EEA and Norway Grants

Norwegian cooperation on environmental projects in Central Europe has given significant improvement.

Norway contributes to social and economic levelling for the European Economic Area (EEA), together with Iceland and Liechtenstein. Climate, biodiversity and pollution are areas of cooperation.

The EEA funds are divided into two schemes: EEA Grants and Norway Grants. An important goal is to strengthen the connection and cooperation between Norway and the recipient countries. 

The funds go to sectors that are both central to the development of the recipient countries and where there is potential and interest for cooperation with Norway.

The framework agreements are called Memorandum of Understanding. For the period of 2014-21 and up to April 2025, 2.802 billion euros has been allocated for project cooperation and bilateral activities within each program through the EEA schemes. Here you will find an overview of the countries which the Norwegian Environment Agency has framework agreements with.

Norwegian companies, research institutions, municipalities, non-governmental organizations and others can collaborate on joint projects with partners in the recipient countries through open calls.

An entity in the recipient country have to apply for the funds. Those with a Norwegian partner are given priority. The calls for proposals are available on the website of the Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), which is the secretariat for the EEA and Norway Grants. Becoming a partner in a project can happen in several ways.

Norwegian entity

  • has already established collaboration with an applicant in the recipient country from previous projects
  • is contacted by an applicant with a request for collaboration
  • contacts an applicant with a request for collaboration
  • expresses its interest to the program operator in the recipient country

The Norwegian Environment Agency can forward requests for project collaboration.

Examples: Environment projects in Central Europe

Video: The migratory birds' remarkable journey to the South

There are increasingly fewer wetlands in Europe. Migratory birds, such as nightingales, are in danger of disappearing, due to climate change, pollution and pressure on nature. In this video, we see how Norwegian researchers are collaborating with organizations in Slovakia on the Morava project. There they have transformed boggy agricultural land into lush wetlands. The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and the organizations Green Foundation and Broz in Slovakia have collaborated on the Morava project. This is supported by EEA and Norway Grants.

The migratory birds’ remarkable journey to the South|Norwegian Enivironmental Agency

In the city of Tartu, local authorities have created a circular recycling center for used building materials. The project is supported with EEA and Norway Grants.

Windows, safety cabinets and planks
The recycling center sells both used interior items, such as toilets and cabinets, and used materials, such as windows from construction and demolition work. |Anne Marie Mo Ravik, NEA

Usable materials from construction or demolition work can be delivered to the center and used for other construction projects. This will help to

  • improve the availability of cheaper building materials
  • increase recycling
  • reduce the proportion of construction waste at waste stations

The recycling center has been established as a pilot project to gain experience with the market and profitability of recycling and circular economy in the construction industry.

The used building materials can be delivered free of charge, as the premises are provided by the local authorities of Tartu in cooperation with a local operator offering payment services. Materials that are not suitable for recycling must be delivered to a waste station. They charge a fee for receiving the waste.

Two people - bicycle shed
The used building materials are used for new buildings and installations, like this bicycle shed in Tartu|Andre Kammerud, NEA

The Karosta Canal, in the city of Liepaja, was one of the Baltic Sea's most polluted areas. Today, authorities have cleaned up large parts of the canal, removing environmentally harmful substances, such as oil and heavy metals. 

The Latvian city of Liepaja hosted one of the Soviet Union's most important naval bases in the Baltic Sea. The naval base contributed to the severe pollution of the Karosta Canal in Liepaja. They left shipwrecks, metal debris, batteries, chemicals and oil in the canal.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, local authorities had to take responsibility for the clean-up. The Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA), the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) have helped develop a number of guides and tools for how to handle contaminated sediments. This has come in handy in Liepaja. The local authorities have established a closed landfill in the canal for the contaminated sediments, since there are no land-based landfills for receiving contaminated masses in Latvia. 

