Background
The diversity of habitats and species is a central foundation of human well-being.Intact ecosystems provide indispensable services such as clean air and pure water, fertile soils, food and wood as well as natural recreation and quality of life. At the same time, intensification and standardization of land and water use continue to lead to a considerable loss of biodiversity.
Digitalization offers considerable potential to effectively support environmental, climate and biodiversity protection. The ability to collect and process large amounts of data can make ecological relationships transparent, enable data-based decisions and make planning, implementation and management processes efficient and sustainable. At the same time, there are often deficits in the use of digital methods in terms of target clarity, indicator reference, interoperability, data availability and social integration. In addition, demographic change is further exacerbating the situation in environmental protection: numerous engineering and planning offices, environmental experts and specialist bodies in administrations and consulting practices are facing age-related retirements, while there is a lack of qualified young talent.
The German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) therefore sees an increasing need to manage environmental tasks efficiently by using digital processes despite a shortage of skilled workers. At the same time, it sees the dynamic development of digital technologies as an opportunity to develop innovative and effective measures for the protection of biodiversity and sustainable land use. The DBU expressly sees digitalization as an instrument for promoting ecological impact, not as an end in itself.
Against this backdrop, there is a particular need to further develop and use digital technologies in a targeted manner so that they have a concrete ecological impact and at the same time address existing capacity bottlenecks in planning, implementation and management. With the funding initiative “Digital.nature.landscape – practical innovations for biodiversity, climate and soil“, the DBU addresses innovative digital solutions for sustainable land use.
Aim of the funding initiative
The aim of the funding initiative is to develop, test and transfer interoperable, scalable and sustainable digital applications for key environmental objectives of land use. The digital developments should make a measurable contribution to environmental protection in land use and at the same time facilitate the implementation of environmental tasks in planning, enforcement and management.
The focus is particularly on the topics of biodiversity (recording, monitoring and management), climate adaptation and water management (drought, heat and heavy rainfall prevention as well as water retention and use) and soil protection (erosion, soil moisture and site assessment).
Funding is provided for practical model and pilot projects with a clear environmental impact, measurable indicators and a high degree of practical applicability. The projects should provide for open interfaces, suitable data standards and, where possible, open source components and ensure transferability to other regions and fields of application. The environmental impacts should be described appropriately for the project and, where possible, presented in a comprehensible manner using suitable indicators.
In particular, projects that use digital technologies specifically to record, evaluate and control ecological processes are eligible for funding. The following thematic priorities describe central fields of application of the funding call. The examples given are not exhaustive and serve as a guide.
Thematic focus of the funding
Biodiversity
Funding is provided for digital applications that support engineering and planning offices, municipalities and other practitioners in recording and evaluating biodiversity in an efficient, comprehensible and standardized manner and integrating it into planning and decision-making processes. Exemplary approaches are
- Digital tools to support mapping and species conservation assessments, e.g. by pre-structuring survey data or AI-supported evaluation of image, audio or drone data
- Applications for the automated processing of biodiversity-related data for expert opinions, compensation and replacement concepts.
- Digital solutions for documenting and updating measures and monitoring concepts, including indicator-based performance reviews.
- Municipal or regional biodiversity dashboards that bundle monitoring and mapping data and make it usable for landscape planning tasks, compensation and replacement measures as well as for reporting and verification obligations.
- Interface solutions that integrate biodiversity and monitoring data in a structured and automated way into existing planning, GIS or specialist applications.
Climate adaptation
Funding is provided for digital applications for the assessment, planning and implementation of climate-adapted land and water use that make it easier to deal with drought, heat and heavy rainfall events. The focus is on locally and regionally applicable solutions with high practical relevance. Exemplary approaches are
- Decision-making aids in planning processes, e.g. for selecting measures in the event of drought or heavy rain risks.
- Digital tools for the integration of climate-related data in planning and approval documents.
- Applications for the ongoing review and adaptation of implemented measures based on current climate and location data.
Soil protection
Funding is provided for digital applications for site-specific assessment and planning of soil-conserving management in agricultural, forestry and planning contexts. Exemplary approaches are
- Digital tools for rapid site assessment as part of planning, consulting or approval processes.
- Applications for forecasting and assessing soil-related risks, such as erosion or compaction.
- Digital solutions for documenting soil-related measures and their impact.
Quality assurance of digital environmental applications
Funding is provided for projects that ensure the quality, transparency and ecological significance of digital environmental applications and thus improve the technical security in planning, implementation and approval. Exemplary approaches are
- Validation and verification concepts for the traceability of digital assessments in expert opinions and planning documents.
- Standardized documentation and reporting modules for official enforcement and technical supervision.
- Comparison of the effects of digital and conventional working methods in the context of specific service profiles.
Application
The funding initiative is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and collaborations between practitioners and research institutions. Individual applications from SMEs are expressly encouraged. Eligible applicants include in particular
- Engineering and planning offices for nature and species conservation, environmental planning and landscape ecology,
- Agricultural and forestry operations and associated advisory and experimental facilities.
- Start-ups and technology companies in the fields of software, sensor technology and data-/AI-based applications.
- Universities and non-university research institutions.
- Associations, foundations and non-governmental organizations with an environmental or digitalization focus.
Please note the DBU’s current funding guidelines. Under Project funding – DBU you will find all the important information for your application.
Here you will find thematically suitable project examples: