Identification of Marine Habitats and Potentially Marine NATURA 2000 Areas

The EU-funded procurement opportunity titled "Identification of Marine Habitats and Potentially Marine NATURA 2000 Areas" aims to enhance biodiversity in Turkey by preserving marine and coastal habitats and species of wild fauna and flora. The contract, worth an estimated total of €7,500,000, is primarily focused on strengthening Turkey's capacity for biodiversity conservation in alignment with EU directives, specifically the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC).

This service-oriented tender is organized by the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations under Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The primary objectives include identifying a species list and natural habitat types in marine and coastal areas, increasing institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation, and developing a comprehensive website for disseminating information on marine habitats and species.

The procedure is classified as a restricted one, involving at least two application stages:a request to participate and a formal tender submission. The overall project duration is set for 36 months, extending through 2028–2029, and participation requires a Personal Identification Code (PIC), which can be obtained by organizations prior to submission.

The deadline to submit requests for participation is February 9, 2026, at 14:30 local Turkish time, and the submission method is non-electronic, specifically requiring paper copies sent to the designated address in the procurement documents.

Interest is encouraged from environmental consultancies, marine research organizations, and other entities with expertise in EU regulations and biodiversity assessment. The evaluation process emphasizes the quality of bids, prioritizing technical proficiency and experience in the sector over cost considerations, with quality accounting for 80% of the scoring criteria and cost contributing 20%.

Overall, this tender represents a significant opportunity for organizations specializing in marine ecology and conservation to engage in a key biodiversity initiative supported by the EU.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for tenders titled "Identification of Marine Habitats and Potentially Marine NATURA 2000 Areas." The procedure identifier is EC-ENEST/ANK/2025/EA-RP/0177. This is an open call for submission, and the submission method is non-electronic.

The project aims to maintain and enhance biodiversity in Türkiye by preserving natural marine and coastal habitats and species of wild fauna and flora. This will be achieved by establishing the necessary institutional and technical infrastructure concerning the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The project will also help Türkiye enhance its experience in identifying and managing potential marine Natura 2000 sites.

The project's objectives include:

Identifying a species list in line with the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) in marine and coastal areas, as well as seabird and coastal bird species in line with the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC).

Identifying natural marine and coastal habitat types in line with the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and potentially marine Natura 2000 sites in line with the EU Nature Directives.

Increasing Türkiye's institutional capacity for the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity.

Developing a website that provides comprehensive information on marine and coastal habitat types and species in line with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.

The procedure type is a restricted procedure. The estimated total value of the tender is €7,500,000. The TED publication date is 22/12/2025. The lead contracting authority is the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The main classification (CPV) code is 71356200, which refers to technical assistance services. The nature of the contract is for services, and the maximum contract duration is 36 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. There is no framework agreement associated with this tender. The place of delivery or performance is Turkey, specifically designated by the code 20001026. The tender falls under the following programs: Neighbourhood (42921254), Pre-Accession Countries / New Member States (42921266), and Environment (42921272). The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is 09/02/2026 at 14:30 Asia/Istanbul time.

One document is available for download:"Additional Information contract noticeInvitation to submit a request to participate," published on 23/12/2025, Version 1, with no translations available.

Submissions must be sent exclusively to the address for submission provided in the procurement documents. The submission method is non-electronic. The address for submission should be consulted in the procurement documents.

There is a section for Questions and Answers (Q&A), where users can log in to create questions. Currently, there are no public Q&A available.

Regarding the eSubmission system, several FAQs are provided:

If the system is slow or doesn’t work while uploading/downloading documents, users should ensure they are using the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If the issue persists, they should clear the cache and cookies on their internet browser.

eSubmission supports the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. For the most up-to-date technical recommendations, users can click on the link System Requirements.

It is not possible to view the details of the submission after the deadline, as the system encrypts all attachments upon upload and does not allow decryption after the deadline.

Submissions can be found in Manage My Area in the Funding & Tenders portal, specifically in ‘My Submission(s)’: tenders in response to open calls for tenders, requests to participate.

Attachments should be less than 50 MB in size.

Attachments in eSubmission must be named following the System Requirements.

Users can check the System Requirements of eSubmission to determine if video submissions and specific formats are supported.

Invited candidates can only see the procurement documents after having selected an organisation in the F&T Portal, under “My Invitations”.

A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory to participate in a call for tenders as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group (consortium).

If there is an issue uploading a file in eSubmission and it’s giving an error, users must first make sure it follows the technical requirements of the system.

