Division Waste and Resource efficiency — Annex III, section A, point (b)(iii)

Projects under the thematic priorities for Resource Efficiency, including soil and forests, and green and circular economy will focus on the implementation of the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, the EU action plan for the Circular Economy^f1, the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection^f2 and the 2013 EU Forest Strategy^f3.

With respect to industrial symbiosis, knowledge transfer and the shift towards a circular and green economy, particular attention should be given to circular/resource efficient, environmentally sound performance of businesses, consumer policy, new business and consumption models, and value chains. Public support to circular economy has been so far biased toward ‘recycling’, while projects for reuse, repair and remanufacturing are underrepresented^f4. If implemented along (local) value chains the circular economy has a big potential to create positive social effects for example with respect to job market integration of underprivileged individuals and formalising activities in the shadow economy. Projects addressing the circular economy are invited to consider these aspects alongside the direct measurable environmental impact. These value chains will address the priority sectors, and thus also promote the implementation of the upcoming ‘Strategy on Plastics in the Circular Economy’^f5.

With regard to soil protection, there is a need to improve soil management and, in particular, to limit and mitigate soil sealing. Soil-related data collected in the project should be provided to the relevant regional, national and/or EU databases.

Projects targeting forests are expected to contribute to forest monitoring by providing any relevant data they may generate to current or future European forest information systems. On the other hand, there is a need to find cost-efficient close-to-nature or similar alternative silvicultural approaches to planted even-aged and single-species stands in order to further boost biodiversity and resilience. Particular efforts should be made to prevent the outbreak of forest fires, to minimise the conditions for their progression, and to increase overall forest resilience, especially in protected areas such as the Natura 2000 sites which hold a large proportion of forests and represent the backbone of the EU nature protection action.

Priority will therefore be given to the following project topics: