Connecting Seas: Cooperation and Tools for EU Marine Protected Areas

The "Connecting Seas: Cooperation and Tools for EU Marine Protected Areas" workshop unites various EU-funded projects, including BLUE4ALL, MSP4BIO, BioProtect, Blue Connect, and MPA Europe, to explore innovative tools and foster collaboration in marine conservation. The primary objective of the workshop is to find synergies between the projects and identify areas for cooperation, with a focus on consolidating all tools being developed for marine protected areas (MPAs) across Europe.

During the session, each project will provide an overview of their tools and demonstration sites, showcasing solutions that address challenges such as ecological monitoring, stakeholder engagement, governance, decision support, and economic sustainability. For example, BioProtect will present its Autonomous Biosampler and Deep-Sea Biodiversity Mapping tools, while MSP4BIO will introduce its strategic planning frameworks for marine ecosystem restoration. BLUE4ALL, in turn, will demonstrate its governance and financial tools designed to support sustainable MPA management.

The workshop will also highlight areas of overlap and complementarity between the projects, encouraging participants to discuss potential opportunities for collaboration, such as joint data sharing initiatives, unified stakeholder engagement strategies, and coordinated knowledge transfer efforts. Come join the panel session and be part of the discussions, so we all work towards meeting EU biodiversity protection goals!