
ETC-DI
European Topic Centre on Data Integration and Digitalisation
The ETC-DI consortium contributes to the activities of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) by supporting the digitalisation process of EEA including the harmonisation and enhancement of data reporting and management flows.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data management and optimisation services
- Data analysis and capacity building
- Support to Copernicus Programme
- Consortium management, documentation, and reporting.

LIFE EL-BIOS
hELlenic BIOodiversity Information System: an innovative tool for biodiversity conservation
The project is designing, developing and implementing a central biodiversity information system in Greece to integrate existing biodiversity datasets and compile up-to-date information on statuses and trends, threats and pressures, and other pertinent information.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Development and operation of the first national biodiversity information system in Greece
- Training on the system’s use, updating and data entry/processing
- Earth Observation for enriched biodiversity information in pilot areas
- Dissemination and awareness

RESTORE4Cs
Modelling RESTORation of wEtlands for Carbon pathways, Climate Change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystem services, and biodiversity, Co-benefits
Horizon 2.5 -Climate, Energy and Mobility programme
RESTORE4Cs will deliver standardised methodologies and approaches for the prioritisation of restoration of wetlands, promoting carbon-storage and GHG emissions abatement, while improving the ecological status and the provision of additional ecosystem services.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Policy and user analysis of the project
- Wetland mapping and assessment
- Data portal for wetland related information

BIOCONNECT
Ensuring effective management and governance in Sites of Ecological Importance and expanding biodiversity protection in Southern Lebanon
A joint effort towards enhancing the management and governance of sites of ecological importance in Lebanon as well as creating new Protected Areas and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) for broader landscape conservation and connectivity.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Providing guidance and support of project activities
- Promoting coordination across partners and stakeholders
- Supporting a communications strategy

ENSERES
ENhancing Socio-Ecological RESilience in Mediterranean coastal areas
10/2021 - 11/2023 ENI CBC MED programme
ENSERES focuses on transferring and mainstreaming ecosystem-based management tools to implement integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) processes in multi-level conservation and territorial practices.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Project coordination and communication
- Ensuring close cooperation among both projects and communities

INDALO
Scientific infrastructure for monitoring biodiversity and its adaptation to global change in Andalusia
POPE 2014-2020 operational program (FEDER)
The INDALO project aims to study the biodiversity in different representative ecosystems of Andalusia, and to analyse their evolution to better understand the consequences of Global Change.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Delineation of Andalusian wetland areas building on their hydro-ecological boundaries.
- Design and develop a monitoring and assessment tool in near real time

EnBiC2-Lab
Environmental and Biodiversity Climate Change Lab
04/2021 - 12/2023 European Comission - ERDF
EnBiC2-Lab aims to develop an Environmental and Biodiversity Climate Change Lab through the integration of databases and services related to water, soil, air, fauna and flora, based on new technologies like supercomputing and Big Data.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Development of ecosystem mapping products on forest and wetland ecosystems
- Development of policy-relevant indicators in the context of climate change

PANACeA – MBPC
Mediterranean Biodiversity Protection Community
The objective of PANACeA is to streamline networking and management efforts in Mediterranean Protected Areas (PAs) as a mechanism to enhance nature conservation and protection in the region.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Project management, coordination and communication
- Development of knowledge platform for data and information sharing
- Capacity building

ETC-ULS
European Topic Centre on Urban, Land and Soil systems
The European Topic Centre on Urban, Land and Soil systems, is supporting the European Environment Agency in supporting monitoring of urban development in Europe, creating seamless European wide spatial reference data and develop and analyse various land related indicators.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data management and development of integrated data platform
- Spatial data analysis for thematic assessments (biodiversity, forest, urban environment, soil)
- Support to ecosystem assessment and accounting

Marine and Coastal Protection Assessment Study for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Coastline
08/2020 - 08/2021 GAMEP
A nationwide Coastal and Marine Strategy to prioritize actions to enable the sustainable development and management of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's coastal resources.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Assessment of the main sources of pollution, and other major environmental stressors in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf through a hotspot analysis.
- Identifying and mapping critical hotspots and detailinig the criteria used in selecting each area.

CopHub.AC
Copernicus Academy Hub for Knowledge, Innovation and Outreach
The vision of the Horizon 2020 project CopHub.AC is to establish a long-term Copernicus hub to consolidate and sustain the Copernicus Academy as a knowledge and innovation platform.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Copernicus Academy Working Group organisation
- CO-lead on user outreach and engagement

OECM Case studies
potential other-effective area-based conservation measures in North Africa
The ETC-UMA supported IUCN-Med in preparing case studies on “potential other-effective area-based conservation measure”. The work consisted of carrying out an OECM inventory, assessment and selection of six case studies North African countries, and included the preparation and moderation of a dedicated workshop (presentation and discussion of the OECM assessment and case study selection with regional stakeholders).
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data compilation, validation and analysis, incl. map design
- Preparation of case studies
- Workshop preparation, presentation and reporting

