The ambition of our proposed pan-European project RestPoll is to contribute to a substantial and permanent restoration of more pollinator-friendly habitats and enhance connectivity of wild pollinator habitats in Europe. The focus is on strengthening society-wide awareness of, and capability to reverse, wild pollinator decline and stabilise pollination services and their societal benefits. Agricultural land use, covering by far the largest proportion of terrestrial land modified by human activities, is crucial for feeding humanity and the decisions on how farmers manage their land are a major driver for biodiversity change.

Pollinators are a fundamental part of both farmed and semi-natural habitats of the agricultural landscape and can act as flagships for wider ecosystem restoration (Klein et al. 2007, Cariveau et al. 2020). Nearly 80% of wild plants in Europe benefit from a range of pollinator taxa (Ollerton et al. 2011, Rodger et al. 2021). RestPoll synthesises existing knowledge of restoration for pollinator habitats from environmental and socio-economic sciences and practice, develop and apply new participatory approaches and involve multiple actors at diverse social, ecological and political scales to enable sustainable transformation of European farmed cultural landscapes in harmony with nature. Building on context-relevant understanding of which restoration measures benefit pollinators at different scales - generated by using a coordinated network of case studies - we use validated approaches for pollinator and pollination service monitoring. We monitor pollinators in existing restored and non-restored sites and develop innovative restoration and policy measures from regional to European scale. Part of our output is a portfolio of guidance and tools, which assimilate these top-down (incentive-, payment-, policy-driven) and bottom-up approaches to the management and monitoring of wild pollinators and their habitats. Our restoration guidance comprises of a toolbox, able to assess the ecological and socio-economic values of specific pollinator restoration measures in different management and policy landscapes. By quantifying multiple co-benefits of pollinator restoration for biodiversity and ecosystems and for human society in terms of economies, health and well-being, RestPoll engages in and accompanies societal transformation for diverse and sustainable agricultural landscapes. RestPoll uses a multi-actor approach involving participation across communities of different socio-cultural backgrounds and agricultural landscapes representing the range of bio-climatic regions in Europe.

The RestPoll consortium consists of an experienced team of junior and senior experts from different scientific disciplines in natural (biology, ecology) and social sciences (economics, sociology, political science) or cross-disciplines (landscape ecology, socio-ecological systems research) and stakeholder groups ranging from NGOs, ministries, national parks to businesses and agricultural advisory services. RestPoll works within seven integrated work packages (WPs) towards the following six specific objectives:

1. Create a network of pollinator habitat restoration initiatives and Living Labs: RestPoll identified 17 case study areas (CSAs) in agricultural landscapes in 14 European countries. These cover multiple restoration measures to conserve biodiversity in general and wild pollinators in particular, which consist of a mixture of existing agri-environmental schemes and novel, prospective schemes. such as payments for pollination/ecosystem services. Restoration activities in the CSAs were partly already set in place by stakeholders in cooperation with RestPoll researchers or vice versa before the start of the project. In a joint participatory approach, restored and control sites are further selected at the start of the project from the different areas, aiming for the most optimal design to achieve successful pollinator restoration outcomes across European agricultural landscapes and to test the value of co-designing restoration measures. Across these CSAs, we also establish a European network of Living Labs for participatory demonstration and learning and for assessing both bottom-up (management-driven) and top-down (policy-driven) pollinator restoration measures to identify effective methods to facilitate engagement with public and private organisations, along with civil society, to accelerate the transformation towards pollinator-friendly agricultural landscapes in line with societal needs in Europe (WP1, WP4).

2. Validate context-dependence and synergistic effects of multiple pollinator restoration measures: Based on synthesising current knowledge and detailed monitoring in CSAs, RestPoll validates the effectiveness and synergistic effects of multiple restoration measures currently in place or recently established at field, farm, landscape, national and European scales for providing key complementary resources, such as nesting habitat, forage resources across life-stages and seasons for pollinators and to sustainably increase pollinator populations and pollination services (WP1, WP2).

3. Demonstrate how to strengthen benefits and co-benefits of pollinator restoration for nature and people: By exploring the links between pollinators, plants and other elements of biodiversity to human well-being in agricultural CSAs, RestPoll quantifies the direct and indirect co-benefits of pollinator and pollination restoration for provisioning ecosystem services, such as crop production, human nutrition, health and cultural or aesthetic values, such as the beauty of landscapes and human well-being in general (WP2, WP3).

4. Support the development of pollinator-friendly policies and market conditions: RestPoll provides conditions for implementing and adapting measures to restore pollinators and pollination services into European policies and beyond. This includes evaluations of policies including barriers and negative incentives, alternative uses of the land under restoration, as well as risks, costs and benefits of restoration options and alternative land uses. Governance of restoration incentives, including financing and simplified bureaucracies are evaluated across CSAs, regions and countries (WP3, WP4).

