The BIO-CAPITAL Data Management Plan (DMP) serves as a foundational document to guide the management, sharing, and preservation of all data collected and generated throughout the project. With BIO-CAPITAL’s focus on biodiversity protection, sustainable financing mechanisms, and advanced space technology, the DMP is structured to address the complexities and interdisciplinary nature of these fields. The DMP ensures data quality, accessibility, and compliance with ethical and regulatory standards while facilitating data sharing and reusability in support of project objectives.

The BIO-CAPITAL Project Handbook is designed to provide a clear and concise guide to the procedures, management practices and tools essential for the successful execution of the project. Its purpose is to ensure that all consortium members have a common understanding of the project’s structure, their roles, and the processes that govern project activities. By establishing a uniform framework for collaboration, this handbook facilitates effective communication, streamlines workflows and fosters a collaborative environment among all stakeholders. Serving as a vital resource, the handbook offers the necessary information and guidelines to navigate the complexities of the project.

The Use Cases Description deliverable plays a crucial role in the success of the BIO-CAPITAL project. It offers a detailed exploration of real-world scenarios where innovative financial mechanisms and advanced geospatial technologies are applied to support biodiversity conservation. These use cases serve as practical examples, illustrating the challenges, solutions, and outcomes associated with integrating biodiversity protection into sustainable forest management, land restoration, and conservation efforts.

This report (D2.1) provides a structured and critical assessment of 13 key EU policies complemented by specific use-case analysis. It examines key ecological and sectoral instruments, including the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Soil Monitoring Directive/Law (SML), the Pollinators’ Initiative, and the Land Use, Land Use Change, Forestry Regulation (LULUCF), alongside major EU sustainable finance and disclosure frameworks such as the EU Taxonomy, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), European Green Bond Standard (EU-GBS) and the European Single Access Point (ESAP). The analysis evaluates strengths, weaknesses, synergies, and
inconsistencies, with a particular focus on their implications for investment conditions.

This deliverable synthesises insights from a literature review, financial instrument analysis, and stakeholder engagement to identify the conditions needed to scale credible, investable biodiversity finance across the European Union (EU). This analysis takes place during a rapidly evolving policy landscape. Recent initiatives, including the Competitive Compass (CC) , the Saving and Investment Union (SIU), the Omnibus packages, the Clean Industrial Deal, and the Affordable Energy Action Plan (AEAP), were introduced to reflect the EU ambition to streamline frameworks and enhance competitiveness. As these initiatives take shape, they recalibrate the balance between simplification and regulatory ambition, creating a valuable opportunity to reinforce coherence and bolster the credibility of the sustainable‑finance framework.

This report responds directly to that challenge. Building on the regulatory analysis undertaken in D2.1 Policy and financial framework for biodiversity protection investments and the assessment of financial mechanisms, barriers, and enablers presented in the report D2.2 Mapping opportunities, barriers, bottlenecks and enablers to the implementation of financial mechanisms, it shifts the focus to market actors themselves. By examining how different classes of investors engage with biodiversity finance, this document provides a structured lens through which policymakers, financial institutions, project developers, and intermediaries can better align investment opportunities with investors’ expectations. The analysis recognises that there is no single pathway to scaling biodiversity finance. Banks, institutional investors, private equity funds, impact investors, philanthropic organisations, and private individuals each operate under distinct mandates, constraints, and decision-making frameworks.

This report presents the Catalogue of Geospatial Data that will be used for evaluating and monitoring biodiversity uplift across designated use case areas. By compiling and organizing a comprehensive collection of geospatial datasets, including satellite images, land cover maps, and other spatial assets, we aim to provide researchers and stakeholders with the data necessary to monitor areas of interest, make informed decisions and drive effective conservation efforts.

This deliverable entails a vector database covering the extent of each case study area. The database contains polygons for the delineation of the main ecosystems present in the area. Each polygon is described with biotic (land cover proportions) and abiotic (topography, soil and climate) variables that indicate the potential habitat in the area covered.

This deliverable report documents the detection algorithms designed to analyse temporal variations in ecosystems using Earth observation data. Building on the spatial layers and observable parameters defined in previous WP3 tasks, these methods apply time-series analysis to detect and quantify changes such as land use evolution, vegetation dynamics, or disturbances. By generating indicators based on temporal patterns, the deliverable supports the monitoring of biodiversity trends over time.

