MRU Prof. Paulo Pereira, Head of MRU's Environmental Management Laboratory, is participating with his research team in 3 different HORIZON projects with European Union (EU) university partners from several dozen countries.

The first project, the 5-year Science for Evidence-based and Sustainable Decisions about Natural Capital (SELINA) will run from 01.07.2022 to 30.06.2027 and is coordinated by Germany's Leibniz University Hannover's Institute of Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology. The project is focused on the mapping and assessment of ecosystem services, Prof. Paulo said. There are 49 participants from all of the EU countries, he added.

The second project is Monetary Valuation of Soil Ecosystem Services and Creation of Initiatives to Invest in Soil health: Setting a Framework for the Inclusion of Soil Health in Business and in the Policy-making Process (InBestSoil), and it will run from 01-01-2023 to 01-01-2027, said Prof. Pereira. The project aims to assess soil economic value and includes 20 partners from Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, France, Romania and the United Kingdom, he added.

The third project is focused on creating climate adaptation and mitigation options to optimise forest ecosystem services and includes 17 partners from: Austria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.  This project, OPTimising FORest Management Decisions for a Low-carbon, Resilient Climate Future in Europe (OptFor-EU), will run from 01-01-2023 to 01-01-2027.

Combined, the three projects raised 22 million Euros, said Prof. Pereira.

"We hope that after the experiments are implemented, we will have some news to share with the community," said Prof. Pereira.

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.

It tackles climate change and helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The programme facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges.