Balancing what Europe needs from its land and seas with the people who live on them
We aim to pair advanced socio-environmental science with real human dialogue to co-design sustainable, community-based policies for Europe's land and sea resources.
BALANSED brings land and sea
evidence and lived experience
into the same conversation
We help Europe's regions decide - together - how to use their land, sea and biomass, rather than leaving it to policy alone.
Because decision about the future of land, sea and biomass use needs to take account of the local needs and preferences.
And decisions made without people rarely last.
Bringing together
- 12 organisations
- 8 EU Countries
- 8 Study Regions
Evidence, both ways.
Communities should see how it's built, not just its conclusions.
No region is the same.
A Slovenian and an Estonian forest face different pressures and challenges. Our tools should capture these differences.
Deliberation isn’t a formality.
Done right, it earns trust - not just ticks a box.
Open by default.
What we build should outlive us and be free for others to reuse.
What success looks like
By 2030 we aim to have
- A deliberation and modelling framework, tested across 8 regions
- A public Toolkit, ready for any of the EU's 1,165 regions to use
- 240+ stakeholders engaged directly and 2,000+ carrying it forward
- One shared evidence base, covering 4.3 million km² of European land and sea
We'll be sharing updates, findings and opportunities to get involved throughout the project.
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