Funding Opportunity
This ‘Nature-based Solutions’ opportunity provides funding to teams who would like to develop a service related to nature-based solutions applications. Funding will be provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) for 6-month studies called ‘Kick-Starts’, which can lead onto larger scale Demonstration Projects. Kick-Starts are funded at 75% by ESA for a maximum of €75K per contract. Proposed services must use satellite data or space-based technologies. Please see the ‘Authorisation of Funding’ section below to check whether your team is eligible for funding.
The Challenge
The Anthropocene poses some serious obstacles for society — climate change, threatened biodiversity, and ensuring human health and wellbeing are all momentous challenges that will define the 21st century. To move forward, these interdependent challenges need to be addressed together through synergistic solutions.
Nature-based Solutions (NBS) leverage the power of healthy ecosystems to enhance protections for society, optimise infrastructure, and ensure a biodiverse future. Take for example, the environmental and social co-benefits that come with green infrastructure, including carbon storage, air and water quality improvements compared to cities without green infrastructure. As a result of the promise of NBS, it has been endorsed at the highest levels, including by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Global Centre on Adaptation, and has been highlighted as a key action under the UN Climate Action Summit 2019.
The exploitable applications for NBS are wide-ranging and span many verticals. There is currently interest and demand for solutions that improve the efficiency in planning, implementing, and monitoring of ecosystem services. This is reflected in the growing number of data-driven tools that are reducing the technical barriers in quantifying the benefits from natural systems, many of which are driven by satellite-derived data.
There is significant scope for NBS management and implementation to benefit from digital technologies such as AI and IoT devices leveraged by space assets such as satellite Earth observation (SatEO), satellite navigation (Satnav), and satellite communications (Satcom). This includes the use of satellite imagery to highlight areas for ecosystem restoration, monitor green spaces for changes in habitat condition, engage Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services to geo-reference sites for NBS, as well as supporting the monitoring of systems that foster biodiversity through communication/IoT services.
Topics of Relevance
Some relevant topics that have been identified for this Kick-Start are outlined below:
Ecosystem restoration
In 2011, the global value of ecosystem services was estimated to average $125 trillion/yr. The widespread recognition of ecosystem services in recent decades has reframed the relationship between humans and nature. It has given a better understanding of the role nature plays as a critical component of human wellbeing and sustainability. The valuation of ecosystem services is not the same as privatising or commodifying them, as most ecosystem services are public or common assets. Rather, the valuation of ecosystem services is a reflection on the contribution of nature to society.
A wide range of ecosystem services are and will be affected by a spectrum of anthropogenic factors in the near to medium future. Pressures are and will be measurable on a local scale, such as the release of excess nutrients from intensive arable practices into water bodies, causing eutrophication and subsequent biodiversity loss. Pressures are and will also be measurable on a global scale, such as the loss of ecosystems to changing land use and the rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, these pressures will not be felt equally everywhere. It is likely that the impact on ecosystem services will be asymmetrical — affecting the most vulnerable human populations first.
Space applications can help improve ecosystem monitoring and restoration efforts. A list of potential applications can be found below:
- biodiversity monitoring services, informing on the type and variation in species and / or indices for ecosystem services
- planning of restoration efforts
- change detection services to monitor ecosystem restoration efforts over time and / or the value offered by ecosystem services by comparing intervened to non-intervened sites
Potential users include, for instance, public authorities, environmental organisations, policy makers and corporates in sectors such as agriculture.
Urban resilience
Most cities in the world are inherently polluting and affect both human health and the environment, which is largely a consequence of urban population growth. Over 50% of the global population now live in urban areas, which is predicted to rise to 70% by 2050. Yet, record climate extremes are reducing urban liveability and threatening infrastructure. It is certain that cities will soon come under greater strain to remain sustainable whilst also supporting their growing population. As a result, there is increasing interest in incorporating ecosystems into urban planning and design to enhance urban liveability. This includes ecological services such as the use of green corridors to enable dispersal of plants and animals whilst also improving stormwater management or increasing green cover to lower the temperature of cities and provide shade in times of heatwaves.
Municipalities and governments have been turning to new and innovative solutions that make use of technological and nature-based measures, providing co-benefits in addressing complex socioecological issues. In England, since January 2024 developers are required to deliver 10% “Biodiversity Net Gain” when building new housing, industrial or commercial developments. This means they are legally obligated by law to deliver a net positive for the local environment, for example by creating new habitats and green spaces. Biodiversity Net Gain for small sites will still be applicable from April 2024, and implementation for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects remains planned for 2025. Municipalities around the world are also adopting similar policies, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Singapore, San Francisco, and Vancouver.