Assessment on the state and progress of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean in 2019
The ETC-UMA supported WWF MedPO to assess progress towards an ecologically representative and efficiently managed network of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) represented by CBD Aichi Target 11. This evaluation focused on understanding the level of implementation of management efforts in Mediterranean MPAs and included analyses of the existing networks of MPAs in the Mediterranean Sea.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data compilation
- Development and measurement of spatial and numerical indicators on MPA coverage, management effort and ecological coherence
- Textual and graphic reporting (incl. map design for WWF report)

Analytical review of Marine Protected Areas in EU Member States
The contract included an in-depth assessment of the progress on marine protection using ecologically coherent networks of MPAs that are well managed. It provides results on MPA coverage, management implementation and ecological coherence per 23 EU Member States and 4 regional seas, published in a dedicated WWF report.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data collection, management and analysis
- Assessment of MPA coverage, management implementation and ecological coherence

MSP-LSI
Maritime spatial planning and land-sea interactions
07/2018 - 06/2019 DG REGIO (ESPON)
The project contributes to evidence-based, coherent and transparent decision-making in EU Member States considering land-sea interactions (LSI) in the development of national maritime spatial plans.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Data collection, management and analysis
- Development of thematic indicators & mapping of individual datasets and typologies

Geospatial data for the SDG
Environmental component
The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the capacity of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in three recipient countries Jordan, Egypt and Palestine.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Project management, coordination and communication.
- Development of knowledge platform for data and information sharing
- Capacity building

SOSTPARK
Sustainability in protected areas in Spain
10/2015 - 10/2018 Spanish Ministry of Economy
SOSTPARK combines a quantitative analysis of the degree of protection of selected protected areas in Spain with a qualitative analysis of the integrated sustainability (environmental, social, economic) in several Andalusian protected areas. It looks at protection measures and pressures on protected areas.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Project coordination
- Sustainability analysis
- Assessment of the degree of protection

SWOS
Satellite-based Wetlands Observation Service
06/2015 - 11/2018 European Commission
The objective of the project SWOS is to develop a monitoring and information service focusing on wetland ecosystems.
ETC-UMA contribution
- User engagement: Collection of user requirements and assessment of user feedback
- Satellite data acquisition, pre-processing and mapping of different wetland sites
- Organisation of training workshops
- Support of European and global policy initiatives (e.g. Ramsar, MAES working group)

Med-iamer
Integrated Actions to Mitigate Environmental Risks in the Mediterranean Sea
Med-IAMER proposes an integrated environmental status assessment to mitigate environmental risks to be addressed at trans-boundary scale in the Mediterranean Sea. The approach draws on the main pressures and the conservation level in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic-Ionian ecoregions to identify spatial hotspots of environmental pressures.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Project management and coordination
- Data review and gap analysis for drivers and pressures
- Indicator development and mapping, incl. cumulative pressure assessment

MS.MONINA
Multi-scale Service for Monitoring NATURA 2000 Habitats of European Community Interest
11/2011 - 11/2013 European Commission – FP7
MS.MONINA follows a pan-European, multi-scale approach that on the one hand reflects the specifics and the variety of habitats in the different biogeographical regions, and on the other hand guides the specifications of the service chains and their implementations as service cases and pilots. It provides tools and methodologies to map and assess habitats to support Natura 2000 monitoring and EU Habitats Directive’s reporting.
ETC-UMA contribution
- User engagement: Collection of user requirements and assessment of user feedback
- Organisation of user workshops

ESaTDOR
European Seas and Territorial Development, Opportunities and Risks
ESaTDOR is a comprehensive approach to sea management within the framework of the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP). It focusses on the uses of Europe’s seas through identifying and mapping sea use patterns, dynamics and inter-linkages, and types of coastal regions, analysis of development opportunities, and analysis of the relationship between terrestrial and maritime planning.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Synthesis of data and information collected for the development of single thematic maps at different levels of detail (both the entire ESPON region as specific coastal marine areas)
- Thematic map production

RHOMEO
RHONE MEDITERRANEAN OBSERVATORY
07/2012 - 31/2012 Tour du Valat
The RhoMeO project, joins the efforts of managers and researchers to develop methodologies for the construction of an observatory to monitor the changing conditions of wetlands in the Mediterranean basin of the Rhône River.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Developing of remote sensing based indicators on wetlands
- Data validation

Envirogrids
BUILDING CAPACITY FOR A BLACK SEA CATCHMENT OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
04/2009 - 03/2013 European Commission – FP7
The scientific aim of the EnviroGRIDS project is to assemble an observation system of the Black Sea catchment that will address several GEO Societal Benefit Areas within a changing climate framework.
ETC-UMA contribution
- Producing spatially explicit scenarios on future demographic, climatic and land use changes
- Developing an collaborative working environment to visualize and analyze results produced by hydrological models