Cost-effective biodiversity monitoring for EU policies
Cost-effective biodiversity monitoring for EU policies supports research teams developing scalable monitoring tools for pollinators, soil or water to help implement and evaluate EU environmental legislation.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: January 14, 2027 (Full application) | October 13, 2026 (Opening)
Funding Amounts: €5 million–€6 million per project; €16 million total topic budget; 3 expected grants
Summary: Supports scalable, cost-effective biodiversity monitoring tools for implementing EU pollinator, soil and water legislation.
Key Information: Proposals must identify one monitoring area: pollinators (A), soil biodiversity (B), or Water Framework Directive monitoring (C).
Description
The European Commission funds this Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action to make legally required biodiversity monitoring more precise, efficient and practical. Projects should give policymakers and competent authorities user-friendly tools to implement and evaluate EU environmental legislation, supporting ecosystem protection and restoration. The topic covers the Nature Restoration Regulation’s EU Pollinators Monitoring Scheme, soil biodiversity under the Soil Monitoring Law, and biological monitoring under the Water Framework Directive.
Projects should integrate technologies and methods into scalable monitoring approaches, engage end-users, and demonstrate solutions in practical implementation settings. Priorities include DNA-based species identification and quantification, genomic monitoring of population abundance, and stronger DNA reference libraries. Proposals should compare scalability, gaps and drawbacks, and test AI-supported automated and real-time monitoring where possible.