Potential applications are outlined below:
- Services to monitor and evaluate NBS in cities, including quality and change in habitats over time
- Services in support of urban planning
Potential users include councils, urban planners, and construction companies.
Nature-related risks, opportunities, and disclosures
According to the World Economic Forum, NBS can provide up to 30% or more of the progress required to meet emission mitigation targets yet receive less than 8% of public climate finance globally. As it stands, there is currently a biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, as well as $500 billion reduction in subsidies required that are harmful to biodiversity. Pivoting businesses and financial institutions towards biodiversity finance is essential to bridge this gap. The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to address the biodiversity finance gap by 2050. Specifically, target 19 of the GBF is to increase the level of financial resources substantially and progressively from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public, and private resources.
The need to pivot towards biodiversity-friendly finance is evident from organisations building knowledge bases for businesses and financial institutions. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has recently made a set of recommendations that are designed to help businesses and financial institutions anticipate upcoming regulatory shifts such as the GBF. It assists companies in assessing, disclosing, and managing nature-related risks and impacts, with the objective of fostering consistent and comparable reporting on nature-related risks and impacts by businesses and financial institutions worldwide, encouraging nature-positive actions.
Potential applications:
- Services supporting the identification, assessment, management and disclosure of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities
- Services in support of biodiversity and nature financing
Potential users include corporates and financial organisations (asset managers, investors, banks).
Value of Space
Satellite navigation (Satnav), satellite communications (Satcom) and Earth observation (SatEO) all have important roles to play in improving nature-based solutions:
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS/Satnav) can enable precise geolocation of IoT devices, allowing accurate mapping and monitoring of anthropogenic activities and their impact on biodiversity. These devices could also be embedded in urban infrastructure to geo-locate NBS. The information collected by IoT devices can be geo- and time-referenced.
Satellite Earth Observation (SatEO) can be used to enable NBS through the transparent characterization of ecosystem markets. SatEO can also be used for high-resolution mapping of urban areas, identifying green spaces, water bodies, and potential areas for implementing NBS. Data analytics can process SatEO to assess the effectiveness of NBS, including the quality and change in habitat over time. High Spectral Resolution (HSR) imagery allows for more detailed assessments, characterising and estimating biophysical parameters for plants. Moreover, HSR imagery enables biodiversity monitoring services to inform on the type and variation in species and/or indices for ecosystem services.
Satellite Communications (Satcom) Satellite communications technology, embedded in urban infrastructure, can leverage IoT sensors to monitor the performance of NBS in real-time. This includes data on soil moisture levels, plant health, air quality, temperature, and other relevant metrics. In particularly remote areas, satellite connectivity services can connect remote weather stations or sensors that monitor ecosystem services.
What we look for
Kick-Start activities explore the business opportunity and the technical viability of new applications and services that exploit one or more space assets (e.g. Satellite Communications, Satellite Navigation, Earth Observation, Human Spaceflight Technology).
This call for Kick-Start activities is dedicated to the theme ‘Nature-based solutions’, which means that the call is open to companies that intend to develop space-enabled applications and services supporting the development, financing, monitoring and assessment of nature-based solutions but not restricted to the topics of relevance mentioned above.
What we offer
We offer funding and support to companies, both for business case assessment and for the development of new, space-based services.
Our offer includes:
- Technical & commercial guidance
- Access to our network and partners
- Use of the ESA brand for your service
- Zero-equity funding
Each activity selected will receive 75% funding by the European Space Agency of up to 100K.
How to apply
- Register your team on esa-star today at https://esastar-emr.sso.esa.int
- When the Kick-Start opens on 23 September 2024 please visit esa-star Publication and search for this Nature based solutions opportunity to download the official competition documents at https://esastar-publication.sso.esa.int.
- Use the official documents to prepare your proposal.
- Reach out to your National Delegate (if applicable) to request a Letter of Authorisation. Contact details of each National Delegate can be found here: National Delegations | ESA Space Solutions
- Submit your proposal via esa-star tendering before the deadline of 20 November 2024.
Authorisation of funding
ESA Space Solutions can provide funding to perform Kick-Start activities to any company (economic operator) residing in the following Member States: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. United Kingdom, Germany and Luxembourg have pre-authorised the funding to this call. Applicants from these countries do not need to obtain a letter of authorisation from their National Delegation.
Webinar
Please join our webinar on 2 October at 11:00 CEST via the link at the top of the page.