We are delighted to share information about our planned Policy Event ‘Life on Shore: Effective Marine and Coastal Restoration for Nature and People’, a satellite event to the Ocean Decade Conference 2024.

Join the event to capture and share key insights for Effective Marine and Coastal Restoration based on a panel discussion with four large scale Atlantic research projects, three groundbreaking initiatives and two high-level Policy Makers.

When: 09 April 2024 at 11:30 - 13:30h local time Where: Port Olímpic Auditorium, Espai Mestral - Sala d'actes. Moll de Mestral, S/N, Sant Martí, 08005 Barcelona

The Ocean Decade is a 10-year framework initiative by UNESCO to identify, generate and use critical ocean knowledge to manage the ocean sustainably. To overcome the challenges to protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity, we need to understand the effects of multiple stressors and ocean ecosystems, and develop solutions to monitor protect, manage and restore ecosystems and their biodiversity under changing environmental, social and climate conditions.

Patrizio Mariani, coordinator of the EU funded Research and Innovation project MISSION ATLANTIC, says: “The journey to safeguarding our oceans is complex, but with initiatives like MISSION ATLANTIC, we're ensuring to provide the knowledge needed to chart the course towards a brighter and sustainable future.”

The event will discuss innovative on-the-ground solutions and enabling policy conditions for effective marine and coastal ecosystem restoration. We will bring together four large scale Atlantic research projects (Mission Atlantic, FutureMares, Ocean Citizen, and MARCO-BOLO), three groundbreaking initiatives – the Kelp Forest Challenge for global kelp forest restoration, the Africa-led Great Blue Wall initiative to restore mangroves in the Western Indian Ocean, and the grassroots NGO Hahatay addressing local impacts on Senegal’s marine ecosystems as well as two Policy Makers from the European Commission and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in Brazil.

We will showcase ongoing restoration efforts and discuss related policy challenges, aiming to raise public and policymaker awareness of the ways forward for delivering effective restoration solutions for nature and people. The main objectives of the event are, to show best-practices for effective marine and coastal ecosystem restoration and monitoring (Global Mangrove Watch & Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool tools) through ongoing projects and initiatives; as well as to discuss policy challenges and conditions needed to enable effective restoration efforts. We are pleased to welcome panelists from along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean: - Andrea Strachinescu, from the European Commission, DG Mare, - Marinez Scherer from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in Brazil, - Babacar Diop with Hahatay based in Senegal, - Adriana Vergés with the Kelp Forest Alliance, working globally, based in Australia, - Elena Roddom with the Great Blue Wall in the western Indian Ocean. - Marc García Durán presenting OCEAN CITIZEN, - Isabel Sousa Pinto presenting FUTURE MARES, - Christina Pavloudi presenting MARCO-BOLO, - Patrizio Mariani presenting MISSION ATLANTIC For more information and registration to the event, please follow the link to the MISSIO ATLANTIC Website: https://missionatlantic.eu/news-and-events/life-on-shore-effective-marine-and-coastal-restoration-for-nature-and-people/

Notes for the Editor: MISSION ATLANTIC (“Towards the Sustainable Development of the Atlantic Ocean: Mapping and Assessing the present and future status of Atlantic marine ecosystems under the influence of climate change and exploitation”) is a research and innovation action funded under the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020, grant No. 862428. The project will run for five years from 2020 to 2025, with a total budget of €11.5 million. The 33 strong multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary MISSION ATLANTIC team represents leading organisations in ocean science, policy and industry based in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom), South America (Brazil), South Africa and North America (Canada and USA). The project is coordinated by Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) in Denmark. The 33 European partners represent a total of 11 countries: Spain (AZTI, PLOCAN, IEO), Norway (IMR, MROB), France (CLS, IFREMER), Belgium (SSBE, VLIZ), United Kingdom (MBA, PML, STRATH, USTAN, NOC, UPL, UoE), Denmark (DTU, ICES), Sweden (WMU, SU), Germany (UH, UBH), Portugal (AIRC, UPO, IMAR), Ireland (ERINN, Marine Institute) and Iceland (MFRI). UFSC and USP are partners in Brazil and UCT and SANBI in South Africa and MUN in Canada. Associated government research partners include the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The Belém Statement In 2017, the European Union, South Africa and Brazil and co-signed the Belém statement on Atlantic Research and Innovation Cooperation for the South and tropical Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Following the Galway Statement which focuses on North-Atlantic cooperation, the Belém statement furthers the integrated approach to research and development across the whole Atlantic Ocean and its bordering countries. Contact us: Project Coordinator: Patrizio Mariani pat@aqua.dtu.dk Project Management Team: Nertila Gojani, Maria Kruger-Johnsen, Ivo Grigorov missionatlantic@aqua.dtu.dk AORA – Belém Panel Chair: Michael St. John mstjo@aqua.dtu.dk Press and Communications: Caecilia Manago caecilia@erinn.eu