Natural lakes are understood for the purposes of this Work Programme as natural inland bodies of standing surface freshwater or brackish water. There are more than 500 000 natural lakes larger than 1ha in Europe. There were over 2 800 lakes in the EU with bad or poor ecological status and over 8 000 lakes with moderate ecological status in 2018. The main pressures affecting the ecological status of European lakes are hydro-morphological pressures, pollution, in particular from chemicals and nutrient enrichment, water abstraction and climate change impacts

-Design and demonstrate integrated and replicable approaches to protect and restore natural lake ecosystems and their biodiversity that result in a significantly improved ecological and chemical status and maintain it in the long-term
-Demonstrate activities that combine measures and solutions to reduce pressures and stressors, to restore and protect the lake ecosystem and its biodiversity, in particular using effective nature-based solutions in the lakes, along shorelines and across their catchments to reduce use of chemicals and retain nutrients

-Enhance the implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Water Framework Directive as well as other EU instruments and policies that concern freshwater ecosystems
-Improve ecological and chemical status of European natural lakes
-Demonstrate integrated and replicable approaches to protection and restoration of natural lake ecosystems, their biodiversity and healthy functioning, integrating all aspects of good ecological and chemical status of lakes under the Water Framework Directive
-Demonstrate effective and replicable nature based solutions for restoration and protection of European lakes

This joint topic relates to the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission’s third objective, aiming to support at least 75 full-scale deep demonstrations of climate resilience, to Mission Ocean, & waters’ objective 1, protection and restoration of marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity and objective 2 – prevent and eliminate pollution of marine and freshwaters. The topic also relates to several specific objectives of the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, including to reduce soil degradation and soil sealing and to prevent erosion.

-Contribute to the networking and coordination activities and joint activities of the three Missions, including establishing links with the projects funded under the Horizon 2020, the European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe, when particularly relevant. for climate adaptation knowledge and solutions
-Include a mechanism and resources to establish links with the Implementation Support Platform of Mission Ocean and Waters and build links with other activities of this to maximize synergies, including with the EU Macro-regional Strategies and regions
-Include a mechanism and resources to establish links with the Implementation Platform of Mission Soil Deal for Europe
-Support the Ocean and Water Knowledge System, in particular by contributing to knowledge creation and data.

-Demonstrate effective and inclusive integrated multi-stakeholder approaches to the management of landscape, soil, water, vegetation at a regional level to increase the resilience of the area to climate change impacts on soils, water, habitats and biodiversity
-Demonstrate effective nature-based solutions and ecological approaches to increase landscape water retention capacity, including soil water retention capacity
-Enhance implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Adaptation Strategy, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, EU legislation for the protection of freshwaters (such as EU Water Framework Directive and EU Groundwater Directive;) and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030

In line with Farm to Fork Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Soil Strategy for 2030 and the EU Action Plan: ‘Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’, proposals should demonstrate scalable breakthrough innovations (technological, business, social and governance) to reduce fertilizer use and to prevent and minimise soil and water pollution from excess nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) in the landscape-river catchment-sea system, including coastal ecosystems, in the Mediterranean Sea basin.

-Upstream prevention/reduction of nutrient losses from soil and pollution with nutrients of soil and water, such as through reduction in the use of fertilizers, improved nutrient retention in soil and slower release to crops, improved nutrient use efficiency, integrated landscape and soil management, reduction of nutrient losses from rural and urban communities
-Prevention of entry of nutrients in river catchments area and/or their reduction, such as reduction of nutrient losses from agricultural and other practices, improved wastewater treatment, use of green filters and other measures for the reduction of the flow of nutrients through the river system and prevention/reduction of their entry into the estuary/sea
-Measures reducing/eliminating excess nutrients from the estuary/sea to reduce and/or eliminate the risk of eutrophication.

-Innovative, reproducible solutions to prevent, minimise and remediate soil and water pollution from excess nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) in the landscape-river catchment-sea system and transition waters in the Mediterranean Sea basin
-Accelerated uptake of innovative solutions to reduce the use of fertilizers and to prevent, minimize and remediate nutrient pollution and to reduce ocean and inland water eutrophication
-Effective monitoring of nutrient pollution in line with existing methodologies under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and under the Water Framework Directive

The study has the following specific objectives:1. to provide an objective qualitative and quantitative assessment of the implementation of the Union’s current 2 GHz MSS framework, to give an overview of the 2 GHz MSS spectrum usage and services offered. The analysis should pay special attention to any divergences that may have arisen in implementation at national level;2. to outline current state of play as well as developments and trends in the broader satellite connectivity market globally (e.g. new entrants, services, orbits, mergers), the competitive landscape, the drivers at EU level and globally and the role of the EU players;3. to outline possible usage scenarios for the 2 GHz spectrum after 2027, in line with relevant EU policies and programmes, including the Digital Decade targets and upcoming Secure Connectivity programme.

Scope:

-Assess implementation of EU’s 2 GHz MSS framework, focusing on national-level divergences.
-Analyze global satellite connectivity market, including new entrants, services, orbits, mergers, and competitive landscape.
-Identify drivers at EU and global levels and the role of EU players.
-Outline potential usage scenarios for 2 GHz spectrum post-2027, aligned with EU policies and programs (Digital Decade targets, Secure Connectivity Programme).

Topics:

-Take stock of the implementation of the regulatory framework and state of play of the use of the 2 GHz frequency band for MSS in the EU
-Overview of the larger satellite connectivity market
-Examination of the link between the satellite space license and the national spectrum usage rights and general authorisations
-Outlook on the use cases for the 2 GHz frequency band

The Copernicus Global Land Service will procure a dynamic global land surface characterization, global annual land cover mapping and tropical forest monitoring products at 10m resolution. The procurement will ensure the continuity of the production of the Global Land Cover map collection, the provision of a continuous dynamic generation of land surface and cover characteristics on sub-annual and annual basis and the development and implementation of a tropical forest monitoring component.

The core objectives of this call for services are a continuation and an enhancement of the implementation and operation of the global land cover and land cover change product generation, including the generation of specific forest products.

Topics:

-Continuity of Copernicus Global Land Cover map collection.
-Generation of land surface and cover characteristics on sub-annual and annual basis.
-Development and implementation of tropical forest monitoring component.
-Improvement of land cover products: Finer spatial and temporal resolutions, higher accuracies, and use-oriented results.
-Provision of products at sub-annual time intervals in near real time.
-Frequent updates of land surface and land cover characteristics.

Support DG Mobility and Transport in addressing new business opportunities as well as new challenges of autonomous vessel operations on inland waterways, supporting the digitalisation and sustainability challenges of the EU.

Scope:

-Define minimum requirements for safe and secure navigation of automated vessels on European inland waterways, considering technical, operational, and regulatory aspects.
-Conduct pilots utilizing EU Space data (Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus) to demonstrate and validate the findings. Contribute to the EU policy framework for automated vessels on inland waterways and support the work of CESNI.

Topics:

Specific Tasks:
-Definition of operational scenarios
-Identification of user requirements
-Safety case definition and design
-Identification and analysis of challenges and barriers for automated vessels
-Prototype development and design of pilot projects
-Implementation, demonstration and validation of pilot projects
-Outreach activities and advisory group