Study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has released a public procurement tender, identified as CINEA/2025/OP/0018, titled "Study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands." This opportunity is aimed at conducting a comprehensive study focusing on wetland ecosystems across all 27 EU Member States and their outermost regions. The estimated contract value is €900,000, and the duration of the project is set at 16 months. The submission deadline for tenders is February 6, 2026.

Eligible applicants for this tender include legal entities such as environmental consulting firms, research institutions, universities, and specialized NGOs, particularly those with expertise in wetlands, environmental monitoring, and data collection. While consortia are encouraged to provide a broader range of expertise, single applicants can also apply. The tender emphasizes a service contract as the funding model, rather than a traditional grant, to deliver specific outputs upon milestones achieved.

The geographic scope encompasses all 27 EU Member States and their outermost regions, reflecting a strong emphasis on EU-wide applicability. The target sectors for this opportunity relate primarily to environmental management, including wetland conservation, land use, regulatory compliance, and ecological research.

The project objectives are outlined as follows: to identify and cross-reference wetland habitats; assess current data acquisition practices for monitoring; develop a consistent EU monitoring program; propose definitions for "managed wetland"; evaluate the adequacy of existing data services; estimate costs for data collection; and facilitate expert discussions. The final outputs will include an organized database, comprehensive reports, and workshops.

The application process requires electronic submissions via the Funding and Tenders Portal. Evaluation criteria for tenders will be 70% based on quality and 30% on price. The contract will be awarded based on the best price-quality ratio, following a multi-stage evaluation process.

No co-funding from applicants is required, as the project’s total funding is fully provisioned through EU sources. The procurement approach is competitive, with an estimated success rate typical of EU tenders, where generally only one winning bid will be selected.

This tender represents a strategic initiative to enhance monitoring and management practices for wetlands, aligning with important EU regulatory frameworks, specifically the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry Regulation and the Nature Restoration Regulation. The successful study will provide foundational insights necessary for future policy and compliance efforts at the EU level.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has published a call for tenders CINEA/2025/OP/0018, titled "Study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands". The TED reference for this call is 240/2025 826077-2025. This is an open procedure, and submissions must be electronic.

The study's objectives are:

1.  Identify and cross-reference wetland habitats covered by the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF) and the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) in ecosystems within the 27 Member States and their outermost regions.
2.  Determine current practices in acquiring data to meet the monitoring and reporting requirements of LULUCF and NRR in the specified territories.
3.  Develop a common EU monitoring programme to provide sufficient data for wetlands management, fulfilling the reporting and monitoring obligations of EU Member States and their outermost regions under LULUCF and NRR.
4.  Propose criteria and examples defining a “managed wetland”.
5.  Assess the adequacy and completeness of monitoring and data from existing European or international data services on wetland habitats, and identify opportunities for improvement.
6.  Estimate the costs of a common EU programme for data collection on wetland habitats.
7.  Facilitate expert discussion on findings and recommendations through transparent reporting and dedicated workshops.
8.  Systematically record and share the outcomes from points 1 to 7 in an organized database, accompanied by one comprehensive report and two workshops. DG MARE will facilitate dissemination via the Maritime Forum.

The estimated total value of the contract is 900,000 EUR. The TED publication date is 12/12/2025. The main classification (CPV) code is 90713000 Environmental issues consultancy services. The nature of the contract is for services, with a maximum duration of 16 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. No framework agreement is mentioned.

Key milestones include:

*  TED publication date: 12/12/2025
*  Date and time of public opening: 09/02/2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels
*  Deadline for receipt of tenders: 06/02/2026 12:00 Europe/Brussels
*  Deadline after which the contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions: 29/01/2026 07:00 Europe/Brussels

The following documents are available for download:

*  ENEN-Invitation to tender CINEA2025OP0018 EU actions on wetlands Invitation letter (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender Specifications Wetlands Tender specifications (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 1 List of documents CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 2 Declaration of honour CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Declaration on honour (tender) (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 2.1-Technical Professional capacity CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 3 Agreement Power of attorney CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 4 List of subcontractors CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 5.1 Commitment letter Identified subctr CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 5.2 Commitment letter Third party CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Tender specifications adm. part (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)
*  Annex 6-Financial tender CINEA 2025 OP 0018 Financial offer form (Published on 12/12/2025, Version 1)

Submissions must be sent exclusively via electronic means through the provided submission address.

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In summary, this is a call for tenders by CINEA seeking a study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands. The study will involve identifying and cross-referencing wetland habitats, determining current data acquisition practices, developing a common EU monitoring program, proposing criteria for managed wetlands, assessing data adequacy, estimating program costs, facilitating expert discussions, and creating a database with a comprehensive report and workshops. The procedure is an open call, with electronic submissions required. The maximum contract duration is 16 months and the estimated budget is 900,000 EUR. The tender aims to support the EU's Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF) and Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) by improving the monitoring and management of wetland ecosystems across the 27 Member States and their outermost regions.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but given the nature of the tender, it is likely open to organizations with expertise in environmental issues, consultancy services, and data collection, including but not limited to research institutes, consulting firms, universities, and other entities with relevant capabilities.

Funding Type: This is a procurement opportunity, specifically a service contract.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the inclusion of annexes for subcontractors and power of attorney suggests that both single applicants and consortia are eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on the 27 Member States of the EU and their outermost regions.

Target Sector: The target sector is environment, specifically related to wetlands, land use, land use change, forestry, and nature restoration. It also involves consultancy services.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the 27 Member States of the EU and their outermost regions.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on conducting a study to provide evidence for EU actions, which includes identifying, determining current practices, developing a monitoring program, proposing criteria, determining adequacy of data, estimating costs, facilitating expert discussions, and systematically recording and sharing outcomes. This suggests a research and development stage.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of this tender is 900,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for tenders.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for services rendered.

Application Stages: The number of application stages is not explicitly mentioned, but it involves submitting a tender electronically, which will then be evaluated based on the best price-quality ratio.

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, CINEA/2025/OP/0018, issued by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The tender seeks a study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands within the territory of the 27 EU Member States and their outermost regions. The study aims to support the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF) and the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR).

The study encompasses eight key objectives:
1. Identify and cross-reference wetland habitats covered by LULUCF and NRR.
2. Determine current data acquisition practices for monitoring and reporting under LULUCF and NRR.
3. Develop a common EU monitoring program for wetlands management.
4. Propose criteria and examples of what constitutes a “managed wetland”.
5. Determine the adequacy and completeness of existing data services on wetland habitats.
6. Estimate the costs of a common EU program for data collection on wetland habitats.
7. Facilitate expert discussion on findings and recommendations through transparent reporting and dedicated workshops.
8. Systematically record and share the outcomes in an organized database, accompanied by a comprehensive report and two workshops.

DG MARE will facilitate the dissemination via the Maritime Forum.

The procedure type is an open procedure, with an estimated total value of 900,000 EUR. The maximum contract duration is 16 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. The TED publication date was 12/12/2025. The deadline for receipt of tenders is 06/02/2026 at 12:00 Europe/Brussels. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 29/01/2026 at 07:00 Europe/Brussels. The date and time of public opening is 09/02/2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels.

Submissions must be sent electronically. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation. The system supports 24 official EU languages and uses UTF-8 character set encoding. The system encrypts all uploaded documents. Attachments should be less than 50 MB, and the maximum number of documents allowed per tender is 200.

The tender documents include an invitation letter, tender specifications, a list of documents, a declaration of honor, documents related to technical and professional capacity, power of attorney agreement, list of subcontractors, commitment letters for subcontractors and third parties, and a financial offer form.