IHCantabria validates interactive tools to support the management and conservation of the marine environment

MARBEFES aims to enable biodiversity recovery by developing tools and methods supporting Horizon Europe’s goals for ecosystem restoration and sustainable resource management.

 

The Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria) has organized today, March 10, the third stakeholder consultation days, a meeting in which representatives of local and regional public administrations, companies, NGOs, port institutions and academia have participated in the validation of the new interactive tools developed in the framework of the European project Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning leading to Ecosystem Services(MARBEFES).

The session, organized at IHCantabria’s facilities, allowed the attendees to test and validate the new applications, aimed at supporting the management, policies and conservation of the marine environment. The day included a presentation of the project, practical tests, discussion and collection of contributions.

The prototypes of three web applications were presented at the event:

• Bow-Tie tool: linking drivers and pressures to impacts on ecosystems and society, and identifying existing or potential management measures.
• Decision Support System (Socioecological System): which identifies how stakeholders perceive the relationships between the ecological, economic and social elements of their coastal system.
• Governance tool: helps to visualize the institutional and legal landscape of a coastal zone, showing organizations, authorities and stakeholders.

The workshop is part of the European MARBEFES project, which investigates the relationship between marine biodiversity and the benefits provided by marine ecosystems, with the aim of establishing clear links between biodiversity, ecosystem functions and the social benefits they provide. This is achieved through an innovative set of ecological, economic and socio-cultural tools, which allow a comprehensive valuation that supports sustainable policy and management of marine ecosystems to support decision making.

This third round culminates the participatory process initiated in previous phases of the project, ensuring that the tools created are useful, applicable and aligned with the real needs of the actors working on the coast.

The project is aligned with global initiatives such as IPBES, the Global Ocean Assessment, the UN SDGs and the European Green Pact. Through a multi-stakeholder approach, MARBEFES collaborates with stakeholders to define policy and management issues.