GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The focus will be on EU Nature and Biodiversity legislation by:

• promoting effective public participation and access to justice in nature and biodiversity policy and legislation related matters amongst the public, NGOs, lawyers, the judiciary, public administrations; and/or
• establishing new or, where in place, enhancing existing cross-border, national or regional networks of compliance assurance practitioners or experts; and/or
• establishing or, where in place, improving professional qualifications and training to improve public participation, access to justice and compliance with binding EU legal instruments on nature and biodiversity, through promoting, checking and enforcing compliance; and/or
• developing and implementing strategies and policies and/or developing and using innovative tools and actions to promote, monitor and enforce compliance with binding EU instruments on nature and biodiversity, including use of administrative law, criminal law and environmental liability; and/or
• improving relevant information systems operated by public authorities; and/or
• engaging with citizens and others to promote and monitor compliance, and ensure application of environmental liability in relation to EU nature and biodiversity legislation.

Promoting good practices, supporting implementation, organising trainings, educational, academic programmes, etc. to ensure effective compliance assurance, public participation and access to justice in nature and biodiversity policy and legislation-related matters amongst the public (including youth and future professionals), NGOs, lawyers, the judiciary, public administrations or other stakeholders with a view to improving knowledge, understanding and application of effective means of public participation and/or access to justice, with a particular focus on protecting nature and biodiversity via the nature, biodiversity, water and environmental liability instruments.

Projects should ensure academic credentials (or certificates) and maximise the potential of information technology through means such as webinars and massive open online courses (MOOCs) to allow distance learning to reach as many practitioners as cost-effectively as possible.

Promotion systems and techniques could involve the use of guidance, advisory services, awareness-raising campaigns, partnership agreements, or self monitoring systems that assist duty-holders to comply with environmental obligations.

Environmental compliance assurance practitioners can include those working for authorities and bodies with compliance assurance responsibilities such as local, regional, police and customs authorities, agencies and inspectorates, supreme public audit bodies, public prosecutors offices and the judiciary. They can also include non governmental organisations, and academics and researchers specialised in one or more aspects of environmental compliance assurance.

Promoting good practices, preparing guidance documents, organising trainings to ensure using an appropriate mix of administrative law, criminal law and environmental liability for a more effective implementation and enforcement of relevant Union environmental law, as well as to ensure more effective public participation and access to justice on environmental matters.