5. Test co-designed transferable tools for adaptive pollinator restoration: By developing a Pollinator Restoration Toolbox, which will be available to users at local, national and European levels, the RestPoll consortium reinforces the status of Europe as a global leader in adaptive pollinator management, including rapid assessment evaluations, for pollinator and habitat restoration and developing transferable approaches for countries both within and beyond Europe (WP5).

6. Provide open access to knowledge on pollinator restoration: RestPoll co-develops open-access resources of already existing and newly-generated data, traditional and expert knowledge and tools to enable researchers and stakeholders across relevant scales to compare the benefits of existing and forthcoming initiatives and to prioritise restoration measures that promote pollinator diversity across Europe (WP5, WP6, WP7).

RestPoll builds upon our current understanding of important restoration measures for the full range of wild and managed pollinators, including ecology-, economy- and community-focused approaches, to produce a new evidence base, which enables a holistic demonstration of their applicability and effectiveness. Furthermore, RestPoll develops innovative assessment methods that enable stakeholders to prioritise different measures of the restoration of pollinator habitats at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Public, political and scientific actors in pollinator conservation have driven the implementation of restoration measures for pollinators across the EU and beyond (Wilson et al. 2017). Indeed, there is great potential for conservation actions to be implemented in a range of sites in agricultural landscapes (Tonietto and Larkin 2017). Although an abundance of online material promotes pollinator conservation, a better understanding of how some actions actually contribute to pollinator and pollination restoration is required (Majewska and Altizer 2019). Some general measures for insect conservation have been articulated (Harvey et al. 2020), but context-specific, tailored and actionable solutions are still in short supply. RestPoll uses rigorous evidence assessment to validate the effectiveness of measures for reversing pollinator decline and to develop and empirically test methods for predicting and monitoring the utility of strategies designed to change human behaviour and promote activities aimed at restoring pollinator habitats (Reddy et al. 2016, Green et al. 2019).

While there is a growing understanding of how to assess the multiple values of nature to account for the plurality of worldviews, knowledge and value systems (e.g. see Pascual et al. (2017)), there is a gap in methodological approaches that directly focus on pollinator impacts on human well-being, especially from a socio-cultural viewpoint (IPBES 2016, IPBES 2022). RestPoll reviews and assesses how stakeholders perceive wild pollinators and the direct and indirect social benefits provided by them, in terms of human health, cultural and other values.

Expected Impact 1: Biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations are better understood and addressed.

Data on the effects of land-use management on biodiversity and ecosystem services exist from finalised and ongoing EU-funded and other projects. Many of those datasets focus, on or include, pollinators. Some datasets are available open access, but many others are not fully available and data are not harmonised across ecosystems and target species. To better understand the main drivers of pollinator decline and their interrelations, RestPoll synthesises knowledge through:

1. compiling existing data;
2. collecting new data on pollinator communities and pollination services in a unique, large and diverse network of active restoration projects targeting pollinators;
3. collaborating and exchanging intensively with other EU projects (e.g. having access to data from field experiments and surveys on pesticide and nutrient stressors of PoshBee, WildPosh and NutriB2) and beyond (e.g. exchanging protocols with EU-PoMs, EMBAL, LUCAS, Safeguard, SHOWCASE, VALOR, Butterfly and Agri4Pol and jointly providing information for policies with National Academies of Sciences, ESAC, FAO, DG-Agri and DG-Env); and
4. conducting novel syntheses and analyses to add value to existing data and extend knowledge on the drivers of pollinator biodiversity declines.

Although RestPoll focuses on mitigating pollinator decline by restoration measures, we aim to maximise insight into the role of drivers of decline by relating pollinator data with simultaneously collected data on direct (e.g. use of agrochemicals) and indirect drivers (e.g. political actions on biodiversity decline). To ensure research with maximised impact and actionable knowledge on drivers of decline, we collect data across the full range of EU production systems. These include annual (vegetables, sunflower and oilseed rape) and perennial (apple, kiwi and olives) crop production systems and grassland managed for a range of livestock animals, from northern to southern and eastern to western countries. RestPoll’s innovative restoration measures are, to a large extent, already implemented by using co-development approaches in a multi-actor and multi-disciplinary setting to engage all relevant stakeholders and tailor measures to user requirements across sectors with long-term impact. While developing the proposal, we have preselected case study areas with existing restoration activity from local/site- to landscape scales. When implementing the RestPoll project, we select sites within those landscapes for detailed data collection. We continuously add national sites of other projects to increase the area and actors involved in our restoration network. By doing so, we increase regional to international visibility for the network, and build a common understanding of the benefits of multi-actor co-development for pollinator restoration, across a range of contexts and objectives.

