Project description
Nature-based solutions for marine conservation
Marine and transitional waters support a large portion of the global biodiversity. Harbouring key climate-regulating processes and habitats, they contribute to worldwide food security, in addition to other valuable economic and well-being services and resources. The EU-funded FutureMARES project will deliver new solutions to climate change challenges. This highly multidisciplinary project will investigate socially and economically viable nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Solutions will include the restoration of habitat-forming species that can buffer coastal habitats from climate change effects and improve seawater quality. Conservation actions and sustainable, ecosystem-based harvesting (capture and culture) of seafood are also a project priority. Overall, the aim is to safeguard these ecosystems’ natural capital, biodiversity and services.
Objective
Marine and transitional ecosystems provide fundamental climate regulation, food provisioning and cultural services. FutureMARES provides socially and economically viable nature-based solutions (NBS) and Nature-inclusive Harvesting (NIH) for climate change (CC) adaptation and mitigation to safeguard these ecosystems’ natural capital, biodiversity and services. The program advances understanding of the links between species and community traits, ecological functions and ecosystem services as impacted by CC by analysing the best available data from monitoring programs and conducting targeted experiments and beyond state-of-the-art modelling. Ensemble physical-biogeochemical projections will identify CC hotspots and refugia. Shifts in the distribution and productivity of keystone, structural and endangered species and the consequences for biodiversity will be projected within different CC-NBS/NIH scenarios to reveal potential ecological benefits, feedbacks and trade-offs. Novel, social-ecological vulnerability assessments will rank the severity of CC impacts on various ecosystem services and dependent human communities. Complementary analyses at real-world demonstration sites will inform managers and policy-makers on the economic costs and tradeoffs of NBS/NIH. These physical, ecological, social and economic analyses will be integrated to develop two climate-ready NBS and one NIH: i) restoration of habitat-forming species acting as ‘climate rescuers’ buffering coastal habitats from negative CC effects, improving seawater quality, and sequestering carbon, ii) conservation actions explicitly considering the range of impacts of CC and other hazards on habitat suitability for biota to preserve the integrity of food webs (e.g. marine protected areas) and protect endangered species (e.g. charismatic megafauna), and iii) Nature-inclusive Harvesting (NIH) (capture and culture) of seafood. FutureMARES is co-developed with policy-makers and managers to ensure impactful and transformative cost-effective actions.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.5. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.5.1. - Fighting and adapting to climate change
- H2020-EU.3.5.2. - Protection of the environment, sustainable management of natural resources, water, biodiversity and ecosystems
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
3526 KV Utrecht
Netherlands
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Participants (35)
8000 Aarhus C
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546 36 THESSALONIKI
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48395 Sukarrieta
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1720756 La Serena
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SW1P 4DF LONDON
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4450 208 Matosinhos
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73100 Lecce
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28006 Madrid
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Belize
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EX2 4QD Exeter
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2629 HV Delft
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2800 Kongens Lyngby
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8005-139 FARO
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24148 Kiel
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19013 Attikia Anavissos
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Participation ended
4051 401 Porto
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31080 Haifa
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13572 Marseille
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
75794 Paris
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75007 Paris
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PL1 2PB Plymouth
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0579 Oslo
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PL1 3DH Plymouth
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
16034 Portofino
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
SO17 1BJ Southampton
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Participation ended
10691 Stockholm
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00790 Helsinki
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38116 Braunschweig
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CB3 0DL Cambridge
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
56126 Pisa
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36310 Vigo Pontevedra
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6708 PB Wageningen
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20148 Hamburg
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4485-661 VAIRAO, VILA DO CONDE
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750 07 Uppsala
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