Why are we running this project?
Agriculture in Europe faces considerable climate risks and is already being affected by the consequences of climate change. At the same time, the requirements for rural areas are high and increasingly complex: in addition to producing food, they are supposed to perform a range of socially important yet to some extent competing functions, e.g. protecting nature and biodiversity, providing space for leisure activities, and serving as sites for renewable energy production and carbon capture.
Holistic solutions are needed to enable farmers and communities in rural regions to address the competing objectives that these differing requirements entail and to shape the transformation process with determination. Precisely because the opportunities and risks in this transformation process are unevenly distributed, it is important to address disadvantages and inequalities as a challenge for society as a whole. We will only be able to develop future-proof solutions, if the stakeholders concerned play an active role in shaping them.
What are our goals?
The objective of the funding program is to help establish models and good practice for multi-stakeholder processes that drive forward regenerative land use at the local level in the EU. An inclusive and just transition is an opportunity not only to achieve climate and environmental targets but also to address societal challenges such as existing inequalities and to strengthen rural communities. The program aims to empower stakeholders in rural regions in their capacity to take action, to obtain new insights into socioecological transformations on the basis of local knowledge and generate new perspectives and impetus for policymakers.
How does the project work?
We provide funding for projects in the EU that establish cross-sectoral exchange between practitioners in agriculture and environmental protection, actors in civil society, politics, business and science, and citizens at the local level. Projects in rural regions are supported, as are those that strengthen urban-rural relations. We are particularly interested in initiatives that directly target practitioners in agriculture and support them in actively shaping the transformation process.
The funding is intended to launch new initiatives, improve the visibility of existing model projects and best-practice approaches, and enable them to be transferred and upscaled.
Who is the project aimed at?
Non-profit organisations from all EU Member States can apply. Cross-border initiatives are also possible.
Applications can be submitted via the Foundation's portal, please choose the topic "climate change".
Projects can receive funding between €20,000 and €80,000. The project measures are to be implemented over a period of up to 18 months. Follow-up financing is generally possible for successful initiatives.