We decided to focus on multiple restoration measures with moderate to strong evidence for their effectiveness in promoting different levels of pollinator restoration and pollination services. We provide a strong focus on diversified agro-ecological practices, including agroforestry and on integrating pesticide reduction measures and extensified grasslands with a high proportion of native flowers. A key strength of our network is that we are not only focusing on insect pollinators as an overall group or on common pollinators, but also pay attention to specific specialist and threatened pollinator species in some areas, for example, Bombus sylvarum in one of its few remaining UK populations. Hence, RestPoll delivers harmonised datasets on drivers of pollinator decline with different restoration goals (targeted to single species or whole communities). Our survey data are collected using methods aligned with EU-PoMS and contribute to long-term monitoring datasets, which provide additional novel insights into the interrelationships between pollinator diversity and its drivers. RestPoll's monitoring approach is highly acknowledged by researchers and NGOs and ensures continuous knowledge development beyond our project by contributing substantially to open access, harmonised, long-term biodiversity data and measures to restore biodiversity.

Main project pathways to impact:

• RestPoll ensures timely site selection after the project start, to develop a multi-actor pollinator restoration network covering local (site) to landscape restoration measures in an area of around 15,000 km² of productive landscapes in 17 case-study areas across 14 EU countries (Task 1.1);
• We establish distinct branding (logo, webpage, social media) and join forces with ongoing EU projects focusing on pollinator conservation (e.g. Table 2) in which RestPoll partners are involved (Task 6.2). We empirically identify the importance of the main drivers of pollinator decline (lack of nesting and flower resources, agrochemical use; Task 2.2) and synergies amongst restoration measures to counter declines (Task 2.3);
• We conduct knowledge exchange activities specifying direct and indirect drivers of decline and restoration success across the RestPoll network to share experience on effective measures in landscape-scale restoration projects to mitigate pollinator loss and functions. We showcase a range of approaches including multiple drivers, such as designating farms as ‘Champion sites’ for promoting pollinator species (as in the Bombus sylvarum conservation action plan), celebrating organisations as ‘Evidence champions’ (as in the Conservation Evidence project) and providing incentives through local labelling or branding initiatives (as in southern Germany by using a state-wide branding for biodiversity demonstration farms; Task 4.3);
• We conduct a horizon scan of direct and indirect drivers of pollinator decline (threats) and opportunities for restoring pollinator habitats (Task 4.4);
• We include RestPoll’s standardised surveys in long-term national to European-wide monitoring data, such as EU-PoMS (Task 1.2).

Expected Impact 2: Biodiversity and natural capital are integrated into public and business decision-making at all levels for the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their services.

RestPoll uses multidisciplinary perspectives by studying ecological, agronomic, policy and market options to optimise conservation of pollinator habitats, while maintaining provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. We capture perceptions of local, national and global stakeholders to understand levers and barriers to adopting pollinator-friendly management practices. We co-develop metrics and approaches as an option to integrate conservation of pollinators into agri-food certification schemes, for example, with labels and payments for biodiversity and pollination services. RestPoll delivers a portfolio of decision-support tools and good practice guides (RestPoll toolbox), which include tools and metrics targeted at extension services, growers, suppliers, retailers and the wider agri-food sector and provides templates for sector-to-sector sharing. These templates are also to be used by our US partner and to be shared with colleagues in other countries not involved in RestPoll within and outside the EU for wider impact.

Pollinator populations and communities can only be conserved when the European agri-food sector actively restores pollinator habitats and, thus, natural capital in farmed landscapes throughout Europe, using the combined scientific and multi-actor knowledge developed with European funding and made accessible through the RestPoll toolbox. In the context of a current European Pollinators Initiative and many years of previous research and innovation projects (e.g. EcoFruit, STEP) and also the COST Action Super-B, we can monitor the uptake and use of the tools and knowledge we generate and the diversity and scale of landscapes and sectors in which they are used. Additionally, we use our LLs to showcase our restoration tools to raise awareness and boost our multi-actor-generated knowledge to the public, policy-makers and decision-makers at all relevant levels. By providing options to reduce harm to pollinators, land managers can use these new tools to expand protected areas allowing land-use management to a politically defined extent, for example, under certain regulations on the use of agrochemicals. Hence, we fully integrate pollinator diversity and pollination services, drivers and restoration options into public and business decision-making. This triggers food producers and sellers in the business sector, as well as society at large, to implement restoration measures at multiple spatial and temporal scales to ultimately promote natural capital recovery and contribute to SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Main project pathways to impact:

