Blue Connect
Strict protection, restoration and co-management of marine protected areas to ensure effective ecosystem conservation and improved connectivity of blue corridors
Project summary
The main objective of BLUE CONNECT project is to directly support effective achievement of marine conservation and restoration targets in the EU and beyond by advancing implementation of the European Green Deal and its EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the European Restoration Law, and the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework of the Convention for Biological Diversity, ensuring the implementation of the EU Mission’s "Restore our Ocean and Waters". A widely applicable ecosystem-based Blueprint will result from applying an innovative, collaborative, science-based and data-driven systematic approach for the designation and management of marine protected areas, including shifting their status from “protected” to “strictly protected” and quantifying their conservation effectiveness.
A co-development approach in cooperation with site-specific stakeholders and citizens in 12 Demonstration sites is set to establish co-ownership for the effective conservation management and their long-term commitment to conservation objectives. The Blueprint will be developed as transferable and scalable beyond the project Demo sites, coupled with a deployment and transferability plan.
Our role
ETC-UMA leads WP5 “Ensuring effective conservation” with the objective of developing a system for monitoring marine conservation effectiveness and assessing conservation outcomes, building on the integrated framework for definition of conservation objectives and governance toolbox for co-defining conservation measures. It is responsible for the deliverable on Best practices in MPA monitoring and assessment through the identification and appraisal of the most relevant monitoring and assessment frameworks / systems to select the most suitable one to be applied in the Demo sites.
In addition to active involvement in all WPs, ETC-UMA in cooperation with the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITERD) will engage with the Spanish Cetacean Migration Corridor as one of the demonstration sites in focusing the BLUECONNECT Blueprint implementation to the preparation of the management plan/Establishment of co-management/ Connectivity Advisory site.
More about it
David Rodríguez Rodríguez
davidrr@uma.es
David Rodríguez Rodríguez holds a European-mention PhD in Conservation Biology, an MSc in Ecological Restoration, two BScs: in Biology and in Environmental Sciences, and one University Specialist Degree in GIS and Remote Sensing...
Dania Abdul Malak
daniaabdulmalak@uma.es
Dania Abdul Malak is a senior environmental researcher and Director of the European Topic Centre at the University of Malaga (ETC-UMA). She has over 15 years’ experience in environmental assessment and management...
Our partners
Submariner Network For Blue Growth EWIV - Submariner, Germany - Coordinator
Vlaams Instituut Voor De Zee - VLIZ, Belgium
Institut Royal Des Sciences Naturelles De Belgique - RBINS, Belgium
Centyr Za Bregovi I Morski Izsledvaniya - CCMS, Bulgaria
Salt Research As - SALT, Norway
Universiteit Gent - UGent, Belgium
Stichting Deltares - Deltares, The Netherlands
Norsk Institutt For Vannforskning - NIVA, Norway
Tartu Ulikool - UTartu, Estonia
Fondazione WWF Mediterranean - WWF Med, Italy
University of the Highlands and Islands - UHI, United Kingdom
Submon – SUBMON, Spain
Universidade Dos Açores - UAc, Portugal
Institutul National De Cercetare - Dezvoltare Marina “Grigore Antipa” – INCDM, Romania
The Baltic Marine Environment Protection – Helcom Commission, Finland
Balgarska Fondatsiya Bioraznoobrazie – BBF, Bulgaria
Fundação Maio Biodiversidade - FMB, Cabo Verde
ETC-UMA launches new technologies applied to ecosystem knowledge
