Intervention area: “Space for Nature”
This may include, for example:

• projects restoring or improving natural or semi-natural habitats, or habitats of species, both within and outside existing protected areas;
• projects creating additional protected areas or improving the biodiversity focus and contribution of existing protected areas, through conservation and management measures;
• projects creating ecological corridors or developing other green infrastructure, enhancing the resilience of the Trans-European Nature Network;
• projects testing or demonstrating new site management approaches, projects acting on pressures, both within and outside Natura 2000, affecting EU natural or semi-natural habitats, or habitats of protected species.

Intervention area: “Safeguarding our species”
Considering the broad range of threats that may act on species in addition to the degradation of their habitats, such projects may apply a wide range of relevant measures spanning from hard infrastructural works to awareness raising of stakeholders.

Under both areas of intervention, having clearly defined specific outcome-based biodiversity-related objectives for projects and their activities is a pre-condition for an objective prioritization of the proposals.

In order to allow for effective comparison of merits of proposals, the following principles will be applied for a first level prioritisation which defines the urgency under the two areas of intervention:

• For proposals targeting species covered by the EU Birds Directive, priority is given to those that are considered as such by the Committee for Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress19 (Ornis Committee) set up pursuant to Article 16 of the same Directive.
• For proposals targeting species and habitats covered by the EU Habitats Directive, priority is given to:
  • those that are clearly targeting habitats or species in unfavorable and declining conservation status21, in particular when their status is unfavorable bad and declining (U2-) both in the EU and at national biogeographical region(s) level, where the project is taking place;
  • projects that strive to minimize conflicts and promote coexistence between humans and large carnivores.
• For species and habitats not covered by EU Nature legislation, priority is given to proposals clearly targeting those that are in higher extinction risk categories (in particular: endangered or worse) in the relevant most recent EU red lists of species and habitats. In cases of species and habitats not covered by the EU red lists, the most up-to date published version of the European or Global IUCN Red Lists has to be considered as priority. The latter applies both to species groups not covered by EU red lists, and to species and habitats in ORs, OCTs and associated countries to the LIFE programme.

Further prioritisation of the proposals will be based on the policy priorities below:

• Priorities stemming from EU nature and biodiversity legislation Priority is given to proposals for improving the conservation status or trends of species and habitats of EU interest, notably where:
  • They are implementing objectives and measures outlined in national or regional Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs) under the EU Habitats Directive or national restoration plans under EU Nature Restoration Regulation or in other plans (such as species action plans) or strategies adopted at international, national, regional or multiregional level by nature and biodiversity authorities that implement EU nature and/or biodiversity policy or legislation and that include specific and measurable actions, or targets, with a clear timeline and budget;
  • Their activities focus on the implementation of conservation objectives for existing Natura 2000 sites. In the case of territories of EU Member States and associated countries to which the Birds and Habitats Directives do not apply, activities should focus on similar networks of protected areas, notably where such conservation objectives are clearly established, improving the condition of species and habitats for which the sites are designated;
  • Their activities focus on reducing the deliberate or accidental killing of the targeted species (e.g., poisoning, illegal killing, by-catch), preventing stakeholder conflicts, improving acceptance and promoting co-existence with protected species.

In addition, for the proposals addressing invasive alien species, priority is given to the following species:

• The species included in the list of invasive alien species of Union concern pursuant to Article 4(1) of the Regulation (EU) No 1143/201425, and/or invasive alien species of Member State or regional concern pursuant to Articles 12 and 11 of the Regulation respectively; or
• other invasive alien species that negatively affect the conservation status or trends of species and habitats of EU interest, other species protected under EU legislation, or listed as threatened species in EU or global red lists (the latter for species groups and/or countries and regions not covered by EU red lists).

Priorities stemming from the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 Priority based on the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 is given to proposals addressing the following objectives:

Establishing a coherent network of protected areas

• Proposals contributing to the target of legally protecting26 a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of the EU sea area, and on integrating ecological corridors, as part of a true Trans-European Nature Network.
• Proposals contributing to the target of strictly protecting at least a third of the EU’s protected areas, including all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests.

Implementing EU nature restoration targets for species and habitats

• Proposals that are focused on implementing national commitments or pledges, for improving the status of species and habitats covered by the EU nature directives, including through trans-national or trans-boundary approaches.
• Proposals that contribute to the implementation of national restoration plans (NRPs) under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, and in particular:
  • Proposals that contribute to bringing into good condition areas of habitat types covered by the EU Nature Restoration Regulation that are currently not in good condition.
  • Proposals that help re-establish habitat types covered by the EU Nature Restoration Regulation in areas not covered by these habitat types, with the aim of reaching their favorable reference area.

Restoring degraded and carbon-rich ecosystems and/or prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters

• Proposals with a focus on restoring degraded carbon-rich ecosystems. For forests, this includes proposals aimed at forest restoration to primary forest structure, composition, and functioning.
• Proposals with a focus on deploying Green and Blue Infrastructure in line with the EU guidance as well as other nature-based solutions and restoration actions that would help prevent or reduce the impact of natural disasters, including river and wetland restoration projects. Also, proposals for restoring areas affected by desertification, that aim to improve land and water management through ecosystem-based approaches, preventing the impacts of flash floods in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, and therefore increasing ecosystem resilience to both floods and droughts.

Improving the health and resilience of managed forests

• Proposals demonstrating “closer to nature forestry” practices, meaning practices that try to achieve management objectives with necessary human intervention to preserve biodiversity, prevent wildfires and combine conservation with productivity objectives.
• Proposals ensuring reinforced sustainable forest management for climate adaptation and forest resilience. This includes financial incentives for forest owners and managers for improving the quantity and quality of EU forest.

Reversing the decline of pollinators

•  Proposals for the restoration of habitats important for the wild pollinators’ lifecycle; such proposals need to outline how the improvement of their associated pollinator communities is taken into account by the project activities.
• Proposals that, even if they do not directly address pollinators, measure the project’s success against, among others, the improvement of pollinator communities.

Bringing nature back to agricultural land

• Project proposals that demonstrate innovative approaches to restoring high biodiversity landscape features in agroecosystems that also bring benefits for farmers and communities (such as preventing soil erosion and depletion, land degradation and desertification, filtering air and water, and supporting climate adaptation) and communicate such approaches.

Recreating functional ecosystems and bringing nature back in urban and per urban areas

• Project proposals for the restoration of healthy and biodiverse ecosystems in urban green areas and peri-urban areas, as well as for the development of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions that bring about significant benefits for biodiversity while providing solutions to urban challenges and increasing access to nature, especially if they implement biodiversity objectives and measures included in urban greening plans and/or in urban biodiversity strategies and plans and/or in green infrastructures strategies.

Restoring the good environmental status of marine and freshwater ecosystems

• Proposals addressing the restoration of marine and freshwater ecosystems and improving their conservation status, including proposals for restoring free flowing rivers, removal of obsolete barriers and floodplains restoration.