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An colourful arran brown butterfly in a green meadow full of yellow buttercups.

Looking after ecosystems

Protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services

An colourful arran brown butterfly in a green meadow full of yellow buttercups.

Natural ecosystems are under tremendous pressure in Europe and worldwide. There is an urgent need to protect natural landscapes and their precious wildlife as well as vital ecosystem services such as pollination, water purification, carbon sequestration, and mitigation of floods and droughts.

This is why the European Union has adopted the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy as a key part of the EU Green Deal. To help nature thrive, we support actions that protect ecosystems and their natural dynamics.   

Discover project highlights

Browse through the slideshow to discover key project achievements so far: 

Dive into project success stories

A bee visiting a blue flower.

> Boosting wild bees on farmlands

Illustration of a partridge in a flowering field.

> Farmlands: Bringing back the birds

Three people driving a cylinder into a wet peatland to take a core sample, with two onlookers standing by.

> A new approach to peatland ecosystems

People on the deck of a ship, handling equipment in rough weather

> Coming to grips with the remnants of war

Explore projects protecting ecosystems

Projects in the VIB programme period (2021-2027)

Biodiverse Cities
Co-creating spaces for nature to thrive in cities
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Icon showing a city encircled by a living plant.
DivGrass
Developing species-rich grasslands for biodiversity and resilience
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Icon showing a species-rich meadow.
DEMASK
Tackling underwater noise to help marine wildlife thrive
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An icon showing a dolphin jumping out of the water.
REMARCO
Preventing marine pollution by tackling unexploded ordnance in the North Sea
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Icons showing a mine.
TREASURE
Tracking and fighting plastic pollution in rivers and the North Sea
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An icon showing a bottle and a dead fish
EXPBIO
Sowing seeds for more plant-diverse surroundings
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An icon showing a wild plant with seed-like structures.
DARKER SKY
Reducing light pollution to support nocturnal wildlife
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An icon showing the moon with bats flying
Keep It Dark
Exploring the options for reducing light pollution
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An icon showing a night sky with the moon, stars and clouds.
CLANCY
Tackling the invasive Chinese Mitten Crab through innovative traps
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An icon showing a crab.
ANEMOI
Investigating chemicals emissions from offshore wind farms
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An icon showing two offshore wind turbines.
Norsaic
Boosting next-level Maritime Spatial Planning for the North Sea
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Icon showing a compass.

Projects in the VB programme period (2014-2020)

BEESPOKE
Supporting insect diversity and crop pollination in farmlands
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Illustration of a bee
Building with nature
Demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of nature-based solutions
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Illustration of a coastline with waves and dunes.
CANAPE
Restoring peatlands and their vital ecosystem services
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Illustration of bulrushes.
Carbon Farming
Restoring healthy soil and soil biodiversity while keeping carbon in the ground
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Illustration of a hand holding healthy soil and a plant growing in rich soil
GEANS
Using DNA barcodes to look after marine ecosystems
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Illustration of DNA
IMMERSE
Tackling pressures on biodiversity in North Sea estuaries.
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Waves and three flying birds.
JOMOPANS
Keeping tabs on underwater noise levels to protect marine animals
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An icon showing sound waves.
NorthSEE
Reconciling interests and collaborating on maritime spatial planning in the North Sea
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Windmill water
North Sea Wrecks
Uncovering the ecosystem risk of long-forgotten wars
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A ship sinking
PARTRIDGE
Bringing stakeholders together to restore farmland biodiversity
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Partridge
PROWAD LINK
Building nature-friendly jobs and business based on natural heritage
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Prowad
Sullied Sediments
Detecting and deactivating hazardous chemicals in lakebeds and riverbeds
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Sullied
WaterCoG
Uniting local stakeholders to protect and improve wet ecosystems
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ECO

Top image: ©Colourbox.com
Icons on this page: ©Noun Project