• RestPoll establishes a series of case study areas with Living Labs (LL) as unique learning sites for pollinator restoration (Task 4.1);
• In the regional (LL) and Europe-wide workshops, we enable farmer-to-farmer, farmer-to-researcher, farmer-to-policy-maker and farmer-to-journalist knowledge exchange across scales (Task 4.2, 4.3);
• We conduct workshops and surveys in the first two years of the project (Tasks 1.4, 3.1, 3.2) and integrate local and traditional knowledge from our network of restoration landscapes into the tools, methods and guidance selected for the RestPoll toolbox (Task 5.2);
• We develop a novel instrument, based on Payments for Restoration-mediated Pollination Services (PRPS) (Task 3.2);
• We deliver with the RestPoll toolbox a portfolio of decision-support tools and good practice guidelines, including tools and metrics targeted at extension services, growers, suppliers, retailers and the wider agrifood sector (Task 5.2) and co-design metrics for reporting and labelling pollinator-friendly products and products grown in pollinator-friendly systems and develop a potential business model (Task 5.4). For this, RestPoll has two industry partners as funded beneficiaries and also engages with additional industry partners to be long-standing collaborators of RestPoll partners (e.g. Bayer CropScience, Syngenta and many national food and seed companies), to ensure all business tools (e.g. planting schemes for different spatio-temporal scales, certification schemes for end-products) are co-designed to fully meet user requirements;
• We develop teaching materials to be used by farmers, other land users, agricultural schools, extension specialists, beekeepers, business actors, farm advisors and public administration bodies, also to be shared with colleagues in other countries for wider impact (Task 6.4).

Expected Impact 3: Europe builds competitive sustainability and tackles climate change and natural disasters through the deployment of nature-based solutions.

RestPoll aims to substantially increase the visibility of pollinator habitat restoration measures regarding habitat quality and quantity. Through our Research and Innovation activity in active restoration, from site to landscape scales, Europe is accelerating the rebuilding of green infrastructure across ecosystems, contributing further to mitigation of climate change impacts. For example, we increase pollinator populations and pollinator diversity to promote pollination services (Tasks 1.1, 1.2). This leads to more stable pollination services in times of more variable and even extreme weather. We also model carbon sequestration of soils in our European restoration network (Task 2.4, contributing to SDG 13: Climate Action). Our restoration measures (hedgerows, agroforestry) act as windbreaks and buffer water shortages (e.g. through complementary uptake of water by plants). All of our restoration measures can support other beneficial insects and birds acting as natural pest control. Additionally, many of our restoration measures decrease soil erosion which poses a growing challenge in light of the forecasted increased frequency of flooding events on agricultural land. RestPoll specifically addresses nature-based solutions to buffer climate change and natural disasters in our e-learning materials. This ensures easy accessibility of knowledge on pollination habitats as a key strategy to increase awareness of nature-based solutions to, for example, extreme drought events. Our LLs are central to boosting knowledge of nature-based solutions related to beekeeping. To make full use of the power of our pollinator-restoration LLs, we collaborate with LLs of other EU projects in which we are involved (e.g. the Experimental Biodiversity Areas of SHOWCASE or other Horizon projects such as proGIreg). Recognising the central role of LLs in advancing the restoration of green infrastructure — enhancing rural development, social well-being and environmental resilience, while mitigating natural disasters — we integrate RestPoll’s LLs into the European Network of Living Labs to foster long-term impact aligned with SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Main project pathways to impact:

• RestPoll surveys pollinator populations, pollinator diversity and pollination services in restored and non-restored areas (Task 1.2) and evaluates the effectiveness of nature-based measures, including contributions to the mitigation of climate change and natural disasters, of pollinator habitat restoration measures (Task 1.3, 2.1) across landscapes (Task 2.2) and synergies amongst measures (Task 2.3);
• We use biophysical-models on water and soil properties to analyse co-benefits essential for mitigating drought effects and upscale nature-based co-benefits from restoration sites to wider landscapes (Task 2.4);
• We implement bio-economic models including pollination and other nature-based co-benefits for providing decision tools for farmers (Task 3.3) to be integrated into the RestPoll toolbox, which can then be used as decision tools to mitigate climate-change effects (Task 5.2.

Expected Impact 4: The interrelations between biodiversity, health, food, soil, water and climate are better known.

Pollinator restoration is strongly interrelated with multiple ecosystem services (as outlined above) to produce healthy high-quality food, as pollination does not only relate to fruit and seed production quantity, but also nutritional quality. In addition, pest control and fertilisation with agrochemicals are standard management practices on agricultural land and in many other ecosystems (private gardens, public spaces, forests), which not only affect pollinators, but also soil and water quality. Hence, we create a better evidence-based understanding of these interrelations by addressing farmers' needs and alternatives to the use of agrochemicals (fertilisers, pesticides). In the LLs, we discuss our approaches and outcomes with land managers, business sectors and policy-makers. We also aim to engage human health specialists in public events to highlight interrelations between nature-based pollinator restoration measures, food nutritional quality, diets, climate and human health. Our goal is that not only land managers, but also health professionals, with a special focus on illnesses related to environmental destruction, pollution and climate change, increase their awareness and knowledge about the importance of habitat restoration for human health and well-being.

