Horizon Europe Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2026: €76 Million Across Seven Nature Research Topics

Horizon Europe Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2026: €76 Million Across Seven Nature Research Topics

The European Research Executive Agency (REA) is accepting proposals for the 2026 Horizon Europe call on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The single-stage call, identified as HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-BIODIV, has an overall indicative budget of €76 million across seven topics. The official topic summary highlights work on insect decline, groundwater ecosystems, deep-sea ecosystems, nature-positive economies, and agrobiodiversity. The deadline for a complete proposal is 17 September 2026.

This is collaborative research and innovation funding, not a small individual conservation grant. It is most relevant to a consortium that can connect excellent research with public authorities, land or sea managers, businesses, civil society, and other users of biodiversity knowledge. The call sits in Horizon Europe Cluster 6, which covers food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, and environment. Projects should therefore show how their results will improve understanding, management, policy, or practical action rather than stopping at a description of ecological change.

The REA page lists the 2026 call as single-stage. That means applicants submit the full proposal by the September deadline. It is distinct from the separate two-stage biodiversity call shown on the same REA page, whose second-stage deadline is 23 September 2026. A team should select the correct call and topic in the Funding and Tenders Portal before drafting its application.

Key details at a glance

The €76 million figure is an indicative envelope for the seven single-stage topics, not a guaranteed award for each proposal. The official REA summary does not give one uniform project size for the whole call. Topic-level budgets, action type, expected number of funded projects, eligible costs, and any special consortium conditions must be read in the Funding and Tenders Portal topic page and the applicable Horizon Europe work programme.

What the call is designed to support

Horizon Europe describes biodiversity and ecosystem-services research as work that protects biodiversity and ecosystems on land, inland water, and the sea. That scope is broad, but the seven-topic structure is not a licence to submit a generic nature project. Each topic has its own expected outcomes and activity boundaries. A proposal should begin with one topic’s wording and build its objectives, work packages, partners, and impact plan around that wording.

The REA summary names several examples of the 2026 single-stage topics. A project on insect decline might need to explain which pressures, taxa, habitats, or management decisions it will address and how its evidence can be used beyond one study site. A groundwater ecosystems assessment proposal would need the right hydrology, ecology, monitoring, and data expertise. Deep-sea ecosystems conservation calls for marine science and a credible connection to area-based management, conservation, or international biodiversity commitments. The nature-positive economy theme points toward economic choices, metrics, incentives, and business or policy practice. Agrobiodiversity work should connect biological diversity in farming systems with viable management, food systems, or rural outcomes.

These are examples from the official topic summary, not substitutes for the full topic text. Before deciding that an idea fits, compare its intended outcomes with the selected topic’s destination, scope, expected impacts, type of action, and any mandatory partnership language. If a team cannot identify a direct match, it should not rely on the overall call title alone.

Who this opportunity fits

REA’s general Horizon Europe guidance says that any type of organisation may apply when it has the operational and financial capacity to carry out the tasks it proposes. For most calls, applicants form a consortium of at least three partner organisations from three different EU or associated countries, with at least one partner from an EU country. The individual topic page takes precedence if it states an exception or an additional requirement.

For Cluster 6, the REA identifies a wide set of potential participants: universities and research institutes; civil society organisations, including NGOs and consumer associations; public administrations, legislators, and implementing authorities; industry and SMEs; and end-users such as farmers, foresters, advisors, municipalities, water utilities, citizens’ associations, and professional associations. The list is non-exhaustive. A participant should be included because it performs a necessary project role, not simply to increase the partner count.

The strongest team will usually combine scientific capability with access to the people, places, data, or decisions that the topic is trying to influence. For instance, a biodiversity-monitoring project may need ecological researchers, data specialists, protected-area managers, and public authorities. A nature-positive economy proposal may need economists, companies, investors, regulators, and organisations representing affected communities. A deep-sea project may require marine researchers, regional or international management bodies, and users of marine data.

