€126.9 Million for Horizon Europe Projects to Restore Ocean and Waters
Missions are a novel instrument in Horizon Europe for the 2021-2027 programming period. They aim to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges with systemic, concrete solutions, leading to societal transformations and social impact. The missions have ambitious goals and will deliver concrete results by 2030. Each mission will operate as a portfolio of actions – such as research projects, policy measures or even legislative initiatives – to achieve a measurable goal that could not be achieved through individual actions.
The Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 Mission covers both oceans and other bodies of water and will play a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature. The mission will help achieve the EU objectives of protecting 30% of the EU’s sea area as well as restoring marine eco-systems and 25,000km of free flowing rivers in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. It will help to prevent and eliminate pollution by reducing nutrient losses, litter at sea, and the use of chemical pesticides by 50%, in line with the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil. It will also work to decarbonise the blue economy to make it climate-neutral and circular with net-zero maritime emissions, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and approach to a Sustainable Blue Economy.
The Mission has announced that 26 projects will receive a share of €126.9 million through calls for proposals launched in 2023. A combined 346 beneficiaries from 37 countries will receive funding through the calls, including SMEs, research institutions, local authorities, higher or secondary education establishments and businesses.
The projects will help to deliver the following:
- Sustainable management of sediments in the Danube river.
- Protection and restoration of biodiversity in the Atlantic and the Arctic sea basins.
- Combating water and soil pollution in and around the Mediterranean sea basin.
- Protection and restoration of European natural lake ecosystems.
- Increasing landscape water retention capacity at the regional scale.
- Protection, restoration and co-management of Marine Protected Areas and improved connectivity of Blue Corridors.
- Improvement of energy efficiency of small-scale fishing fleets, reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reconciling offshore renewable energy production with the protection of biodiversity.
- Integration of socio-ecological models in the Digital Twin Ocean (replica of the Ocean to test the possible impact of decisions) to make the data more complete.
- Integration of inland waters data into the Digital Twin Ocean.
- Development of communication campaigns and applications to promote the sustainable consumption of seafood in the EU.
- Actions to engage citizens with the ocean, through art and creative performance.
Further details of the projects are available at the Oceans and Waters Mission website.