Main project pathways to impact:

• RestPoll analyses fruit and seed quality measures in relation to pollinator restoration measures to secure the quality of human food (Task 1.3);
• We collect and analyse data on the use of agrochemicals and its effect on pollinators, soil and water quality (Tasks 2.2, 2.4);
• We implement bio-economic models including data on the use of pesticides and fertilisers for providing decision tools for land managers and professionals in human health (Task 3.3);
• We integrate these health-related decision tools into the RestPoll toolbox to mitigate the combined effects of pollution, climate change, natural disasters and habitat destruction (Task 5.2).

Expected impact 5: Practices in agriculture and forestry support biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystems services.

Land-management practices towards pollinator biodiversity conservation and restoration do not only support pollinators and pollination services, but also natural pest enemies (biological control), carbon sequestration, soil properties or humidity retention, which is essential for mitigating climate change effects, such as extensive heat and drought and benefit overall biodiversity. RestPoll is determining co-benefits of various pollinator restoration measures for these additional ecosystem services and is providing information about these co-benefits in collaboration, outreach and dissemination events. For example, RestPoll is assessing the value of agroforestry systems for pollinator restoration regarding other ecosystem services. Agroforestry is considered a promising tool for not only increasing biodiversity, but also integrating and benefitting multiple ecosystem services simultaneously, with the potential to increase longer term productivity. RestPoll is evaluating pollinator restoration measures across a wide range of European regions thereby connecting pollinator restoration not only to managing biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services, but also to wider socio-economic benefits mediated by nature-based solutions. The Living Labs facilitate knowledge exchanges between land users, researchers, policy-makers and the general public. Furthermore, based on interactions with local stakeholders, RestPoll is assessing the performance of existing restoration policies and provides a roadmap for improving conditions for pollinator restoration actions. Labelling can be a powerful tool to boost pollinator-friendly production and other ecosystem services, but only when carefully co-designed to reflect the environmental footprint of the production. A multi-actor approach in the development of the labelling process is also increasing the chance to be widely accepted by consumers. RestPoll uses different educational tools, such as videos with artistic animations, flipbooks and policy briefs, besides co-designing schemes for labelling, to reach the industry and retailers of pollinator-dependent crop and seed production. Informed policy and labelling engaged by RestPoll supports pollinator-friendly management practices.

Main project pathways to impact:

• RestPoll assesses co-benefits of pollinator restoration measures for multiple ecosystem services (Task 2.4);
• We build up an inventory of the existing policy measures and related enabling conditions and conduct a comprehensive assessment highlighting best practices of policy implementation, including opportunities for managing trade-offs and integrating pollinator restoration with other societal goals, like carbon sequestration, nutrient management and biodiversity conservation (Tasks 4.3, 4.4);
• We assess conservation evidence and technical knowledge on the effectiveness of management practices promoting pollinators (Task 5.1), evaluate consumers' willingness to pay for pollinator-friendly products (Task 5.3) and develop a certification scheme framework for pollinator-friendly labels (Task 5.4);
• We develop policy briefs and tools for their adaptations towards SDG 15 (Life on Land) and 2 (Zero Hunger) by thoroughly evaluating established and novel restoration measures to support adaptive management exceeding project duration (Task 6.3).

Expected impact 6: Approaches for enabling transformative changes in society.

Transformative societal changes are needed to reverse pollinator declines at large spatial and temporal scales. To help drive transformative change, RestPoll brings together internationally leading expertise across the range of disciplines together with a diverse community of influential stakeholders, to co-design ambitious new ways to tackle pollinator declines. This includes a portfolio of new concepts, novel tools and innovative ways of exchanging knowledge and raising awareness to empower multiple sectors of society to work together in halting and even reversing, the declines in pollinators and reinforcing the benefits they bring. Our first four work packages are developing tools to identify direct (WP1, WP2) and indirect drivers of pollinator habitats (WP2, WP3, WP4) leading to all necessary instruments needed to achieve these goals. The elaboration of the toolbox is following a sequential process by qualitative data collections in the other WPs directed by WP5. RestPoll aims to test as many tools as possible during the four years of the project before engaging their implementation in policy, business, law and society. This approach ensures that our tools become mainstreamed amongst the relevant stakeholders. Successful tools are included in the toolbox and communicated - by targeting journalists and politicians, in particular - in WP6. Our last work package (WP7) supports good-practice actions within the project by consulting the RestPoll Advisory Board, supporting publications with clear publication rules, such as circulating manuscripts to the whole consortium and by paying attention to gender diversity and equality throughout the life of the project. RestPoll’s long-term goal is that society, at large, enjoys the flowering cultural and productive landscapes visited by different pollinator species including species that are currently Red-listed. RestPoll also trains researchers and the wider society in the Living Labs to identify pollinators. As humans preserve best what they value, RestPoll contributes to sustainable transformation pathways towards reaching SDG 12, 13, 15: Responsible Consumption & Production, Climate Action and Life on Land.

