The BELLUS Call issued under the Environment Fund aims at fulfilling part of ERA’s goal by improving environmental conditions, awareness and wellbeing. It further aims to bring nature back to our cities, towns and villages through green initiatives and the application of nature-based solutions in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, with activities aimed to implement more green spaces within public areas. Projects are meant to benefit the general public common good, contribute to enhance public environmental stewardship and sustainability, the improvement of biodiversity, as well as to  contribute towards the mitigation of the urban heat island effect.

Themes

The BELLUS Call falls under the following themes:

• Improving the local environment, including greening urban areas and quality of countryside;
• Biodiversity and nature protection.

Target Projects

Applicants must put forward project proposals targeting the following initiatives:

• Green-Blue Infrastructure initiatives;
• Removal and replacement of existing impermeable hard paving with healthy soiled ground areas;
• Removal of Invasive Alien Species and their replacement with native indigenous flora where pertinent;
• The establishment of public community gardens (neighbourhood gardens) managed by residents;
• Forestation initiatives utilising native indigenous flora;
• Conservation and restoration initiatives in sensitive natural areas situated close to the urban environment;
• Communication, education, public awareness and citizen science in line with the above target projects.

Eligible Participants

Eligible participants under the BELLUS Call shall include:

• public entities, including Local Councils and bodies and associations governed by public law
• voluntary organisations, established in accordance with the Voluntary Organisations Act (Cap. 492)
• educational institutions

Budget

The overall budget for this Call shall be EUR 500,000. Funding per project will be capped at a minimum of EUR 50,000 and a maximum of EUR 100,000. Endorsed projects are to to be implemented within a period of two (2) years. Proposed projects must also include a long-term maintenance plan, to sustain the project even after its completion.

Application Procedure

The BELLUS Call shall remain open till the 30^th of September 2021. Interested applicants are to submit their application online through ERA’s ERIS portal by the stipulated deadline. A printed version of the online-submitted application form needs to also be submitted to the Authority with signatures and stamps. Further information can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants.

Relevant Documents

• BELLUS Call
• Common Provisions
• Guidelines for Applicants
• Guidelines for Evaluators
• FAQs
• Application Form Template
• Clarifications

Further Resources

• BELLUS Overview
• BELLUS Application Procedure

 

The Environment and Resources Authority is pleased to announce the selection of six environmental projects for funding under the 2021 BELLUS Call issued under the Environment Fund which have been selected following an evaluation process of all applications. A total of EUR 500K will be invested in the six selected projects, all of which will be working towards achieving their specific objectives to maximise the positive impact on both the environment and the community as a whole.

ERA would like to thank all applicants for showing interest in this Call, as this reflects the genuine interest towards the willingness to improve the national environmental conditions.

For more information click here.