Every consortium must appoint a project coordinator. The coordinator is the main contact for REA throughout the project and must be able to manage the submission as well as the eventual grant agreement. A small organisation can participate as a partner if it has a defined contribution and the necessary capacity; it does not automatically need to coordinate a multinational consortium.

What the funding can cover

The call page confirms the total indicative budget but leaves the financial detail to the individual topic and portal documents. Horizon Europe’s general project guidance distinguishes several action types. A Research and Innovation Action (RIA) establishes new knowledge or explores a new or improved technology, process, service, or solution, and EU funding can cover up to 100% of project costs. An Innovation Action (IA) supports activities such as prototyping, testing, demonstration, piloting, large-scale validation, and market replication, with EU funding generally covering up to 70% of costs. A Coordination and Support Action (CSA) supports cooperation, standardisation, dissemination, policy dialogue, networking, and related activities, with EU funding generally covering up to 100%.

The selected biodiversity topic determines which action type applies and how the budget should be constructed. Do not assume that the 100% or 70% general rate is a promise for every participant or every cost category. Check the call topic, Horizon Europe programme guide, model grant agreement, and the portal’s financial instructions. Some organisations may need to provide co-financing, and in-kind contributions or subcontracting may be treated differently from core beneficiary work.

Build the budget from the work plan rather than from the maximum amount the team hopes to request. Link staff time, fieldwork, laboratory work, vessels or monitoring equipment, data management, stakeholder engagement, travel, communication, and project management to specific tasks and deliverables. A well-supported budget makes it possible for reviewers to judge whether the plan is feasible and whether the requested EU contribution is proportionate to the expected results.

Application process and timeline

The REA’s general application process has four stages. First, find the correct funding opportunity, destination, and topic in the Funding and Tenders Portal. The portal carries the call text, topic conditions, deadlines, forms, and templates. Second, create or use an organisation profile, form the consortium, select the topic, and submit the online proposal before the deadline. Third, independent experts evaluate proposals against pre-defined European Commission criteria. Fourth, successful partners negotiate and sign a grant agreement that sets the activities, duration, budget, EU contribution, rights, and obligations.

For this call, the published timeline gives 17 April 2026 as the launch date, 17 September 2026 as the submission deadline, January 2027 for information to applicants about selection, and May 2027 for grant-agreement signature. Project start is listed as to be confirmed. REA says the evaluation phase can last up to five months, and grant agreements are generally signed within three months after successful proposals are selected. These are planning milestones, not a reason to delay the submission or assume that every project will start on the same date.

The proposal must be complete at the single-stage deadline. Teams should not confuse this with the separate two-stage call on the REA page, where an outline proposal precedes a full application. Search the portal by the exact call identifier and topic code, then verify that the application form and template belong to HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-BIODIV.

Materials to prepare

The portal and the topic work programme control the final document list. In practice, a consortium should prepare the following material early:

• a concise problem statement tied to the chosen topic’s expected outcomes;
• measurable objectives and a method that can answer the research or innovation questions;
• a work-package structure with tasks, milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and responsible partners;
• a consortium explanation showing why each organisation is needed;
• a data-management, ethics, and responsible-research approach where relevant;
• a risk register covering field access, seasonal observations, permits, data availability, partner capacity, and technical uncertainty;
• a credible impact pathway for policy, conservation practice, communities, industry, or other end-users;
• a dissemination, exploitation, and communication plan that distinguishes scientific publication from adoption by users; and
• a detailed, justified budget that maps to the work plan.

Environmental research often depends on long observation periods, permits, access to protected or marine sites, and cooperation from land managers. Explain those dependencies instead of hiding them. If a project needs seasonal sampling, show how the timetable protects the necessary field windows. If it relies on existing datasets, confirm access and data quality. If it expects policy uptake, name the authority or practitioner group that will be involved and describe how it will use the result.

How to prepare a competitive proposal

Start with a compliance matrix. Put every requirement from the topic page in one column and the proposal section or work-package response in another. Include the scope, expected outcomes, action type, partnership rules, gender or inclusion requirements where applicable, data and ethics obligations, page limits, and submission fields. This simple matrix prevents a strong scientific idea from missing a formal condition.