Main pathways to impact:

• RestPoll brings together internationally leading expertise across a range of disciplines with a diverse community of influential stakeholders (Tasks 1.1, 4.1);
• We evaluate the individual and societal perception of insect pollinators of stakeholders in the CSAs (Task 3.1);
• We co-develop a novel framework of payments for restoration-mediated pollination services (PRPS) including a full range of marketed and non-marketed benefits (Task 3.2);
• We mobilise bio-economic models to evaluate and assess farmers’ adoption decisions for PRPS and impact of potential policy changes on farmers’ incomes, labour, allocations and other socio-economic indicators. This improves the quantification and assessment of the socio-economic and environmental performance of restoration measures contributing to sustainable agriculture practices, supporting farmers and access to local and international markets (Task 3.3);
• We evaluate the socio-economic conditions of private and public incentives and existing policy measures for pollinator restoration (Task 3.3);
• We consider the impact of pollinators on the full range of actors in the food value chain (Task 3.4);
• We evaluate and integrate all developed tools (from WP1-WP4) in the RestPoll toolbox (Task 5.2).

Expected impact 7: Biodiversity research is interconnected.

Bees and butterflies are popular and can be effective indicators of wider ecosystem function and are, therefore, well suited as flagship taxa for terrestrial habitat restoration; however, pollinators cover only a small fraction of biodiversity. To enhance the ambition of national to European policies, RestPoll collaborates with other national, pan-European and international partners and projects (EuropaBON, EU-PoMS). RestPoll actively fosters joint activities with other pan-European projects/initiatives to combine and harmonise data and generate new approaches (e.g. EuropaBON), syntheses and incentives during and after the project. This includes long-term biodiversity monitoring across multiple habitats (e.g. EU-PoMS, EEA) and joint training of species identifications (e.g. SPRING and EPIC BEE). RestPoll also exchanges data templates and protocols with our partners' projects (e.g. VALOR and Agir4Pol) and with projects of our partners being involved in other EU projects focusing on biodiversity in a broader sense. The interconnected nature of RestPoll with other EU projects in this call leads to high-impact publications of the full set of drivers of decline and mitigation tools of biodiversity from field to landscape, regional, European and global scales in collaboration with the partner project in this call. Our joint activities also include sharing our networks with major players in business and policy-making to increase political ambitions and conventions towards biodiversity restoration beyond the end of the project contributing to SDG 17.

Main pathways to impact:

• RestPoll is joining forces with additional actors from other EU-funded projects (led/contributed to by RestPoll partners, see Table 2) and stakeholders for: (1) assessing existing agricultural and environmental actions; (2) exchanging contacts with complementary stakeholder groups, such as other NGO organisations, ministries and policy forums; (3) exchanging results on the effectiveness of restoration measures for specific landscape, regional- and country-specific regions with responsible stakeholders to facilitate long-term pollinator restoration (Task 7.1);
• We integrate previous projects' rules and regulations in our data management and publication strategy (Task 7.2);
• We classify pollinator restoration measures as either harmful or beneficial to biodiversity and as implemented on regional, national or European scale (e.g. by comparing new organic and IPM plus schemes);
• We create a gender, diversity and equality plan to be used by future EU projects of our partners (Task 7.3).

Finally, as a minor, but important contribution to expected impact, monitoring is being conducted on a wide range of crops and varieties and seed plants and breeds in our case-study area network. Crop varieties are also considered in our pollination experiments (Task 1.2) and meta-analysis (Task 2.1). We also have access to global data sets on crop pollinators and pollination at the institutions of some partners (e.g. UFR and UREAD) that are, to a large extent, linked to crop varieties and can be used by RestPoll. Furthermore, we collaborate with local projects to select crop varieties that are resilient to drought and heat stress and are resource-efficient despite climate change (e.g. BayKlimaFit2). By focusing on polycultures and a wide range of crop varieties/seed breeds, RestPoll contributes to providing information about genetic resources targeting pollinator/pollination restoration under climate change to tackle all expected impacts of the call.

