The European project SELINA has been awarded 13 million euros in EU funding to help decision-makers achieve the ambitious goals of the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Green Deal.

Bringing together experts from 50 partner organisations from all 27 EU member states, Norway, Switzerland, Israel, and the United Kingdom, SELINA will develop a knowledge base that will create never-before-seen opportunities for evidence-based decision-making that supports the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of our environment.

Coordinated by Leibniz University Hannover, SELINA (Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decIsions about Natural capital) will span 5 years (July 2022–2027) and build upon its predecessor project, ESMERALDA (Enhancing ecoSysteM sERvices mApping for poLicy and Decision mAking). While ESMERALDA focused on mapping and evaluating ecosystems, their resources and ecosystem services (ES), SELINA will focus on how the ES methods and data that have been developed in recent years can be implemented.

Utilising EU-wide demonstration projects, workshops and multi-disciplinary Communities of Practice, the Project will produce a Compendium of Guidance—a model to support decision-making that is in-line with the European Union’s long-term plan to protect nature and reverse damage to ecosystems.

The project’s official Kick-off Meeting, organised by Leibniz University Hannover and Prof. Benjamin Burkhard (Director, Institute of Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology), will take place in Hannover, Germany, on 14–17 September 2022.