Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions: Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Greening

Belgrade, June 13, 2022 - With the support of the European Union, and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia announced the Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions: Forests and Green Infrastructure for Improving Natural Capital and Climate Resilience. 

This challenge aims to support the implementation of innovative ideas that will contribute to increasing the forested area and improving the functionality of ecosystems, thus enriching the biodiversity and increasing the resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather events caused by climate change. The application of these ideas in practice will contribute to a healthier environment, further accelerate the green transformation of the economy and society, and the implementation of the EU Green Agenda in Serbia. 

Best solutions under this call will receive mentoring and technical support, while co-financing will be provided to the most successful among them, so that these ideas may be applied in practice.  

All interested local self-government units, public companies, managers of protected areas, and/or cooperatives can apply for projects on publicly owned land and all interested forest owners (e.g. cooperatives, associations, companies) can apply for projects on forest and agricultural land in private and cooperative ownership, until Monday, July 25, 2022, at 16:00. 

Project applications that result in the formation of forests and green urban areas by using diverse indigenous species of forest vegetation would be particularly welcomed. Also, projects that have multiple benefits for local communities, such as better air quality, improvement of biodiversity, preservation of the quality of agricultural land, and greater absorption of carbon dioxide - will be prioritised. 

This Challenge Call for Innovative Solutions is published within the "EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia" project, which, with the financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and EIB.