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27/12/2024
MITECO publishes new grants that include 40 million for urban renaturation with priority for areas affected by the DANA
MITECO press releases

MITECO publishes new grants that include 40 million for urban renaturation with priority for areas affected by the DANA

  • It is part of a total package of 54 million euros that will be channelled into three calls that, in addition to promoting the renaturalisation of cities, will contribute to the generation and management of knowledge and the digitalisation of the information available on natural heritage

The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has published a new aid package worth 53.7 million euros, of which 39.8 million, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will be allocated to projects that promote the renaturalisation of urban environments. In relation to this call, and after the DANA that seriously affected the Valencian Community a few weeks ago, it has been determined that complementary and coherent projects with public policies, strategies, plans or programs aimed at mitigating the damage caused, meeting the needs of the affected population and restoring the state of the infrastructures, goods and services damaged, through urban renaturation, will be considered a priority within this aid package. Thus, it is intended to promote the use of nature-based solutions in the reconstruction of affected areas, to create more resilient and sustainable cities, capable of better facing future challenges. Measures such as connecting rivers to their floodplains, geomorphological restoration of rivers to improve their flow capacity and reduce water velocity, or the design of floodable parks, designed to absorb and retain rainwater during flood events, can contribute not only to rebuilding damaged infrastructure, but to do so in a way that reduces future vulnerabilities, in line with the “Build Back Better” approach. In addition, this aid package includes two other calls, one of them aimed at promoting the generation and application of knowledge for the protection and conservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructures, including urban areas. This initiative has a budget of €5.9 million, also co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The other call, endowed with €8 million, seeks to respond to two needs detected and demanded by the environmental third sector, to support projects approved by the European Union’s LIFE programme in the field of Nature and Biodiversity or Governance, and to promote digital transformation through the digitalisation of knowledge of natural heritage. PROMOTION OF SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGEScientific knowledge is a fundamental pillar to approach decision-making with rigor and efficiency. The challenges facing society, such as climate change, the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity, desertification, the demographic challenge or social inequality, are challenges in which science is put at the service of society to provide solutions.
Although in recent years there have been notable advances in the state of knowledge about biodiversity in Spain, it is necessary to continue to deepen its improvement for the development and implementation of effective conservation strategies and policies, as well as for their greater integration into sectoral policies. For this reason, this call for grants aims to support projects that contribute to the generation and application of scientific knowledge for the protection and conservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure within the framework of national regulations, plans and strategies, and integrating gender equality and opportunities in a transversal way.

The grants cover three priority lines of research: the development of green infrastructure, connectivity and ecological restoration; desertification and land degradation; and the energy transition and terrestrial and marine biodiversity. The first line seeks to improve knowledge about ecological restoration needs for the improvement of habitats and species, from a nature-based solutions approach; while the second focuses on the design of tools, models and good practices for the monitoring, prevention and reduction of desertification and land degradation under different climate scenarios. The third line promotes the generation of knowledge to promote renewable energies by guaranteeing the protection of natural heritage and biodiversity, with the minimization of impacts, the search for synergies and best management practices, and the definition of guidelines for better planning. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The second call includes two lines of aid, one aimed at supporting projects already approved by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and the other aimed at the digitisation of natural heritage datasets, the digital transformation of the environmental sector and its training. The LIFE Programme is the only financial instrument of the European Union dedicated exclusively to the environment and climate action. It has been running since 1992 and has co-financed more than 5,500 projects across the EU and in third countries. In this line, these grants will contribute to the financing of projects already approved by the European Commission in the LIFE 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 Programmes in the areas of Nature and Biodiversity or Governance. In this way, the aim is for the entities that have been successful in these European calls to reduce their need for co-financing and to encourage the submission of proposals. The second line of the call is intended to finance actions related to the improvement of knowledge of natural heritage through the digitization, standardization and access of datasets, the development of data management plans and implementation of tools and training and training in digital skills. This is intended to contribute to achieving greater knowledge of the elements of the natural heritage and to support decision-making, as well as to manage more effectively and efficiently and to disseminate knowledge through accessible information. This call contributes to advancing towards Spain’s international and European objectives and commitments in the field of biodiversity, and in particular, to the priority lines of action of the State Strategic Plan for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity to 2030 on the protection and conservation of nature, recovery and restoration of ecosystems, reduction of threats to natural heritage and biodiversity and improvement of knowledge about heritage natural and biodiversity. The data generated in this call must contribute to the Integrated Biodiversity Information System being generated by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.