Developing managed aquifer recharge techniques (MAR) in a rural context
Open
Status as published by the data source.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
• farmers have access to water supply from managed aquifer recharge systems and to appropriate business models to cope with longer and more intense periods of water scarcity due to climate change, while preserving the good status of ground water bodies;
• water ecosystems are healthier and more resilient to climate change, and water related ecosystem services are protected and strengthened, while water resilience of farming systems is increased;
• policy makers are provided with improved insights on mechanisms and instruments to improve the water resilience of the agricultural sector to cope with climate change effects. Scope:
Droughts in the EU are increasing in frequency, magnitude and impact, and the affected area is expanding. Water storage systems can limit abstractions from surface waters and groundwater reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and food systems, and bring the demand and supply of water better in balance, strengthening the resilience of EU agriculture.
Proposals should:
• extend, improve and customize managed aquifer recharge (MAR) techniques at farm, basin and catchment level, covering most representative EU agricultural contexts in view of climate change;
• develop a methodology to help assessing the most suitable location or situations to implement these MAR techniques and validate with a representative sample of case-study regions, taking into account for the differential impact of climate change;
• develop a user-friendly monitoring, reporting and verification system (MRV) to follow the impact on ground water quality and quantity, as well as associated water ecosystems and dependent terrestrial ecosystems;
• evaluate the potential impact and sustainability of managed aquifer recharge techniques in rural areas, including on the groundwater ecosystems, associated water ecosystems and dependent terrestrial ecosystems, and drinking water from a multi-objective approach, and its integration with evidence-based engineered and Nature-based Solutions to reduce runoff, soil erosion and improve landscape climatic resilience;
• calculate the cost-benefits of MAR techniques and propose different business models for the compensation or remuneration of individual farmers or land managers (payments schemes, nature, carbon or water credits, …) for hosting MAR initiatives;
• demonstrate the feasibility of these business models at local level (catchment, river basin, ...) by at least 2 case studies in different pedoclimatic zones and evaluate the possible barriers for adoption by farmers or land managers;
• provide a framework of governance models that could fit the different local socio-economic, regulatory and pedo-climatic conditions. The actions funded under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, as well as to the European Water Resilience Strategy and the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of relevant stakeholders, including farmers, land managers, water governance bodies and local authorities.
Proposals are encouraged to build on the results of relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and ensure collaboration with relevant ongoing and forthcoming projects from the Mission Soil and the Mission Ocean & Waters.
Proposals should follow the Guidance document on managed aquifer recharge techniques of the CIS Working Group on Groundwater [1].
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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
[1] Common implementation strategy for the water framework directive and the floods directive: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/e827bbe4-fe33-11ef-b7db-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
- Status
- Open
- Deadline
- (time not stated)
- Opens
- Published
- Total budget
- €12,000,000
- Grant range
- €6,000,000 – €6,000,000
- Country
- European Union (EU-wide)
- Programme
- Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
- Official page
- Open at the source portal
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All calls under this programme
Similar opportunities
- Increasing the resilience of agriculture in water and nutrient-scarce environments through digital innovations
- Strengthening the resilience of European farmers through improved capacity in coping with risks and crises
- Joint demonstration of solutions to build soil resilience to extreme weather events and support food security
- Strengthening rural communities' resilience to shocks
- Developing methods to assess the presence, functions and sensitivity of groundwater ecosystems
- Improving climate resilience of navigable inland waterways, their surroundings and related water infrastructure
Where this came from
- Source document
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/data/topicDetails/horizon-cl6-2026-01-zeropollution-03.json
- Document fingerprint
32007dddf6e5d710(SHA-256, first 16 hex characters)- Retrieved
- First recorded here
What has changed
- url first recorded as https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl6-2026-01-zeropollution-03 on
- currency first recorded as EUR on
- amount_max first recorded as 6000000.00 on
- amount_min first recorded as 6000000.00 on
- budget_total first recorded as 12000000.00 on
- deadline first recorded as 2026-09-17 on
- opens_on first recorded as 2026-04-17 on
- published_on first recorded as 2025-12-12 on
- status_basis first recorded as source_status on
- status first recorded as open on
- title first recorded as Developing managed aquifer recharge techniques (MAR) in a rural context on
Data source
© European Union, 2026. Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU — CC BY 4.0.
Retrieved from the source on .
The source last updated this document on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:58:23 GMT.
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