Acronym: INTERCEDE

Title: InceNtivising fuTurE foRest eCosystem sErvices anD incomes in Europe

Call: RIA - HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01

Duration: 48 months

Coordinator: University of Copenhagen

Total EU Contribution: € 5.999.675,00

TESAF Budget: € 222.000,00

Responsible Scientific Officer/Investigator: Paola Gatto

Research Team: Paola Gatto, Mauro Masiero, Davide Pettenella,  Elena Pisani, Giacomo Pagot

GA: 101135159

Brief description: PForests are crucial for climate mitigation, biodiversity protection, water flow regulation, recreational, cultural and health services – and many other forest ecosystem services (FES). Yet, as our key challenge, Europe’s forests at present critically undershoot their potential to deliver FES.
Climate change will affect future FES supply. Societal demand for FES will be complex, and highly dynamic. Some FES economic values are ill explored. Facing these challenges, INTERCEDE will help to better match future FES supply and demand from Europe’s forests. First, we will project theory-informed yet evidence-based scenarios for future FES supply and demand. Second, as recognized in the EU Forest Strategy, Market-Based Instruments(MBI) can be key in improving tailored incentives and incomes for forest owners to manage their forest for socially optimal FES provision. MBI can thus help align FES supply with multidimensional demand. We will comprehensively map and evaluate Europe’s current MBI landscape, adding new rigorous impact evaluations of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes, while also assessing the EU’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) investments froma PES angle. From this, we will develop effective, adaptable and scalable MBI policies. We can only achieve this by systematically connecting research to policy and practice, creating our multi-actor aligned Transdisciplinary Forum as a key interface.
The consortium will mid-way in the project set up an Accelerator Service for (new or pre-existing) PES and MBI schemes, piloting new designs and MBI business models to boost the development, outcomes and impacts of targeted interventions.

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