Assessing direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity decline of invertebrates
Assessing direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity decline of invertebrates supports researchers studying causes of decline across European ecosystems to guide biodiversity protection and restoration.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: October 13, 2026 (Opening) | January 14, 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: €7,500,000 per project; €15,000,000 total topic budget; 2 expected grants
Summary: Supports research on direct and indirect drivers of invertebrate decline across European ecosystems to guide biodiversity protection and restoration.
Key Information: Requires a consortium of at least three independent beneficiaries in three different countries, including one EU Member State.
Description
The European Commission funds this Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action to explain invertebrate biodiversity decline across representative European terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Research should assess and rank direct and indirect drivers, their cumulative effects and interactions, and their variation across spatial and temporal scales. Proposals focus on insects or molluscs and crustaceans, particularly understudied taxonomic groups, and should advance causal understanding and methods transferable to other settings.
Projects should build on existing ecosystem models with predictive capabilities, early-warning systems and stress-testing under different land-use scenarios. Working with stakeholders, they should develop decision-support tools for authorities, conservation and restoration practitioners, and primary producers dependent on ecosystem services. Proposals must contribute to all expected outcomes: better understanding of decline, improved implementation of EU biodiversity policy—especially the Nature Restoration Regulation—and better strategic decisions that strengthen biodiversity, ecosystem services and business resilience.
