The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme (ELSP) has announced its next call for landscape restoration grants.
Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, countries have committed to ensuring that at last 30% of degraded land is under effective restoration by 2030. Landscapes have a vital role to play in contributing to this target and halting biodiversity loss by providing the connectivity and space or nature to thrive and ecological processes to recover. Landscapes also mitigate climate change by strong and sequestering carbon, and they provide a range of benefits to people by supporting livelihoods and improving well-being.
The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme funds large-scale landscape restoration initiatives within countries across Europe that are driven by strong partnerships supported by local communities and are working with a range of sectors to deliver for nature, climate and people. Since 2018, they have supported 14 projects from Carpathian Mountains in Romania to the Koitajoki watershed in Finland in and the Kakheti grasslands in Georgia. In Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds are undertaking state-of-the-art restoration of forests and grasslands to influence land-management over 810,00 hectares and to support the recovery of key species such as vultures and souslik in the long-ter. Rewilding Portugal are restoring wildlife and natural processes in Côa Valley of Northern Portugal, reconnecting the valley with existing protected areas and thereby creating a large-scale wildlife corridor. This is preventing wildfires, strengthening human wildlife co-existence and revitalising the local economy through the marketing of food and local products by the Wild Côa Network.
The restoration of multi-functional landscapes at scale is complex. The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme are looking for bold and innovative projects that have a long term-vision and want to deliver impact on the ground. They are also keen to support projects who are willing to share their experiences and learning with the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes restoration network and wider restoration community.
The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme are hosting a webinar on 24 October, from 11:00 am - 12:30om BST, to provide an overview of their work and landscape restoration grant call. If you are interested in participating, please register here.
There will also be a drop-in session on 4 November where you can book a short 1:1 meeting with the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme Management team to discuss your ideas in more depth. More information on booking will be provided at the webinar.
The deadline for EOI applications is 22:59 GMT on Tuesday 14th January 2025.
Proposals are particularly welcome from projects in geographic areas which are currently not receiving significant conservation attention and/or are underrepresented in the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme portfolio. For any enquiries about the call please contact Sarah Sanders.
This article is originally by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme
About the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme
The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme introduces a positive and optimistic agenda for action, reversing biodiversity loss and providing inspiration for a fundamental shift in the policy and practice of nature conservation.
It does this primarily by funding projects that share its vision to restore Europe's most treasured but endangered landscapes. While representing the diversity of Europe's landscapes, cultures and histories, projects funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme all share a common feature: working to create sustainable and hopeful future where both people and nature can thrive.
Core Programme funding is enabling on-the ground implementation of large-sale restoration work, planning of new, innovative restoration initiatives, and overcoming barriers to landscape restoration in Europe.
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners, covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. As a global call to action it will draw together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Find out how you can contribute to the UN Decade. Follow #GenerationRestoration.