Fluctuations in crop prices and/or costs of agricultural inputs almost certainly influence impact achievement. The increasingly unpredictable weather conditions caused by climate change, (temporary) war-induced declines in exports of agricultural products from Ukraine and possible future bans on imports of agricultural products from Russia, two major agricultural exporters and (temporary) lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have most likely led to higher variability in crop prices and input costs. Such fluctuations could represent both a barrier and a catalyst for RestPoll impacts. Achievement of impacts could be compromised if increased crop prices trigger farmers to focus on the maximisation of agricultural production regardless of costs to pollinators and the environment (e.g. by cultivating uncropped habitats). Achievement of impacts could be boosted if reduced crop prices and/or enhanced costs of agricultural inputs would trigger farmers to diversify their activities, adopt biodiversity-based approaches to reduce costs and seek biodiversity-based economic incentives. RestPoll develops a framework of payments for restoration-mediated pollination services (PRPS), including a full range of marketable and non-marketable benefits and, therefore, be able to anticipate the consequences of fluctuating global agricultural commodity markets. RestPoll partners recently demonstrated a 32% reduction in variation in the yields of crops visited by bees and other pollinators than those grown in absence of pollinators (Bishop et al. 2022).

National Strategic Plans (NSP) for the 2023-2027 CAP budget period was being finalised during the proposal writing and both changes compared to current CAP programmes (the reference point for RestPoll) and last-minute changes to draft NSPs informed and fine-tuned the framework RestPoll uses to achieve impacts. RestPoll continuously evaluates the outcome of the CAP decision-making process and actors to further improve its policy impacts. However, RestPoll targets (mixes of) both public and private incentives and impacts are, therefore, not solely dependent on the availability of governmental subsidies. RestPoll ensures an active ongoing dialogue with policy and regulatory experts (with strong integration of our Advisory Board and by linking our outcomes to EU (e.g. EU PI) and global policy events (e.g. Promote Pollinators) to tailor our outputs to a changing policy environment, as well as help drive high-level policy agendas. The succession of global crises has increased costs for research, shifted public and political priorities and led to financial insecurities, which may reduce RestPoll impacts. The RestPoll team addresses these challenges through a unique communication and dissemination plan (Taylor et al. 2024). We have, from the very beginning, integrated stakeholders and society at large, specifically accounting for their diverse perceptions (which may change during the project), concerns, ideas and specific interests. Via our Living Labs and additional communication and collaboration network available to the RestPoll consortium, we are maintaining constant exchange throughout the project, thus adapting and optimising impact achievement.

New restrictions of widely-used insecticides could produce synergies with pollinator restoration and, therefore RestPoll’s impact achievement, but unanticipated side-effects of newly-released insecticides may undermine impact achievement. RestPoll collects and analyses data on the use of agrochemicals and is, therefore, in a good position to analyse regulation-induced changes for crop protection products and how this may affect restoration efforts and impact achievement. Further, by having strong representation from the industrial sector on our Advisory Board, we have direct and timely access to leading industry expertise. The EU Restoration law, with binding targets on pollinators, helps drive the beginning of a new era in the conservation of biodiversity. RestPoll‘s evidence-based restoration measures and policy approaches co-designed with stakeholders can make a significant contribution to reaching the target of restoring 15% of degraded ecosystems.

To foster social learning and contribute to behavioural and institutional change to upscale and broaden biodiversity and, in particular, pollinator conservation and restoration, RestPoll effectively communicates the project results by engaging diverse actors to uptake project outcomes for long-term and large-scale future land management. By working actively with two-way learning and knowledge exchange in case-study areas and integrated LLs, RestPoll ensures the relevance of research activities for targeted user groups, as their considerations are integrated in the research objectives and design since the time we started to develop this proposal.

The RestPoll project catalyst a wide array of scientific, economic and societal impacts with its key outcomes. Through the project, it ushers in a new era of applied biodiversity research via the establishment of long-term harmonised pollinator and pollination data and monitoring, providing an essential foundation for future ecological studies. Businesses and society at large implement restoration measures at multiple spatial and temporal scales, while stakeholder engagement in enhancing pollinator habitat connectivity, for example, through hedgerows as storm breakers or polycultures like agroforestry, deliver climate resilience and disaster mitigation co-benefits. The human health sector actively support habitat restoration to reduce disease risk and improve well-being. RestPoll’s innovative pollinator certification scheme is gaining traction amongst the fruit and seed industries, retailers and consumers, making pollinator-friendly products visible in mainstream markets and raising awareness of broader ecosystem services. Across Europe, flower-rich cultural and productive landscapes flourish, attracting a diversity of insect pollinator species, including species that are currently threatened. Lastly, RestPoll’s strong collaboration with other initiatives fosters a lasting framework for communication and political ambition towards biodiversity restoration beyond the project’s lifetime.

