LIFE 2026 Strategic Nature Projects (SNAP) — Biodiversity & Nature Restoration

Enriched EU · Found: 2026-05-06 11:57

LIFE Strategic Nature Projects (SNAPs) fund the full implementation of national/regional biodiversity strategies: Prioritised Action Frameworks (Habitats Directive), National Restoration Plans (Nature Restoration Regulation), and related biodiversity strategies. EUR 75M budget, EUR 10-25M per project, solo NGO eligible, deadline Sep 3 2026.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/LIFE-2026-STRAT-NAT-SNAP-two-stage

Funding Details

Funder

European Commission / CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency)

Funding Goal

Support the full implementation of EU nature and biodiversity plans and strategies including Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs, Habitats Directive), National Restoration Plans (EU Nature Restoration Regulation 2024/1991), and national/regional biodiversity strategies, including marine and coastal ecosystem restoration.

Funding Amount

EUR 10-25 million per project; total budget EUR 75 million for LIFE 2026 SNAP; project duration 5-10 years in phases (10.000.000 € – 25.000.000 €)

Deadline

2026-09-03 (Fixed)

How to Apply

Two-stage: concept note due 3 September 2026 (17:00 Brussels); full proposal due 4 March 2027. Submit via EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Revolving programming in phases, each phase minimum 3 years.

Target Region

EU Member States and associated countries; projects implement national/regional nature and biodiversity plans; marine and coastal ecosystems explicitly eligible

Contact

CINEA — cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life; CINEA LIFE National Contact Points per Member State

Last Checked

2026-05-06 11:57

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Applicant must be registered in EU Member State or associated country
• Must target an officially adopted Prioritised Action Framework (PAF), National Restoration Plan, or biodiversity strategy
• Demonstrate formal mandate or operational link to the targeted plan
• 60% EU co-funding; 40% non-EU co-funding required

Project Scope

• Marine and coastal ecosystems (Natura 2000 marine sites, NRP marine habitats) explicitly in scope
• Must include concrete conservation/restoration measures and institutional capacity building

Required Documents

• Two-stage submission: concept note Sep 3 2026, full proposal Mar 4 2027

Constraints

• Other EU funding cannot serve as co-funding within SNAP budget itself
• Project duration 5-10 years in phases (each phase minimum 3 years)
• Must actively involve main stakeholders (nature authorities, NGOs, municipalities) as associated beneficiaries

Summary

The LIFE 2026 Strategic Nature Projects (LIFE-2026-STRAT-NAT-SNAP) is the biodiversity counterpart to the SIP ENV, providing grants of EUR 10-25 million per project over 5-10 years to catalyse the full implementation of EU nature and biodiversity legal frameworks. The programme is managed by CINEA and is open with a first-stage concept note deadline of 3 September 2026 and full-proposal deadline of 4 March 2027. Total budget is EUR 75 million for the 2026 SNAP call. The programme objectives are to support the full implementation of three categories of plans: (1) Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs) pursuant to the Habitats Directive (Article 8, Council Directive 92/43/EEC), which set out the prioritised conservation and restoration measures for Natura 2000 sites including marine Natura 2000 areas; (2) National Restoration Plans (NRPs) pursuant to Article 14 of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (EU 2024/1991), which require Member States to restore degraded ecosystems including marine and coastal habitats; and (3) other national or regional biodiversity strategies intrinsically linked to EU nature legislation (EU Biodiversity Strategy, pollinators initiative, invasive alien species regulation). Eligible activities include concrete conservation and restoration measures, institutional support and capacity building for competent authorities, mobilisation and coordination of additional EU and national finance for complementary restoration actions, stakeholder engagement and co-delivery, adaptive programming through revolving phases, and policy change or rule adaptation to remove barriers to plan implementation. Marine and coastal ecosystem restoration is explicitly cited as contributing to Mission Ocean objectives. Geographically, SNAPs are implemented within EU Member States or associated countries, targeting a specific national or regional nature plan. Baltic Sea and North Sea Natura 2000 marine sites, coastal habitat restoration (seagrass, saltmarsh, reefs), and marine biodiversity strategies are all potentially in scope under the marine/coastal axis of national PAFs and Restoration Plans. Eligible applicants include any legal entity registered in an EU Member State or associated country — NGOs, public authorities, research institutions, municipalities. Solo applicants are allowed (no consortium requirement), though SNAPs by their nature involve many associated beneficiaries including nature management authorities. The 60% EU co-funding rate applies; 40% must come from non-EU sources. Target beneficiaries include Natura 2000 site managers, national biodiversity authorities, nature management NGOs, fishing communities dependent on healthy marine ecosystems, and ultimately the marine and terrestrial ecosystems being restored. The instrument has EUR 75M available in 2026, with each project typically mobilising 5-10x that amount in complementary investments through coordinated national funding.

Historical Context

LIFE SNAPs launched in 2016 as the biodiversity parallel to environment SIPs. They run annually with a September concept note deadline. Past SNAPs include LIFE IP NATURALIA (Spain Natura 2000), LIFE IP INNONATURE (Hungary), LIFE IP WOLF LIFE (several countries, wolf recovery). In 2025 the concept note deadline was 4 September 2025. The instrument recurs every year. Marine/coastal PAF implementation has featured in past SNAPs in coastal Member States.

Why it was added

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