VIN-Q will be applying for the HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08 funding call
The EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is a pioneering initiative with the goal of establishing 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030. This mission recognizes the critical role of soil in sustaining life on Earth and aims to address the pressing issue of unhealthy soils across Europe. To achieve its objectives, the mission offers various funding opportunities for organizations and individuals to contribute to the cause. In this blog post, we will explore the funding calls within the EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe and highlight the importance of soil conservation and restoration.
The Significance of Soil:
Soil plays a vital role in our ecosystem and is essential for various aspects of human life. It serves as the foundation of our food systems, provides clean water, supports biodiversity, contributes to climate resilience, sustains cultural heritage and landscapes, and drives economic prosperity. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of EU soils, estimated to be between 60 and 70%, are considered unhealthy due to unsustainable management practices, pollution, and soil sealing. The EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ aims to address these challenges and promote the sustainable management of soils.
Objectives of the Mission:
The mission has set eight objectives to guide its activities and achieve its overarching goal of transitioning towards healthy soils:
- Reduce desertification
- Conserve soil organic carbon stocks
- Stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils
- Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
- Prevent erosion
- Improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity
- Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
- Improve soil literacy in society
Funding Opportunities:
To encourage participation and collaboration, the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ offers several funding opportunities. These opportunities cover a wide range of topics related to soil health and restoration. The funding calls include the following areas:
- Subsoil research and innovation
- Soil pollution and digital tools
- Innovations to prevent and combat desertification
- Soil-friendly practices in horticulture
- Spatial planning for soil conservation
- Cultural and creative initiatives for soil awareness
- Establishment of the first wave of Living Labs
In addition to these specific calls, there are also joint calls with the missions ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ and ‘Adaptation to Climate Change.’ These joint calls encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of soil-related issues into broader environmental and societal contexts.
VIN-Q: HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08
VIN-Q will be applying as project coordinator for the HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs. VIN-Q has a multidisciplinary international team that recently conducted an experiment emulating the philosophy of Living Labs. The April Experiment focused on collecting baseline data for soil analysis on 11 vineyards in Catalonia.
Living labs are collaborative platforms where multiple stakeholders, including researchers, farmers, foresters, land managers, and citizens, come together to co-create innovations and test solutions in real-life conditions. These labs operate at territorial, landscape, or regional scales and focus on specific objectives of the mission.
As part of theHORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08, we will be establishing 4 living labs in 4 different European countries to potentiate the use of regenerative agriculture practices for soil health improvement based on evidence. We aim to develop a consortium based around 3 key pillars: living lab, soil health and an evidence based decision support systems. If you are interested:
Fill this form and complete your VIN-Q land profile:
Researcher /Provider
If you are applying for any other other funding calls within HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01, we would love to collaborate