The RestPoll project consists of seven distinctive, but highly interconnected work packages. Each WP has a lead with the necessary know-how and a co-lead with complementary competence, combining socio-economic and agro-ecological expertise. The University of Freiburg (UFR), as the project coordinator, is in charge of establishing the restoration network and the overall pollinator surveys and monitoring (WP1), integrating data management according to the FAIR principle and ensuring proper attention to diversity and equality issues in the project (WP7). WP2 is based on data collected in WP1, upscaling it to the landscape level. The core of RestPoll is the establishment of Living Labs (WP4, see Fig. 1) facilitating the research carried out in WP1, WP3 and WP5, as well as the dissemination efforts in WP6. Tasks are linked within and across WPs. Six tasks engage with the LLs directly, all others indirectly and 17 tasks produce input for the RestPoll toolbox. Task 1.1 (establishing the case-study area network), Task 4.1 (establishing the LLs), Task 5.2 (elaborating the RestPoll toolbox) and all tasks in WP1 and WP7 are providing coordination and services for all other tasks. Tasks have been bundled around the annual LL workshops (Fig. 2) to enable effective work-flow. The RestPoll Living Lab Network aims to achieve long-lasting impact beyond the duration of the project.

Figure 2.  

Timing of the work packages and tasks (Gantt chart). Milestones and deliverables are highlighted in orange, duration of tasks are in yellow.

The budget has been carefully allocated to partners considering their contributions and needs. This ensures the achievement of their project goals by providing adequate resources to fulfil given roles. Around half of the staff effort (47%) has been allocated to tasks in WP1 and WP4, ensuring the establishment of the restoration network area and the Living Labs, including pollinator monitoring and stakeholder engagement and participation. More than 12% of the staff effort has been allocated to WP6 ensuring that dissemination leads to target impacts.

(1) Pollinator monitoring: In order to identify pollinators to species level, it is required to collect individuals, which may potentially include a small number of Red-listed species. The preferred method to catch insects is hand-netting to minimise the number of insects collected and, therefore, to minimise the impact on populations. Our methods align with those recommended by the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (Potts 2021).

(2) Social science: With respect to social data, RestPoll uses data provided by stakeholders in workshops, interviews and surveys that may classify as personal information. The data consist of text, photos and audio recordings. Participants are recruited on a voluntary basis and after having expressed full informed consent. Given the non-competitive nature of the activities in RestPoll, no negative impact is foreseen. Informed consent is obtained from every person taking part in the planned research activity before any data are requested. Children and/or adults unable to give informed consent are not to be involved. The informed consent is kept on file. All data collection complies fully with General Data Protection Regulation (henceforth GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and national equivalents for non-EU countries.

(1) Pollinator monitoring: Research is confined to basic monitoring including observing and extracting identified pollinators. Monitoring is performed in agricultural areas as well as protected areas. Other than pollinating insects, no additional material or bio-active compounds are exported from the RestPoll countries. When possible, pollinating insects are identified by local experts or the consortium partners within the same country. Otherwise, the Nagoya protocol is observed when sharing insect specimens between the partners. Thus, only basic research permits are required, which are applied for upon positive evaluation of this proposal. We confirm that research, sampling, export and import permits can and are obtained in agreement with the law of the countries where observations and sampling take place. All research in RestPoll is being conducted according to the Nagoya protocol and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

(2) Social science: We emphasise that the tasks that involve personal information of research participants are carried out in accordance with the GDPR, as well as national and organisation-specific guidelines, always ensuring that participants consent to the collection, storage and processing of their personal data. Further, participants are informed about their rights when providing us with such data according to article 13 of the EU GDPR (Information to be provided where personal data are collected from the data subject). Data collected in the context of the project are stored according to GDPR and deleted following the finalisation of the research activities for which it is used. Data collection instruments include informed consent forms, trained interviewers and guidelines ensuring a standardised process across the consortia.

Personal data are only collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes and is processed fairly and lawfully and is adequate, relevant and not excessive. Data are only collected, held and processed to the extent necessary from a quality control, sampling and analytical perspective. In terms of data storage and processing, a secure SharePoint folder is set up for internal data management and exchange amongst project participants hosted by the project coordinator on a server placed within the EU. Data access is only provided to team members that process data according to the specified work packages, adhering to the GDPR. Personal information is not shared with third parties. With respect to qualitative data, anonymisation involves the removal of all names, specific occupational information, physical or electronic addresses or other personal identifiers. With respect to quantitative data, anonymisation involves processing, analysing and reporting results in aggregated form to ensure that specific participants cannot be identified.

Data management in RestPoll is based on the FAIR principles of data management (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable). Findings are presented in open-access publications of international peer-reviewed journals, thus providing public access to the scientific output of the project. Data are only published in aggregated anonymised form. All publications and dissemination materials from RestPoll respect the research participants' right to privacy and there is no link to actual persons included in such materials without their informed consent.

Raw data from workshops and surveys are not made publicly available due to GDPR restrictions. Import/export of data that emerge from the project will only take place in anonymised form, thus not in a form where such information classify as personal data.