Cascade Funding 2nd Call
RESULTS AVAILABLE
General Information
Title of the call: 2nd SMURF open call for small forest owners’ organisations
Total funding: €825.000
Funding per grant: Maximum of 60,000 €/organization (up to €55,000 for recipients of the first call).
Number of grants to be funded: Minimum of 40
Target applicants: Associations, federations, confederations or cooperatives of small forest owners
Opening of the call: 09/04/2025 – 08.00 CET
Closing of the call: 02/07/2025 – 17.00 CET
Communication of results: 05/12/2025
Types of activities:
- Implementation of pilot projects on innovative business opportunities (up to 10 grants)
- Development of Close to Nature Silviculture (CNS) demo stands (up to 10 grants)
- Participation in training sessions focused on CNS practices
- Implementation of new Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) pilot carbon projects (up to 5 grants)
- Participation in National and Regional Working Groups
- Attendance at the Final SMURF project conferences
- Playing a key role in the joint communication and dissemination activities of the SMURF project
Start of the activities: Immediately after sign Grant Agreement (Signature of GA planned for December 2025)
Duration of the grants: until 31/07/2027
Info Sessions
Read the annex 8-FAQ related to the call
Join our online information sessions to get your specific questions about the call answered! Two sessions are available—register now to secure your spot!
Please note that live questions and discussions will not be allowed. Questions received via email (info@smurfproject.eu) before the online session will be collected and answered in the online session.
| Online information sessions | ||
|---|---|---|
First session | 07/05/2025 at 11.00 CET | |
Second session | 28/05/2025 at 11.00 CET | |
Third session | 18/06/2025 at 11.00 CET |
Activity 1: Communication & Dissemination
Organisations applying for SMURF Cascade Funding are expected to actively communicate and disseminate their involvement in the project. This will help maximise the impact of the activities carried out by the applicants within the SMURF project while enhancing the visibility of both the SMURF project and the applicants at regional, national, and European levels. The main objectives of this activity are to effectively disseminate the actions undertaken by the applicants within the SMURF project framework, ensuring greater territorial visibility, increased stakeholder engagement, and a higher overall impact of the SMURF project through the applicants.
Activity 2: Pilot project for business opportunities
The activity involves the implementation of a pilot project to test an innovative business opportunity for small forest holdings in a territorial context where it has not been previously tested or exploited. These opportunities should empower small-scale forest owners to unlock new economic opportunities, emphasising sustainability and market relevance, thus creating a balanced and future-oriented forest economy.
Activity 3: Demo stands
A demonstration stand is a designated forest area where different forest management strategies are applied and tested to evaluate their effectiveness and transfer knowledge to forestry professionals. These stands serve as experimental and learning spaces, enabling the comparison of various management methods to enhance the sustainability and adaptability of forests to climate change. The SMURF demo stand would cover an area of at least 20 hectares, implementing closeto-nature continuous cover silviculture practices under SMURF CNS criteria.
Activity 4: CNS training sessions
Actively participate in one of the seven Close-to-Nature training sessions organised by the SMURF project to disseminate the interest of Close to Nature Silviculture in the following countries:
- SPAIN
- FRANCE
- ITALY
- PORTUGAL
- BELGIUM
- ROMANIA
- SWEDEN.
The training will cover essential aspects of close-to-nature forestry, monitoring methods, and forest management techniques.
Activity 5: Carbon projects
The activity involves the identification, formalization and registration of an already implemented forestry activity that could potentially be identified as a carbon project. A carbon project is a project that demonstrates and tests the feasibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of a forestry activity, aimed at reducing greenhouse gases or increasing carbon removals and therefore, mitigates climate change. A carbon project will generate carbon credits that could be sold in the voluntary carbon market. The SMURF project will develop a carbon standard: “FOREST CO2 CREDITS EU Standard”, and two methodologies,
- one for Improved Forest Management and
- another one for Afforestation and Reforestation.
NEW! Activity 6: Territorial Working Groups
Proposed List of Territorial Working Groups on Small Forest Holdings
The SMURF project is pleased to announce the proposed list of fifteen Territorial Working Groups (TWGs) to be established under Activity 6 – Participation in a National or Regional Working Group on Small Forest Holdings, where the participation of applicants will be organised and supported.
The objective of the TWG is to exploit SMURF project results and outcomes and to shape the future of national or regional small forest holdings. They will serve as collaborative platforms uniting forest authorities, owners’ organisations, and other stakeholders to strengthen cooperation and enhance the management and representation of small forest holdings across Europe.
The following list presents the proposed countries and regions where the SMURF team will collaborate with forest authorities and stakeholders to establish the TWGs, and where applications will be considered for the award under Activity 6 of the second call SMURF cascade funding:
| No. | Country / Region (alphabetical order) |
|---|---|
1 | Belgium |
2 | Croatia |
3 | Finland |
4 | France (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) |
5 | Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
6 | Hungary |
7 | Italy (National) |
8 | Italy (Tuscany) |
9 | Lithuania |
10 | Poland |
11 | Portugal |
12 | Romania |
13 | Slovakia |
14 | Spain (Castilla y León) |
15 | Spain (National) |
Note: The final configuration of the working groups will be confirmed following consultation with the relevant forest authorities.
Have further questions?
We're Here to Help!
If you have any questions regarding the 2nd SMURF Call, please send them to info@smurfproject.eu following these guidelines:
📌 Email Subject: 2nd SMURF Call