Port activity with barges, cranes and industry.
The Karosta Canal in the city of Liepaja. |Andre Kammerud, NEA
Barge with excavator that digs up contaminated sediments
During 30 years of environmental rehabilitation, 146 thousand cubic meters of contaminated masses with a total of 298 tons of various hazardous substances have been removed. This includes petroleum products and heavy metals. Of the total 72 hectares that are contaminated, they have cleaned up about 40 percent, mainly in the part of the canal where there is a port and other economic activities. |liepaja.SEZ
Overview - canal in an urban area - harbour and boats
Overview of the Karosta canal in Latvia|eeagrants.org

 

In Slovakia, students and teachers have created a climate garden in the schoolyard with support from the EEA and Norway Grants. Here, they compost food waste, grow vegetables and have made a fish pond.

At a school in the city of Rimavska Sobota in Slovakia, the classroom has been moved outdoors to the schoolyard. With financial support from the EEA and Norway Grants, students and teachers have created a climate garden in the schoolyard.

Bildet viser vanndam med planter og fisk og besøkende som får informasjon om miljøprosjektet.
In the schoolyard, students and teachers have created a pond with plants and fish. The water comes partly from rainwater collected from gutters, which is used to water the plants. Here, the students learn about both climate adaptation and biodiversity.|Marianne Gjørv
Squash and carrots
In the school’s climate garden, students grow vegetables and herbs for the school cafeteria. |Marianne Gjørv, NEA
compost bin
Food waste from the school cafeteria is composted to produce soil for the kitchen garden. |Marianne Gjørv; NEA
Photo of an insect hotel in a tree.
The students have built an insect hotel for pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies. |Marianne Gjørv, NEA

The Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and the Directorate for Civil Protection are collaborating with the environmental authorities in Slovakia on the project. 

 

The Norwegian Environment Agency hosted a school visit from Slovakia, supported by the EEA and Norway Grants. To learn about climate and the environment, students and teachers from six Slovakian schools visited the Climate House at Tøyen, Ski Upper Secondary School, and climate projects in downtown Oslo.

Group photo - stears-pupils-teachers...
Teachers and students from Slovakia, along with participants from the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and the Municipality of Oslo. The agencies collaborated with the environmental authorities in Slovakia on the school trip.|Marianne Gjørv
Photo of three students doing tasks related to food waste - and a glass with insects.
At the Climate House at Tøyen, the Slovak students learned about climate and the environment, including how to reduce food waste. They also got to taste insects. |Marianne Gjørv
A group of students in the nearby forest.
At Ski Upper Secondary School, the students told about the school’s cafeteria with sustainable food. The Slovak students also visited the school’s nearby forest, where they learned about outdoor life. |Marianne Gjørv
Pupils and teacher telling about "Our green School".
The students from Slovakia talked about climate initiatives at their schools. They have created a textbook on climate and environmental measures, and established green roofs on school buildings and rain gardens in the schoolyard. Food waste from the school cafeterias is composted to create soil for vegetable gardens and herb beds in the schoolyard. Environmental education is interdisciplinary, integrating language, mathematics, social studies and science into the work on climate and environmental measures. |Marianne Gjørv
Blue-green roof at the Vega Scene - pupils and teachers.
Blue-green roofs are beneficial for both climate adaptation, biodiversity and public health. The blue-green roof at Vega Scene in Oslo manages heavy rain and enhances biodiversity with native plants from the Oslofjord area. Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research and Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate are doing research on the blue-green roof. It is the first of its kind in Norway. |Marianne Gjørv
Two pupils hammering down a water meter in a green bed.
In Deichmansgate and Wilsesgate in Oslo, the students conducted practical experiments to learn how quickly water drains through soil with vegetation in a rain garden. |Marianne Gjørv
Video: Testing stormwater retention in two urban raingardens in Oslo

Deichmansgate is an urban street in Oslo with 9 rain gardens (bio retention cells) built in 2016. Two were testet by letting the fire brigade making 20-yr rain events. This movie reveals success and failure in the raingarden construction doing this. Lesson learned is that rebuilding open LID-solutions is not as hard as for underground stormwater measures.

Climate adaptation to stormwater in Deichmansgate in Oslo|Bent Braskerud

In the bird reserve Josefov Meadows in the Czech Republic, Czech ornithologists have received support from the EEA and Norway Grants to reopen overgrown ponds and restore the wetland area.

