- Proposals have been received in 16 autonomous communities and in the autonomous city of Melilla, the selected projects will be financed up to 95%, with grants of between €2M and €4M
- The call, which is in addition to the one already in execution corresponding to 2021, is expected to be resolved at the end of the first half of 2023
January 18, 2023- The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has received 64 applications for aid for projects that contribute to the renaturation of Spanish cities, increasing both biodiversity and ecological connectivity in urban environments. The initiative has a budget of 62 million euros, where the selected projects will be financed up to 95%, with grants of between 2 and 4 million euros. This call, corresponding to 2022, has been able to apply for city councils of provincial capitals, autonomous cities and municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants (also in grouping with other entities and with bordering municipalities of more than 20,000 inhabitants), except for the 18 selected in the call for the promotion of urban renaturation projects corresponding to 2021. Thus, proposals have been received from cities in 16 autonomous communities and one autonomous city: Andalusia (10), Aragon (2), Asturias (1), Balearic Islands (1), Canary Islands (2), Cantabria (1), Castilla-La Mancha (1), Castilla y León (6), Catalonia (11), Community of Madrid (9), Valencian Community (8), Extremadura (1), Galicia (4), La Rioja (1), Basque Country (2), Region of Murcia (3) and the Autonomous City of Melilla (1). PROJECT
SELECTION PROCESSThe selection of the projects will be carried out on a competitive basis, following a technical and administrative evaluation process based on strict quality criteria. The regulatory bases of the call promote the selection of highly transformative and ambitious projects, which meet the technical and strategic criteria required as a correction in their design and in their technical and economic planning; integration into a public strategy; adaptation to the problem to be solved; effective contribution to ecological connectivity, among others. The call is expected to be resolved at the end of the first half of 2023. All selected projects must be completed by 31 December 2025 at the latest. COMMITMENT TO THE RENATURALIZATION OF CITIES
The MITECO Biodiversity Foundation has already promoted 195 million euros in aid for projects aimed at the renaturalisation of cities, which includes the restoration of river ecosystems in urban environments. Thanks to the RTRP grants financed with NextGenerationEU funds, up to 55 projects in both areas have already started (18 from the call for the renaturation of cities corresponding to 2021 and 37 from the call for the restoration of river ecosystems and flood risk mitigation, also from 2021). The aid for the renaturation of cities promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation will continue thanks to ERDF Funds from the European Union, for whose management it has been designated as an intermediate body (IGO).
