<< Objectives >>TRAINER aims to achieve a shared model for VET needs in Ecological Restoration, identify knowledge from educators/users, that each currently use and may use in the future; detect gaps in knowledge production and transfer; contribute to designing effective vocational training programs that integrate the specificities of the different socio-ecological systems, scientific and technical skills, including language, inclusion and cultural barriers, within a European framework that guarantees quality.<< Implementation >>3 successive activities will provide the core project inputs: survey, focus groups and workshop. A 4th will provide the analysis and recommendations for the final project guidelines on VET improvements in ecological restoration. Finally, two parallel activities will provide quality project management -also integrating KPIs and long term impact measurement-, communication, dissemination and exploitation of activities and results.<< Results >>The project will provide: 1. Identification of needs on training in ecological restoration in the private and public sectors; 2. Outline of a common model of training in restoration ecology; 3. Report summarizing the results of the Knowledge Exchange workshop; 4. Summary of the results and recommendations on training needs in ecological restoration into Guidelines and a manuscript for a scientific paper. 5. Communication and exploitation outcome materials.

The main objectives of the BISON project are: ● To identify future research and innovation needs for a better integration of biodiversity with infrastructure planning, construction, operation and decommissioning. The project will develop a Strategic Research and Deployment Agenda (SRDA) which can be deployed at multiple scales, within the EU research framework programme, or by other regional, national or local programmes, in order to improve the knowledge-base on infrastructure and biodiversity. ● To make linear infrastructure more high performing and reliable while taking into account the specific needs of Western and Eastern Europe. In Western Europe, there is an increasing need to adapt existing long-lived infrastructure to new climate conditions, as well as finding innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of invasive species and support declining native species, while in Eastern Europe, there is significant land-use change and habitat fragmentation due to the surge in infrastructure developments to provide economic opportunities that are threatening the local, and very often endemic biodiversity. The project will identify the construction, maintenance and inspection methods and materials which are long-lasting and resilient and can be used by different transport modes to mitigate pressure on biodiversity. ● Support European Member States to fulfill their international commitments by engaging all stakeholders into biodiversity mainstreaming for infrastructure planning and development. It will do so by providing recommendations to minimise the impacts of infrastructure on biodiversity through supporting existing and developing projects. ● Support European Member States to become political leaders through collaboration and support of European research institutions and infrastructure operators, and providing more sustainability at the international level through jointly addressing biodiversity and infrastructure challenges.

Being one of the main actions of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the European Biodiversity Partnership (Biodiversa+) will coordinate research programmes between EU and its Member States and Associated Countries, mobilising environmental authorities as key partners for implementing biodiversity research and innovation, along with ministries of research, funding organisations, and environmental protection agencies (75 organisations from 37 countries). Biodiversa+ has five overarching objectives: (1) improve monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem services across Europe (status and trends); (2) generate actionable knowledge to tackle the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss; (3) expand and improve the evidence base, and accelerate the development and wide deployment of NbS to meet societal challenges across Europe; (4) make the business case for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity; and (5) ensure efficient science-based support for biodiversity policy making in Europe. Biodiversa+ will meet these objectives by (i) setting up a pan-European network of harmonized monitoring schemes, building on existing national/regional monitoring schemes, creating capacity for setting up new schemes, and feeding into the EC Knowledge Center for Biodiversity; (ii) coordinating research programmes between the EU and its Member States and associated countries, thereby ensuring the long-term pan-European research agenda is co-created and implemented; (iii) contributing science-based methodologies to account for and possibly value ecosystem services and the natural capital, and to assess the dependency and impact of businesses on biodiversity and (iv) better linking of R&I programmes to the policy arena, providing greater input to policy making and improving the assessment of policy efficiency. Doing so, Biodiversa+ will help ensure that, by 2030, nature in Europe is back on a path of recovery, and by 2050 people are living in harmony with Nature.