EU-China international cooperation on improving monitoring for better integrated climate and biodiversity approaches, using environmental and Earth observation

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

The successful proposal is aiming to improve terrestrial monitoring as well as maximising synergies with biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation and adaptation, by using or acquiring environmental data, particularly geographically explicit data such as ground-based observation and remote sensed Earth observation data. This with a view to contribute to the objectives of climate-neutrality, adaptation to climate change and reversing biodiversity loss at global levels, with a focus on the EU and China. Synergetic solutions, including nature-based solutions such as the protection, the restoration and the sustainable management of terrestrial land, can contribute to enhancing carbon dioxide removals from the atmosphere, while reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to climate change impacts, and contributing to biodiversity conservation and restoration.

The successful proposal will furthermore contribute to an advanced understanding of science to support integrated climate and biodiversity actions on natural and managed ecosystems and associated economic sectors. It will do so by advancing solutions for monitoring, assessment and projections to support decision-making in better integrated climate and biodiversity policies in terrestrial ecosystems generally.

The successful proposal is expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Protect biodiversity and maximize synergetic benefits of biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation and adaptation based on both remote sensing and ground-based observation;
• Development and exchange of best practices in using ground-based observation and Earth observation data and information, and establish standard and indicator system for biodiversity measurement for better integrated approaches in order to deliver increased synergies between mitigation, adaptation and conservation.
• Geographically-explicit monitoring on regions that has been identified high biodiversity value and/or subject to biodiversity protection and restoration provisions due to high climate risk;
• Strengthen scientific research in supporting of the synergies between the monitoring and reporting frameworks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, for better implementation and progress assessment of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

The EU and China face similar challenges as a result of climate change where it comes to biodiversity related aspects, while reaching climate neutrality will require critical contributions from terrestrial land, including through enhancing net carbon dioxide removals. Similar challenges could benefit from similar actions and defining best practices in improving monitoring of terrestrial ecosystems in order to design better approaches integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation, and biodiversity conservation.

The successful project should provide improvements in biodiversity monitoring infrastructures in support of integrated approaches able to deliver better synergies between mitigation, adaptation and conservation. Such integrated approaches can include a wide range of mitigation options, such as protection and restoring natural ecosystems, sustainable land management practices, sustainable forest and grassland management. Such options, based on a smart use of natural ecological processes and improved technologies, contribute to improving the quality, diversity and resilience of ecosystems, all of which have substantial benefits for biodiversity.

Most monitoring instruments for climate and biodiversity indicators on terrestrial land are carried out in a non-integrated manner and are based on statistical inventories without explicit geographical resolution. Earth observation (including satellite and near surface remote sensing as well as ground based methods), alongside analysis tools such as Geographic Information Systems, can be combined as multiple geographically-explicit data sets. Data acquisition, processing, cross-referencing and coherent integration on terrestrial land require substantial research and innovation investments.

Improving ground-based monitoring for better integrated approaches should assess or set up a strategy to assess the potential of natural and managed terrestrial ecosystems to contribute to:

• climate mitigation, including enhancing net carbon removals,
• climate adaptation, including resilience and disaster risk prevention, and
• protection, conservation and restoration of biodiversity.

Improving existing monitoring, including through designing new datasets and methods to set up a geographically-explicit monitoring of climate and biodiversity aspects fits within the scope of this topic.

The successful proposal should contribute to a strengthened cooperation between the EU and China, also in the context of a better cooperation under the Group on Earth Observations initiatives, building on the climate and biodiversity monitoring networks in China and the EU.

This topic is part of the EU-China flagship initiative on Climate Change and Biodiversity, which will promote substantial coordinated and balanced cooperation between the EU and China and is within the scope of the Administrative Arrangement between the European Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China on a Co-funding Mechanism for the period 2021-2024 to support collaborative research projects under the Food, Agriculture and Biotechnologies (FAB) and the Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) flagship initiatives.

The use of existing data and information coming from e.g. Copernicus and GEOSS is encouraged. Interaction with other actions developed under the EU-China Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) Research Flagship and/or the Flagship on Food, Agriculture and Biotechnologies is encouraged, as well as related topics within Cluster 5 and 6 and existing cooperation between the EU and China on land, including soils.