Next, write the impact pathway before polishing the science narrative. State the problem, the result the project will produce, who can use it, what change should follow, and how the team will measure that change. Reviewers should be able to see why the project matters to biodiversity management and why this consortium is positioned to deliver it. Avoid claiming that one project will reverse a continental trend. Define a credible contribution and show how it can be sustained after the grant.

Use end-users as design partners, not as names in an advisory-board paragraph. Ask a municipality, protected-area manager, farmer group, water utility, NGO, or relevant industry participant to test whether the proposed outputs fit a real decision. Their feedback can sharpen the research questions, reveal access constraints, and make the exploitation plan more believable.

Use the remaining time for hostile review. Give the draft to someone who understands Horizon Europe but is not immersed in the project. Ask that person to identify the chosen topic, the main innovation, the beneficiaries, the largest risk, and the reason the consortium is necessary after one reading. If those answers are unclear, the proposal needs structural work, not more adjectives.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common error is writing to the call title instead of the exact topic. Biodiversity and ecosystem services covers multiple disciplines, but reviewers assess the proposal against the selected topic. A proposal can be scientifically excellent and still be out of scope.

Another mistake is treating a consortium as a list of logos. Every partner should have a task, capability, access route, or user role that another partner cannot easily replace. Make the coordinator’s responsibility clear and show how decisions, data, quality control, and conflict resolution will work.

Do not make end-user engagement symbolic. If farmers, municipalities, water utilities, marine managers, or civil-society groups are meant to use the outcome, involve them in requirements, testing, interpretation, or adoption. Do not promise policy change without naming the route through which evidence reaches a decision-maker.

Budget errors also weaken otherwise good submissions. Check that staff months match the tasks, travel is needed, equipment is justified, subcontracting is allowed, and the requested EU contribution follows the topic’s action type. Avoid a large communication budget with no audience or adoption plan, and avoid under-budgeting the fieldwork needed to produce reliable evidence.

Finally, do not wait until the last day to validate the portal submission. Organisation registration, participant validation, partner approvals, missing forms, and technical problems can take time. Submit early enough to correct errors while the portal still permits changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an individual scholarship?

No. It is collaborative Horizon Europe project funding. Individual researchers may be part of an eligible organisation, but the application is submitted by a consortium or other eligible project structure defined by the selected topic.

Can an NGO or SME participate?

Yes, provided it has the operational and financial capacity required for its tasks and meets the selected topic’s conditions. REA specifically lists civil-society organisations, NGOs, industry, and SMEs among potential Cluster 6 applicants.

Must every project have three countries?

Most Horizon Europe calls require at least three partner organisations from three different EU or associated countries, including at least one EU-country partner. The exact topic page controls, so confirm the rule for the topic you select.

Is the full €76 million available to one project?

No. €76 million is the overall indicative budget for seven single-stage topics. Topic budgets and expected EU contributions differ and must be checked in the portal.

When will applicants hear the result?

The REA timeline says applicants are expected to be informed in January 2027. The same timeline lists May 2027 for grant-agreement signature for successful projects, while project start remains to be confirmed.

Where can a team get help finding partners?

REA points applicants to the Funding and Tenders Portal, national contact points, the Horizon Europe NCP portal, the Enterprise Europe Network, Information Days, and brokerage events. These are appropriate places to search for partners and clarify topic-specific questions.

Official links and next steps

Begin with the official REA Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2026 page. Use its link to the EU Funding and Tenders Portal to open the exact call and topic records. The REA also provides general guidance on who should apply, how to apply, and support for applicants.

The immediate action is to choose one of the seven single-stage topics, verify the topic-specific rules, and appoint a coordinator who can manage the portal submission. Then assemble the minimum consortium, contact national contact points or partner-search networks, map the expected outcomes to work packages, and start the full proposal. The official deadline is 17 September 2026; because the call requires a complete single-stage application, a technically strong idea without a ready consortium and compliant proposal will not be enough.