Nature-based solutions combine the protection and restoration of biodiversity with the provision of benefits to human society, such as climate regulation, more resilient food production, and other ecosystem services. There is significant attention being paid to the potential of nature-based solutions, particularly in the EU, to maximize the return on investment and thereby help address multiple challenges more effectively at once. This applies to global crises related to biodiversity, climate, and pollution, but also focuses on creating a balanced approach and maximizing synergy between biodiversity, freshwater quality and supply, food production, and health. At the same time, it is no secret that trade-offs are involved—that is, optimizing one element comes at the expense of others, and biodiversity is often the loser. Nature-based solutions are based precisely on the principle of safeguarding biodiversity while simultaneously contributing to the resulting human benefits.
Biodiversa+ and 34 winning projects
The Innovation Fund and the Ministry of the Three Parties are the two Danish partners in the European partnership on biodiversity: Biodiversa+. The Innovation Fund provides financial support for research and innovation projects that directly support the participation of Danish stakeholders. Research and innovation are the gateway to these research programs, which pursue scientific excellence, societal impact, and collaboration. Consequently, high standards are set for the projects.
All stakeholders, including the Danish ones, are part of international consortia comprising teams from at least three countries. There is thus a significant strategic focus on expanding relationships and research collaboration across EU countries and, in a number of cases, also with overseas partners in this call for proposals—for example, Canada, Brazil, Morocco, and South Africa. There are cross-cutting partnerships within the various EU countries. Both public and private entities may participate, and universities and other public entities continue to make up the majority of applicants; a total of 41 partners from 34 countries participated in the funding round, with top-up funding from the European Commission.
Funding was awarded to a total of 34 top-quality projects, which were launched in Montpellier in southern France last week out of a total pool of 183 applications and more than 1,000 partners. The 34 projects and 223 teams will receive 41 million EUR in funding and will run over the next three years. This is the third set of research and innovation projects from Biodiversa+. Previously, the focus had been directly on biodiversity conservation and monitoring, but now a step is being taken toward promoting collaboration across disciplines (and sectors) and incorporating expertise from outside the natural sciences. The Innovation Fund has allocated a total of approximately 57 million DKK to Danish partners in the three calls for proposals, which also include co-funding from Horizon Europe.
Nature-based solutions
This call for proposals seeks innovation and demonstration of nature-based solutions within three main themes: 1) Synergies and trade-offs of nature-based solutions that contribute to human health and well-being, 2) Reducing human-caused biodiversity loss, including agricultural practices; and 3) the contribution of nature-based solutions to equitable transformative change.
The proportion of funded projects is roughly evenly distributed across the three areas. The focus is on supplementing the natural science approach to the biodiversity crisis with other areas of expertise and interdisciplinary collaboration. In principle, all sectors of society are relevant, as opportunities for action toward change affect all sectors and segments of society. Stakeholders with expertise in economics, law, food production, and social sciences are therefore increasingly becoming involved.
An understanding of what nature-based solutions are and what they entail is therefore crucial. The agreed-upon definition—which was highlighted in the presentations at the launch event in Montpellier—is the one adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2022: “Actions aimed at protecting, conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic, and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively.”
https://www.unep.org/topics/nature-action/nature-based-solutions/overview-nature-based-solutions
The definition calls for showcasing best practices. Professor Edna Cabecinha of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) presented the IUCN’s global standards and the organization’s understanding of nature-based solutions, which, among other things, involve taking into account eight criteria designed to ensure that biodiversity remains the cornerstone of these many projects.
https://iucn.org/our-work/topic/iucn-global-standard-nature-based-solutions
Danish Winners
Among the 34 funded projects, 10 include Danish participation, involving 14 organizations. The Danish success rate is among the highest, which naturally delights the Danish funding partner, Innovationsfonden, and the Danish institutions. Among the 14 Danish institutions are five universities: Aarhus University, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and DTU Aqua, the University of Copenhagen, Roskilde University, and the University of Southern Denmark. There are also several private partners.
Two of the international consortia are led by Danish institutions, both from the University of Southern Denmark in Esbjerg. One focuses on the return on investment—both in terms of biodiversity and the economic and social benefits of restoring specific freshwater areas, including lakes and river valleys, in the partner countries of Hungary, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, with Professor Brooks Kaiser (SDU) serving as project leader. The other project addresses the management of biological invasions and focuses on three invasive species: the Pacific oyster in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; the Pacific salmon in Norway; and the American blue crab in Italy and Portugal. Once again, the focus is on economic, social, and biodiversity-related investments and benefits. The project is led by Assistant Professor Melina Kourantidou. The University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University are also involved in several projects.
More information about the projects can be found at: https://www.biodiversa.eu/2023/06/05/2023-2024-joint-call/
Trust and credibility are essential when funding such a large-scale, interdisciplinary, and cross-border project portfolio. The evaluation of the several hundred project proposals was conducted by leading international and independent experts led by Rachel Bezner-Kerr from Cornell University in the U.S. (scientific component) and Claire Brown from the World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge, UK (policy and management). At the same time, the Innovation Fund is a stable Danish funding partner in Biodiversa+.
The results of the 34 cutting-edge research projects will in all likelihood inspire a shift away from traditional approaches and contribute to new, interdisciplinary, and more coherent ways of turning the biodiversity crisis around for the benefit of nature and people.
Biodiversa+ and nature-based solutions. Each of the 34 innovative winning projects was presented in 2 minutes, Montpellier, France, April 2025. Photo: Lars Dinesen.
