The EU Commission has ringfenced €4.7 million to fund a project aimed at mobilising private investment in biodiversity conservation and restoration measures.

Dubbed Bio-Capital and funded under the Horizon Europe scheme, the project will run until Dec. 2027 and see the collaboration of 17 partners across 13 European countries, including Italy, Germany, and France.

Hynek Roubik, associate professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and project coordinator, said the project will focus on activating innovative financing mechanisms and integrating technological advances.

“The application of remote sensing technology offers valuable insights into the health and status of ecosystems, enabling targeted and effective protection and restoration efforts,” said Roubik.

“This technology can help identify areas at risk of environmental degradation, facilitating proactive conservation measures,” he added.

By harnessing remote sensing data, Bio-Capital will co-design and promote a model for funding nature protection and restoration, as it said the public sector alone may be insufficient to plug the financing gap on biodiversity.

“[Our] model will not only benefit the environment but also secure investor confidence, making it a viable and attractive option for private investment,” Roubik said.

Technology-based monitoring tools are increasingly recognised as key to channelling investments towards nature, with European bodies stepping up their efforts to finance new initiatives.

The European Space Agency (ESA) – which is not under the EU’s jurisdiction, although they have strengthened ties over the last two decades – recently agreed to fund the development of a biodiversity monitoring tool leveraging satellite imagery.

In recent months, conservation organisations as well as EU environment ministers have repeatedly expressed concern over the level of finance needed to advance conservation efforts.

Earlier this week, Prague-based non-profit CEE Bankwatch released a joint statement penned by several EU environmental NGOs, calling on governments to prioritise during the ongoing discussion around the bloc’s long-term budget for 2028-35, due to be finalised by 2025.

In May, a high-level expert group on sustainable finance advised the EU Commission to scale up the biodiversity credit market as one of the potential means to boost private investments.

By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com

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