A total of 116 applications have been submitted to the call for grants promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) for research programmes and projects in the field of biodiversity management, corresponding to 2022. The call is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Of the total, 31 of the proposals correspond to groups of up to four entities. The great reception of the call – endowed with € 2 million and to which scientific entities are eligible – is evident in the presentation of initiatives that request a total of 27 million euros in aid, so only 7.5% of the amount requested can be met. The proposals received are divided between the four lines of research contemplated in the call: 18 focus on energy transition for the development of renewable energies that respect natural heritage and biological diversity and with minimal impacts on terrestrial and marine biodiversity. Another 31 address marine biodiversity and the management of marine protected areas, with the aim of contributing to the fulfilment of the international commitments assumed by Spain in this area (including achieving the protection of 30% of the marine area by 2030, in accordance with the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030). Of the remainder, 53 are oriented towards strengthening green infrastructure, connectivity and ecological restoration, through, among others, the application of Nature-based Solutions (NBS). And the last 14 deal with the prevention and reduction of land desertification, in addition to the restoration of the areas affected by it and its causes, through the improvement of methodologies for the assessment of the risk of desertification and the preparation of prospective forecasts, in accordance with different climatic and socioeconomic scenarios. The selection of proposals will be marked by objective criteria based on the scientific-technical quality and impact of the project, with the aim that the knowledge generated can be directly applied to the transformative policies demanded by the ecological transition. All projects selected must have been completedby 31 December 2025, at the latest.

This call is in addition to the one published on the same topic in 2021, endowed with €2.5M. Nine projects were selected from among the 107 submitted: three for biological corridors and green infrastructure, three for biodiversity and marine protected areas and three for energy transition and terrestrial and marine biodiversity. These are investigations that have already started, on the impact of wind energy on terrestrial and marine fauna, the influence of agricultural management on biodiversity or forest restorations.

CALL FOR GRANTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RTRP

Currently, the Biodiversity Foundation manages 162.15 million euros in grants within the framework of the RTRP, corresponding to 2021, which are distributed among six calls: the previous edition of research in the field of biodiversity management (2.5 million), renaturalization and urban resilience (58 million euros); restoration of river ecosystems and mitigation of flood risk (75 million); bioeconomy and ecological transition (20 million); stranding and rescue of marine species (4.25 million) and support for CITES centres (2.4 million). In this way, a total of 106 projects to promote the ecological transition, transformative and lasting over time, have been launched thanks to the NextGenerationEU funds for the protection and improvement of biodiversity. In 2022, a second call for grants has also been published to finance – up to 95% – urban renaturation and resilience projects (62 million euros), whose deadline for submitting applications will remain open until 22 December and a second edition of the call to promote the bioeconomy, specifically focused on forest landscapes (72 million euros), is planned. at the beginning of next year.