The maximum number of documents that can be uploaded per tender is 200 files.

Tenderers need a PIC to submit a tender or a request to participate. Only one PIC per organisation must be used.

To register an organisation and get a Participant Identification Code (PIC), users should first check if the organisation is already registered using the Search PIC tool under 'How to Participate' > Participant Register.

The system supports all 24 official EU languages.

The character set encoding is UTF-8.

The system encrypts all uploaded documents, using an asymmetric key as an encryption mechanism.

The supported file types depend on the type of submission and are specified within the system requirements linked to the procedure in question.

Until the submission deadline, submissions in draft status can be edited, viewed, and deleted.

If the submission report displays "Legal form:UNKNOWN" while the legal form was correctly displayed in the system, it is just a display issue and not blocking for submission.

An automatic email informing that the deadline for the reception of submissions had been reached does not mean that the submission was not correctly sent.

In summary, this call for tenders focuses on the "Identification of Marine Habitats and Potentially Marine NATURA 2000 Areas" in Türkiye. The project aims to enhance biodiversity by preserving marine and coastal habitats and species, aligning with EU Birds and Habitats Directives. The project includes identifying species and habitat types, increasing Türkiye's institutional capacity for marine conservation, and developing an informative website. The tender is a restricted procedure with an estimated value of €7.5 million. Submissions must be non-electronic and sent to the address specified in the procurement documents. The deadline for requests to participate is February 9, 2026. The eSubmission system FAQs provide technical guidance for applicants. A PIC code is mandatory for participation.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the nature of the tender, it is likely that eligible applicants could include organizations with expertise in environmental science, marine biology, conservation, and technical assistance. This could encompass research institutes, universities, consulting firms, NGOs, and other entities with relevant experience.

Funding Type:The funding type is procurement, specifically a service contract. The tender is for "Technical assistance services" as indicated by the CPV code 71356200.

Consortium Requirement:The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, the FAQ section mentions that a Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory to participate in a call for tenders as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group (consortium). This suggests that both single applicants and consortia are potentially eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The primary place of delivery or performance is Turkey. The project also falls under the "PreAccession Countries / New Member States" program, indicating that the opportunity is specifically targeted towards Turkey as a pre-accession country.

Target Sector:The target sector is environment, specifically focusing on marine and coastal biodiversity, conservation, and the establishment of Natura 2000 areas. It also involves technical assistance services related to environmental regulations and directives.

Mentioned Countries:Turkey is explicitly mentioned as the place of delivery or performance. The EU is implicitly mentioned through references to EU directives (Birds Directive 2009/147/EC and Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) and the Natura 2000 network.

Project Stage:The project stage appears to be focused on identification, assessment, and establishment of infrastructure. This includes identifying species and habitat types, increasing institutional capacity, and developing a website. Therefore, the project stage encompasses research, development, and validation, with an aim to prepare for implementation and management.

Funding Amount:The estimated total value of the tender is €7,500,000.

Application Type:The application type is a restricted procedure call for tenders, with submissions to be made non-electronically. The opportunity is currently open for submission.

Nature of Support:The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a service contract payment in exchange for the delivery of technical assistance services.

Application Stages:The procedure type is "Restricted procedure", which typically involves at least two stages: a request to participate (selection stage) and a full tender submission (award stage). Therefore, there are at least 2 stages.

Success Rates:The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement:The co-funding requirement is not mentioned in the provided text.

Summary:

This is a call for tenders for a project focused on the "Identification of Marine Habitats and Potentially Marine NATURA 2000 Areas" in Turkey. The project aims to enhance biodiversity in Turkey by preserving marine and coastal habitats and species, aligning with the EU's Birds and Habitats Directives. The project's objectives include identifying species and habitat types, increasing Turkey's institutional capacity for marine conservation, and developing a comprehensive website on marine biodiversity. The procedure type is a restricted procedure, meaning that there will be a selection stage before the full tender submission. The estimated total value of the tender is €7,500,000, and the maximum contract duration is 36 months. Submissions must be sent non-electronically to the address specified in the procurement documents. The lead contracting authority is the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is 09/02/2026 at 14:30 Asia/Istanbul time. The tender falls under the Neighbourhood and Pre-Accession Countries programs, with a focus on the environment sector. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation, whether as a sole candidate or as part of a consortium. The tender seeks technical assistance services to support Turkey in aligning with EU nature directives and establishing a marine Natura 2000 network.