This document presents one of the first integrated blueprints developed within the project, a business model and financing architecture anchored in the France Use Case (UC), but intended as a replicable reference for agricultural and landscape systems across Europe. This deliverable introduces a conceptual investment blueprint. The aim is not to define operational parameters, ticket sizes, business plans, or investor-ready instruments, but instead to provide the design logic of a financial architecture capable of converting verified ecological performance into enforceable cashflows, which serves as an essential step toward scalable biodiversity finance.

This deliverable produces: i) a robust and adaptable PES framework that addresses the needs and objectives of WP4 and all UCs, ii) a legal and contractual framework for PES schemes that ensures consistency between UCs and various regions, and iii) enhanced stakeholder engagement and a comprehensive approach to the agro-ecological transition and sustainable Alpine forest management practices.

This deliverable produces the Triple Capital Accounting Report for Business Cases to be used for the BIO-CAPITAL project.

This deliverable produces the simulated insurance models and their what-if scenario analysis for each use case (UC). The models will be financially backtested by creating close-to-real-life simulations of each use case. The simulations will be based on remote sensing data, official statistics and UC managers’ feedback as data sources. A report will be provided, including the assessment of the technical and financial feasibility of each insurance model.

The Map of Ecosystem Groups of Similar Biodiversity Potential (MEGSBP) deliverable plays a crucial role in the success of the BIO-CAPITAL project. It is a baseline map primarily designed for the framing of the biodiversity certificates. It allows to spatially extrapolate the outcomes of the project from the Use Case level to the regional level, and to use generic information at the UC level.

This deliverable proposes a methodological framework for assessing biodiversity uplift across several European socio-ecosystems, including forests, arable land, grasslands, and riparian corridors. The objective is to support the development of biodiversity-related financial mechanisms by identifying measurable and operational indicators capable of linking ecological restoration efforts with certification and investment approaches.

This Stakeholder Engagement Strategy sets out how BIO-CAPITAL will involve diverse actors –
from policymakers and land stewards to private investors and civil society – in co-designing
effective, credible approaches to nature finance. By integrating tools such as biodiversity
certificates, payments for ecosystem services, and nature-based solutions, the project aims to
unlock scalable investment pathways.

The BIO-CAPITAL project represents a significant interdisciplinary effort to protect and restore biodiversity through innovative financial solutions and advanced geospatial analytics. This report, Deliverable D5.4., presents prototypes of biodiversity certificates on use cases. It is the result of implementation of biodiversity certificates with use cases on pilot sites, to learn from operational realities and consolidate general recommendations on the development of this mechanism. It therefore introduces the notion of biodiversity financing plan, which combines practice-based taxonomies and outcome-based indicators in a coherent package co-contructed with local communities to maximize stakeholder engagement towards biodiversity uplift.

Compared to Deliverable 5.4, Deliverable 5.5 will go one step further by studying conditions to set a local market for biodiversity certificates. It will focus on the financial engineering associated to the delivery of biodiversity certificates and articulation with financial instruments (e.g., PES, Green Bonds). It will explore: concrete business cases for private financing, pricing strategies (in connection with cost of implementing practices), temporality of emission (ex-ante and/or ex-post), possible units associated to biodiversity certificates, rules for communication and claims, as well as tools needed to fluid transactions.

This Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation Plan outlines the target audiences, key messages, and a range of communication channels and formats to be used for all BIO-CAPITAL outreach activities. The consortium members will actively contribute to the dissemination efforts. Beyond scientific publications, conferences, and events, project dissemination will also leverage partners’ existing channels and media outlets to engage non-scientific audiences and target groups beyond core industry and financial stakeholders.

This document outlines the development, functionality, and strategic role of the BIO-CAPITAL website, which acts as a hub for project updates, research findings, and engagement opportunities. Designed to facilitate communication and knowledge exchange, the website plays a vital role in showcasing the project’s interdisciplinary approach, integrating innovative financial mechanisms with biodiversity conservation efforts.

This deliverable report documents the development and content of a policy brief addressed to national ministries and authorities responsible for developing National Restoration Plans (NRPs) under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, as well as to organisations contributing to biodiversity finance policy at EU and national level. The deliverable is part of Work Package 6 (Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation) and translates BIO-CAPITAL’s empirical and analytical research findings into concrete, actionable policy guidance for a defined high-relevance audience.

As with D6.3, this deliverable documents the process leading to the publication of a second policy recommendation. It is intended to incorporate the project findings available at this later stage of the project and to serve as the basis for evidence-based policy recommendations.

As the project draws to a close, this iteration of the DCEP will provide a strategic framework for communicating and disseminating the project results during the final phase of the project and beyond.