Center for Coastal & Marine Studies
BLUE CONNECT: Strict Protection, Restoration and Co-Management of Marine Protected Areas to Ensure Effective Ecosystem Conservation and Improved Connectivity of Blue Corridors
The BLUE CONNECT project addresses the urgent need to protect and restore marine habitats and ecosystems and to overcome gaps in the effective implementation of EU and global legislation by mobilizing the MPA managers, authorities, industries and local communities to co-develop and demonstrate a systematic approach to marine conservation planning and management.
MSP-GREEN #3 NEWSLETTER IS OUT!
With warmer summer months passing by here in Northern Hemisphere and our MSP-GREEN project closing approaching with fast steps, we welcome you to read eagerly our third MSP-GREEN project quarterly Newsletter!
Discover latest insights on the already carried and upcoming MSP-GREEN project events and activities.
More information: https://mspgreen.eu/
To stay updated regularly, follow the MSP-GREEN social media accounts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook!
MSP4BIO FOURTH COP INTERACTION IN THE BLACK SEA!
The Western Black Sea Fourth CoP (Community of Practice) Interaction Workshop "Presentation and validation the draft of the MSP4BIO “Ecological and Socio-Economic (ESE) Management Framework" was conducted virtually on 30 July, 2024 and hosted by CCMS. The Black Sea test site is a cross-border area between Cape Tuzla in Romania and Cape Kaliakra in Bulgaria, for more details follow the MSP4BIO website: https://msp4bio.eu/western-black-sea-test-site-bulgaria/
and https://msp4bio.eu/western-black-sea-test-site-romania/
On the workshop, the CCMS team presented the MSP4BIO developments and Decision Support Tools (DSTs), namely the Ecological and Socio-Economic (ESE) Management Framework for better integration of biodiversity and Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) dimensions, as well as demonstrated the online version of the ESE Platform. Participants and key stakeholders from Bulgaria, Romania, UK and Belgium attended the workshop, and participated actively in the discussion.
The ESE framework consists of a methodological guidance that shall help prioritizing marine protection in MSP through several methodological steps, and integrating social, economic, and ecological considerations. In practice, it is a document & web-based step-by-step guidance that enables users to identify their management needs using a portfolio of questions and offers a range of answers to address them.
In order to collect stakeholder feedbacks on the ESE initial draft, it was suggested to participants to fill an online Google form questionnaire. Results will be used to fine tune and consolidate the ESE framework implementation.
Stay tuned for more updates and insights: https://msp4bio.eu/
Hot off the press: two more MSP4BIO deliverables published!
Exiting news: two more MSP4BIO deliverables have just been released exploring how the MPA managers can assess vulnerabilities and prioritize actions for resilient marine ecosystems and what are the barriers, levers, and integration challenges for biodiversity mainstreaming in Maritime Spatial Planning:
• Deliverable 3.3 Guidance for building climate change scenarios for protection strategies
The purpose of the guidance is to provide an original framework for MPA managers and modelers to assess the vulnerability of marine species and ecosystems to climate stressors. The vulnerability assessment is a key element in climate-smart management, since the responses of marine organisms and ecosystems to climate-induced changes are neither straightforward nor linear, as they depend on the species’ sensitivity, resistance and adaptivity to the (single or combined) stressors. In other words, some species may survive, while others may disappear or invade; depending on the trophic role of the species, the ecosystem may undergo an abrupt shift to a different state (with consequent modification of ecosystem services) or exhibit resilience.
Read full Deliverable 3.3 here!
