The biodiversity-climate change interaction is strong, bi-directional, and often positive (actions in favour of one are also beneficial to the other). While the main drivers of biodiversity loss are habitat degradation, the syndrome of factors directly & indirectly associated with climate change is the dominant threat to biodiversity. It is therefore imperative to understand with sufficient detail and confidence the interactions between biodiversity & climate change so they can be incorporated into decision-support models & tools. By networking 36 funding agencies from 25 countries from Europe & other continents, BiodivClim aims to promote coordinated international research on biodiversity & climate change in all environments, incl. agricultural areas. It will strengthen research & research programmes coordination with the ultimate aim to provide policy makers & other stakeholders with adequate knowledge, tools & practical solutions to improve the conservation & sustainable use of biodiversity & ecosystems under a changing climate. The BiodivClim objectives are to: -Coordinate the research agendas of major European & international research funders to agree on shared research priorities related to biodiversity & climate change -Reinforce collaboration with other relevant initiatives in the field to increase synergies & avoid fragmentation -Design & implement a joint co-funded call for research proposals and a knowledge hub in this field -Promote research collaboration across national borders & disciplines in order to build capacity, exchange best practices & have a lasting effect on the international research community & landscape -Support dialogue & collaboration between academia & stakeholders, and stakeholder engagement in research projects in order to increase the impact of research on policy & practice -Ease rapid & efficient uptake of funded research results by the IPBES & IPCC for their future assessments, & by other relevant initiatives -Reinforce data open access

The EU has nine Outermost Regions (ORs): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint Martin, Réunion, Mayotte; the Canary Islands; and the Azores and Madeira. ORs are an integral part of EU territory but, as Article 349 TFEU recognizes, they differ from the rest of the EU due to their remoteness, their insularity, their small size, their adverse topographical and climatic conditions and their dependence on a limited number of local industries. ORs' participation in Horizon 2020 is inhibited by the fragmentation of the research community due to the geographic isolation but also lack of commitment of research institutions and missing connectivity with excellent partners in Europe and internationally beyond the traditional links with the European mainland of the same country. Therefore, the potential for excellent research activities based on the above described assets remains largely unexploited. The overall objective of the FORWARD project is to improve ORs' excellence in research and their innovation potential to improve their participation in EU research and innovation funded projects and link research activities with territorial development. The project commits the regional governments from the nine ORs in charge of R&I regional policies together with key R&I actors from each region. FORWARD will perform an initial analysis of R&I ecosystems and, based on these results, it will put in place tailored actions including definition of joint strategy and thematic action plans, capacity building and networking activities, and approaches for connecting research and policy-making. Based on a multi-actor, multidisciplinary and cross-sectorial approach, the project will also support the collaboration and networking among representatives of the quadruple helix (university, industry, government and civil society) at regional level and with their counterparts from EU Members States and Third Countries.

The loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems jeopardize the sustainable provision of ecosystem services and are major scientific and societal challenges. Addressing this challenge and providing scientific support to stakeholders and policy makers requires a coherent interdisciplinary research framework, with coordinated strategies and programmes at the national, regional and international levels, which are the relevant scales for many biodiversity issues. By networking 32 funding agencies from 18 countries, BiodivERsA3 aims to strengthen the ERA on biodiversity. Building on the previous experiences of the projects BiodivERsA1&2 and NetBiome, BiodivERsA3 will promote and support coordinated pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services. It will strengthen research and research programmes coordination with the ultimate aim to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with adequate knowledge, tools and practical solutions to address biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. The objectives are to: - Enhance the capacity of the network to coordinate research programmes on biodiversity and ecosystem services more completely in Europe (including overseas territories) and to increase the international dimension of BiodivERsA activities - Develop a strategic, multi-annual vision of the network’s priorities, based on ambitious mapping and foresight activities developed in collaboration with key initiatives in the field - Design and implement a co-funded call and other joint calls to better integrate research on biodiversity and ecosystem services across Europe - Develop a range of other joint activities, in particular alignment of national research programmes for biodiversity and ecosystem services, and activities for promoting mobility and equal opportunities for researchers and reinforcing data sharing - Promote effective science-policy and science-society (including science-business) dialogue during the whole research process