activities and investments to help put Europe’s biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030. Advances in research and innovation will support achieving policy targets, developing nature-based solutions and holistic approaches to address the main direct and indirect causes of biodiversity loss.
This knowledge will enable us to design the best ways to protect and sustainably restore ecosystems - currently under pressure on several fronts. It will also preserve their capacity to deliver a wide range of essential services on land, inland water and at sea, including solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changing climate.
The EU takes a leading role in research related to international negotiations on a global framework to halt biodiversity loss and supports IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Read about the EU's biodiversity research policy.
Funding opportunities
On this page you can find more information, the work programme and a link to biodiversity calls
The co-funded European Biodiversity Partnership brings together 83 partners from 41 countries to promote pan-European research on biodiversity and to connect science, policy and practice for transformative change.
Financial instrument that supports projects delivering on biodiversity and climate adaptation through tailored loans and investments, backed by an EU guarantee
Support for international cooperation and development projects on sustainable development and climate change
Projects and results
Stories of particularly successful EU-funded biodiversity research projects
Thematic collection of innovative EU-funded biodiversity research results (CORDIS)
The Commission's primary portal for the results of EU-funded research projects
Latest news, interviews and features about thought-provoking biodiversity research projects funded by the EU.
Article about EU support for biodiversity research focusing on 7 EU-funded projects
Independent expert report on a workshop that brought together scientists and policymakers in a transparent dialogue on transformative change
Independent expert report of EU-funded projects
Information on previously funded research projects and joint calls
The 2023 report “Mapping ERC frontier research on biodiversity” summarizes over 230 projects and their contributions to science, policy and practice.
Success stories
The EU-funded Nunataryuk project assessed the impacts of thawing coastal and subsea permafrost on the global climate.
- Project locations
- Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom
Collaboration and jobs
Find partners for open EU calls for proposal
Researcher jobs in the field of biodiversity
Scientific publications, tools and databases
Commission initiative on better knowledge management for evidence-based biodiversity policymaking
Detailed information on every biodiversity-related LIFE project
Data and information on biodiversity supporting the EU biodiversity strategy
A dedicated Science Service will provide decision makers with timely research-based options for policymaking on biodiversit
Open platform repository of natural capital, ecosystem services and nature-based solutions case studies
Online library of EU research publications on biodiversity
Research on biodiversity and ecosystem services innovation for sustainable development
Scientific research publications on biodiversity published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre(JRC)
You can access all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE
Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions - all data free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes
Latest
Discover the EU-funded projects contributing the biodiversity preservation dialogue at the conference in Cali, Colombia.
The European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+, co-funded by the European Union, has launched a new transnational joint research call on “Biodiversity and Transformative Change”.
