BiodivERsA – the network programming and funding research on biodiversity and ecosystem services across European countries and territories
BiodivERsA is a network of 39 agencies and ministries from 25 European countries and associated countries programming and funding pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services on a competitive basis. It is an ERA-NET Co-fund, funded under the
EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
Since its beginning in 2005, BiodivERsA has launched 7 calls for proposals for a total amount of 180 million euro (including 115 million euro of money directly raised by BiodivERsA partners and the European Commission) to fund around 70 pan-European research projects selected for both their scientific excellence and societal/policy relevance.
- In 2008, BiodivERsA launched a major European call on biodiversity, through which 12 international research projects have been selected and supported for a total funding of €14.2M.
- The consortium has launched a second European call on “biodiversity and ecosystem services” in November 2010, through which 7 projects were selected for €9.5M.
- In November 2011, BiodivERsA partners have launched the Network’s third call for research proposals on “biodiversity dynamics: developing scenarios, identifying tipping points and improving resilience” for a total reserved budget between 6 and 8M€.
- In November 2012 a call for research proposals on “invasive species and biological invasions” was published. 9 projects were funded for a total amount of €8,9M.
- In November 2013, a call on “Promoting synergies and reducing trade-offs between food supply, agriculture and ecosystem services” was jointly launched with FACCE-JPI. 10 projects were funded for a total amount of €10,3M.
- In May 2015, BiodivERsA launched a major call, co-funded by the European Commission on the themes: “Understanding and managing biodiversity dynamics to improve ecosystem functioning and delivery of ecosystem services in a global change context: the cases of (1) soils and sediments, and (2) land-, river- and sea-scapes (habitat connectivity, green and blue infrastructures and naturing cities)”. 26 projects were funded under this call for a total amount of more than €33 million.
- In October 2017, Biodiversa and the Belmont Forum launched jointly a call for international research projects on scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This joint call is co-funded by the European Commission. A budget of more than 25M€ has been provisionally reserved for this call.
To further strengthen the European Research Area on biodiversity and ecosystem services, BiodivERsA has further developed a great diversity of activities ranging from research mapping and programming, to stakeholder engagement, dissemination of projects’ outputs and knowledge brokerage.