Progress report for
Investing EUR 10 million in a large demonstration of measures and management for coastal and marine ecosystems restoration and resilience
Achievement at a glance
The “Demonstration of measures and management for coastal and marine ecosystems restoration and resilience in simplified socio-ecological systems” is a project funded with EUR 10 million from the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe. The Marine Systems Approaches for Biodiversity Resilience and Ecosystem Sustainability (Marine SABRES) project gathers 22 partners. It receives EUR 8.8 million from an EU grant, over 4 years from 01/09/2022.Marine biodiversity loss is continuing to decline despite current conservation efforts. Reversing the decline in biodiversity requires rapid roll out of effective conservation measures that can also enable a sustainable and resilient blue economy. Social-ecological systems-thinking and Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) are globally recognised tools to enable balanced marine development and conservation. Marine SABRES will co-design a Simple Social-Ecological Systems approach (the Simple SES) to rapidly enable upscale EBM across Europe and abroad. It will set European marine management on a course to reverse biodiversity decline, conserve and protect biodiversity by integrating sustainable ecosystems and a resilient blue economy, enable managers to make sustainable decisions, empower citizens to engage with marine biodiversity conservation, and promote sustainable development in coastal and marine sectors.
Marine SABRES is comprised of an interdisciplinary consortium including world leaders in the field of EBM and Social-Ecological System distributed across Europe and focusing demonstration of practical management efforts in three Demonstration Areas (Tuscan Archipelago, the Arctic North-East Atlantic and Macaronesia) before upscaling throughout Europe and beyond.
The EU also supports the REST-COAST project with a budget of EUR 17 million. The project started in October 2021 and is running until March 2026. It brings together 38 partners to assess and restore ecosystem services from coastal marshes, seabed meadows and coastal dunes, to reduce erosion and flooding risks while enhancing biodiversity and blue carbon. It is developing large-scale river-coast connectivity and increasing the nearshore accommodation space for the resilient delivery of coastal ecosystem services. The project will conduct nine pilots in the main EU regional seas (Baltic, Black, North, Atlantic and Mediterranean) with the aim of increasing the commitment of citizens, stakeholders and policymakers.
Next Steps
Bénédicte CaremierBeneficiaries
EU research institutes, universities and bodies:
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, The e-Science European Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Spain, Agencia Regional para o
Desenvolvimento da Investigacao, Tecnologia e Inovacao (ASSOCIACAO) Portugal, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU), Eco-Ecologic Institut gemeinnützige GmbH Germany, Institute for advanced sustainability studies (IASS) Denmark, Fundazion AZTI Germany, Stichting Hummel Foundation for Sustainable Solutions the Netherlands, Universita di Pisa Italy, Klaipedos Universitetas Lithuania, Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain, Stichting Wageningen Research the Netherlands, Aalborg Universitet Denmark, Universidade Dos Acores Portugal, Stichting Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten the Netherlands, WWF Verdensnaturfonden Denmark.
Non-EU bodies:
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs UK, International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists Ltd (IECS) UK, University of Portsmouth Higher Education Corporation UK, SJÓKOVIN - Blue Resource Faroes Islands, Hafrannsoknastofnun, Rannsokna- og Radgjafarstofnun Hafsog Vatna Island, Stofnun Vilhjalms Stefanssonar Island.