Blueprint demonstration for co-created effective, efficient and resilient networks of MPAs

Project Information

BLUE4ALL

Grant agreement ID: 101094014

DOI

10.3030/101094014

EC signature date 6 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 8 018 806,25

EU contribution

€ 8 018 806,00

Coordinated by

INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BLUE4ALL (Blueprint demonstration for co-created effective, efficient and resilient networks of MPAs)

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 (EUBS2030) was launched in 2020 to strengthen biodiversity conservation and restoration. The EUBS2030 aims to establish a coherent network of protected areas and highlights that the existing network of protected areas is not sufficiently large to safeguard biodiversity. The EUBS2030 sets the objective to legally protect at least 30% of the land, including inland waters, and 30% of the sea in the EU, of which at least one third to be under strict protection. These EU targets are coherent with the global targets proposed to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and with the objectives of the Bern Convention.

BLUE4ALL is a HORIZON Europe Ocean Mission project working towards addressing marine conservation and restoration challenges in Europe. BLUE4ALL is focused on the analysis of the MPA process comprising all steps needed to successfully conserve and/or restore biodiversity by means of MPAs. These steps comprise designation (i.e. delineation, eventual enlargement, identification of conservation objectives and status assessment), management (i.e. identification and implementation of conservation and/or restoration measures, including adaptation to climate change and enforcement) and monitoring (i.e. environmental and ecological status monitoring and auditing). We specifically identify good-practice examples and challenges to achieve effective, efficient and resilient MPA networks throughout the whole MPA process. We will document existing and develop new tools to deal with those challenges in close interaction with real-world examples of existing MPAs and networks of MPAs, comprising (1) Information Sites that offer a representative view on the challenges and tools of the wide diversity of MPAs and networks of MPAs, and (2) Living Labs with which BLUE4ALL will team up. This project places stakeholders at the center of the MPA process, ensuring their needs and concerns are addressed from the outset. BLUE4ALL will ultimately lead to a co-created and tested (proof of concept) Blueprint Platform for effective, efficient and resilient MPAs and networks of MPAs, and to a firm basis of a European-wide roll-out of the BLUE4ALL legacy to achieve the EU Mission to restore our oceans and waters.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

BLUE4ALL identified existing and promising frameworks for the co-creation of MPAs and MPA networks, including delineation, expansion, design, management, enforcement, monitoring and auditing. This comprised the following actions:
- a benchmark analysis of policies and institutions involved in establishing MPAs;
- a comprehensive overview of several aspects of stakeholder engagement in MPAs (bottom-up approach, stakeholder engagement frameworks, gender aspects in stakeholder engagement and recommendations for enhancing stakeholder engagement in the Living Labs);
- a review of socio-ecological frameworks and methodologies relevant for MPAs: ecosystem service valuation review, business review, tool and solution review.

An engagement plan was developed and implemented to efficiently leverage the knowledge available in BLUE4ALL’s 25 Information Sites and Living Labs. We conducted the Baseline Assessment, formed Stakeholders Engagement Groups (SEGs - Living Labs only), and conducted a needs assessment to identify key needs and challenges within these (networks of) MPAs. This assessment, crucial for achieving the conservation goals of each Living Lab, involved active stakeholder engagement through workshops and interviews. A wide variety of ecological, socio-governance and financial tools to improve MPA management were adapted or developed and subsequently tested and validated in Blue4all's Living Labs in 2025.

A first version of the Blueprint Platform, now called MPA Solutions Hub, was developed and populated with the tools tested in the project’s Living Labs. Initial feedback from stakeholders on this first version was analyzed and subsequent improvements planned. A booklet was drafted highlighting the different use cases for the tools tested and this will serve as a resource for MPA managers using the platform.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Blue4all’s is developing of a Blueprint Platform for the co-creation of effective, efficient and resilient (networks of) MPAs. This scheme will separate generically encountered challenges and applied solutions from MPA (network)-specific challenges and solutions, and develop guidance in a user-friendly manner to MPA (network) managers. This guidance will take the shape of an interactive web-based Blueprint Platform directing MPA managers to those challenges and solutions most applicable to their site(s). Based on online questionnaires targeting the BLUE4ALL Information Sites and Living Labs, and a co-creation workshop, we have started identifying the needs and requirements of the Blue4all Blueprint Platform. To this end, we have:
- identified the needs, promising socio-ecological tools, challenges and solutions in Blue4all’s Information Sites and Living Labs in preparation of the ‘tool-testing’ phase;
- formed Stakeholders Engagement Groups in the Living Labs;
- ran a first iteration of the integrated solutions framework, i.e. the structured approach that will guide the selection of tools to address challenges MPA managers are faced with.

Blue4all also launched the "MPA managers & local communities" group in the BlueBioMatch platform to develop an effective MPA Networking Platform. This group will facilitate resource sharing and knowledge exchange, and serve as a community of users for the Blueprint platform.

Bue4all developed and published a goal-based framework categorising social and governance processes within MPA management. This framework helps managers and decision-makers to understand how engaging stakeholders contributes to MPA governance objectives and where they tend to lean toward top-down or bottom-up management approaches. By linking governance goals with practical processes and tools that support decision-making, the framework guides MPA management to be adaptive, inclusive, and grounded in both ecological priorities and the social realities that determine long-term success.