NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GEOPHYSICS GEODESY AND GEOGRAPHY - BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Their core work

NIGGG BAS is a Bulgarian research institute under the Academy of Sciences focused on Earth observation, geophysics, and environmental mapping. Their H2020 work centers on ecosystem services assessment — translating biodiversity and landscape data into frameworks that support environmental policy and natural capital accounting. They bring geographic and spatial analysis expertise to European environmental research consortia, contributing field data and regional knowledge from Southeast Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2015-2018) focused on broad ecosystem services mapping, building European networks and flexible methodologies for biodiversity assessment linked to EU policy. In the later period, their focus sharpened toward natural capital accounting — a more quantitative, economics-oriented approach to valuing ecosystems. This shift from qualitative mapping to integrated accounting frameworks suggests a move toward making environmental data actionable for economic decision-making.

They are moving from descriptive environmental mapping toward quantitative ecosystem valuation — a direction aligned with growing EU demand for nature-based accounting in economic planning.

How they like to work

NIGGG BAS operates exclusively as a participant or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. Despite this supporting role, they connect into large consortia: 68 unique partners across 41 countries from just 3 projects indicates they join broad, well-networked initiatives rather than small focused teams. This makes them a low-risk, experienced consortium partner who knows how to contribute within large international collaborations.

With 68 unique partners across 41 countries from only 3 projects, their network is remarkably wide for their participation level — a result of joining large-scale coordination and support actions. Their geographic connections span well beyond the Balkans into Western and Northern Europe.

What sets them apart

As a Bulgarian Academy of Sciences institute, they offer deep regional environmental data and field expertise from Southeast Europe — a region often underrepresented in pan-European ecosystem assessments. Their combination of geophysics, geodesy, and geography gives them spatial analysis capabilities that complement purely ecological partners. For consortium builders needing Widening Country participation with genuine environmental mapping expertise, they are a credible choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MAIA
  Their largest funded project (EUR 121,844), focused on the emerging and policy-relevant field of integrated natural capital accounting.
• ESMERALDA
  Pan-European coordination action that built the methodology framework for ecosystem services mapping across all EU member states.