Collective projects

Over the past decades, abandonment and decay of urban, industrial and rural heritage has occurred in many historic urban areas and cultural landscapes due to reduction of economic activities and closing down of industries. This has led to unemployment, disengagement and economic stagnation. Other areas, in contrast, have implemented regeneration processes, yet these have not always been successful as they were based on top-down decision making and implementation without engaging the local population.

Globally, glaciers and the large ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are particularly vulnerable to climate change, risking a significant future contribution to changes in sea levels. At present, there are significant uncertainties, e.g. relating to their stability, which prevent an accurate assessment of their vulnerability. The 'Arctic amplification' of global warming is putting pressure on the ecosystems and communities of the region and having an impact at global level as well.

It is estimated that by 2050 up to 70% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. Urbanisation affects human health and well-being through factors such as exposure to pollutants, including noise, disasters, stressors and diseases, urban density, lack of physical activity, degraded ecosystems and erosion of natural capital, which can be exacerbated by climate change.

The Paris Agreement notes the importance of taking action to ensure the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity in the context of combatting climate change and adapting to its impacts. An improved understanding of the interactions and feedbacks between ecological processes and climate change, together with evidence-based guidance, is crucial for the development of appropriate solution-oriented strategies and measures for biodiversity conservation and cost-effective ecosystems-based climate change adaptation and mitigation.

As climatic changes increasingly place populations under pressure, human beings are already adapting. However, less developed countries – particularly in Africa – are often less resilient to climate change and require the deployment of appropriate support to adaptation, including in the form of bespoke climate services tailored to users' needs. There is some evidence that climate change may already be playing a role in shaping population migration patterns around the world (e.g. Africa to Europe).

There is a growing demand for water from various economic activities and increasing stress on natural water sources. To secure water for our society, there is therefore a need to make available alternative water resources of various qualities and which are appropriate for different functions and multiple users, and to better exploit water resources and all the valuable substances that could be obtained through the wastewater treatment and reuse process.

Unsustainable, non-resilient urbanisation patterns, the expansion or neglect of urban areas have caused the fragmentation, depletion and destruction of habitats, biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems and their services.

The France-Berkeley Fund invites applications for up to $15,000 in seed funding for new collaborations between faculty and research scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and their counterparts in France.

The various forms of cultural tourism in Europe are important drivers of growth, jobs and economic development of European regions and urban areas. They also contribute, by driving intercultural understanding and social development in Europe through discovering various types of cultural heritage, to the understanding of other peoples' identities and values. However, although cultural tourism by its nature invites cross border regional and local cooperation, its full innovation potential in this respect is not yet fully explored and exploited.

***This call is now closed***

The Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP) is a collaboration among key humanities and social science funders in Europe and the Americas. T-AP aims to enhance transnational research collaboration and has identified, with the help of the social sciences and humanities research communities, a series of common challenges and strategic priority areas where such collaboration will bring added value.