Wetland, lake
The wetland area is an important breeding ground for birds and a habitat for rare amphibians, including black-headed gulls and the European tree frog. Forty of the species in the area are on the Czech Republic’s Red List of endangered species. |Marianne Gjørv, NEA
Visiters around a pond
The bird reserve Josefov Meadows is open to the public. It's frequently used by school classes and others who want to learn about the importance of wetlands for biodiversity and climate adaptation. |Marianne Gjørv|Marianne Gjørv, NEA
Model of Josefov wetland area - houses, wetland and a scientist pour on water to show the waterways.
An exhibition box has been created in the Josefov Meadows wetland area, featuring a model of a natural landscape and an urban landscape. Half of the model shows how heavy rainfall often lead to flooding in areas with straight river courses and hard surfaces. The other half shows how a river with meanders and surfaces with vegetation drains rainwater and retains moisture during dry periods. Such areas are beneficial for both biodiversity and climate adaptation. |Marianne Gjørv, NEA

Opening overgrown ponds and creating small islands 

The support has enabled the Czech Society for Ornithologists to restore the wetland area by

  • opening overgrown ponds
  • creating small islands that benefit wetland birds, amphibians, and aquatic insects
  • channeling water
  • repairing historical irrigation systems
  • removing vegetation
Horses graze - lake - wetland
To increase biodiversity, horses graze in the area year-round. The horses fertilize the soil and attract insects, which are important food for the birds. These measures have resulted in rare and endangered bird species returning here to nest.|Marianne Gjørv, NEA

Monitoring birdlife and flora 

Ornithologists and their partners monitor populations of birds, flora, dragonflies and amphibians in the wetland area. Even during the work on the new ponds, species new to the bird reserve appeared.

One of these is the heron Eurasian Bittern, a critically endangered species in the Czech Republic that lives in reed beds. The first nesting of Black-headed gulls has also been recorded. In the ponds, the number of amphibians is increasing, including green toads and the European tree frog.

Trail and a small cottage/observatory for birdwatchers.
A nature trail has been created in the Josefov Meadows bird reserve, with an observatory for bird watchers.|Marianne Gjørv, NEA

In the Czech Republic, they have preserved two endangered species of owls thanks to EEA and Norway Grants. 

The populations of barn owls and little owls have significantly declined in the Czech Republic and many other European countries. Czech bird organizations have received financial support to protect the owls. The measures they have implemented on agricultural land, especially during the breeding season, have resulted in strengthened populations of the endangered owls.

Farmers have adapted their farming practices to preserve the barn owls

Close photo of av barnowl
The barn owl (Tyto alba) is typically 35-40 cm long and weighs around half a kilogram. |TYTO.z.c.|TYTO.z.c.

The barn owl has long had a preference for nesting inside farm buildings. Therefore, the main target group in the barn owl project is farmers. Farmers receive information on how to adapt their farming practices to protect the owls.

In the barn owl project, measures have been implemented at over 900 nesting sites. The nest boxes were cleaned and repaired after the owls had nested and hatched. Additionally, new nest boxes were installed, and “traps” where the owls could get stuck or drown were removed.

Left: Nestbox for barnowl Right: Barn owl chick
Left: Nest box for barn owls in a barn. Right: Barn owl chick.|TYTO.z.c.

Removing traps and hazards at little owl nesting sites

Left image: Flying little owl over a flower meadow. Right picture: Barn owl eating grass.
The little owl (Athene noctua) is among the world's smallest owl species and is usually around 25 cm long and weighs just under 200 grams, about the size of a starling. |Jiri Hornek

In this project, members of the Czech Society for Ornithologists have installed 50 new nest boxes for the little owl. They have investigated the availability of small mammals and beetles in the nesting areas - the main food sources for these owls.

Water barrels, vertical air conditioners, and standing pipes have been removed, and the timing of roadside vegetation trimming has been adjusted. During the 2022 breeding season, 537 locations were checked, and 72 chicks were recorded - most in the project’s nest boxes.

Read more about the project at TYTO:

Last updated 06.02.2025