Project

Marine life makes a substantial contribution to the economy and society of Europe. VECTORS will elucidate the drivers, pressures and vectors that cause change in marine life, the mechanisms by which they do so, the impacts that they have on ecosystem structures and functioning, and on the economics of associated marine sectors and society. VECTORS will particularly focus on causes and consequences of invasive alien species, outbreak forming species, and changes in fish distribution and productivity. New and existing knowledge and insight will be synthesized and integrated to project changes in marine life, ecosystems and economies under future scenarios for adaptation and mitigation in the light of new technologies, fishing strategies and policy needs. VECTORS will evaluate current forms and mechanisms of marine governance in relation to the vectors of change. Based on its findings, VECTORS will provide solutions and tools for relevant stakeholders and policymakers, to be available for use during the lifetime of the project. The project will address a complex array of interests comprising areas of concern for marine life, biodiversity, sectoral interests, regional seas, and academic disciplines as well as the interests of stakeholders. VECTORS will ensure that the links and interactions between all these areas of interest are explored, explained, modeled and communicated effectively to the relevant stakeholders. The VECTORS consortium is extremely experienced and genuinely multidisciplinary. It includes a mixture of natural scientists with knowledge of socio-economic aspects, and social scientists (environmental economists, policy and governance analysts and environmental law specialists) with interests in natural system functioning.

For VECTORS, IFM researchers are focusing their research primarily on the Baltic and North Seas; theoretical work surrounds governance, stakeholder and sector interactions and input, and the cultural valuation of ecosystem services.

PERICLES is an EU-funded research and innovation project running from 2018-2021. PERICLES promotes sustainable, participatory governance of cultural heritage in European coastal and maritime regions through a unique interdisciplinary and geographically wide-ranging approach. The overall aim of the project is to develop and demonstrate a comprehensive framework to understand, preserve and utilize maritime cultural heritage for societal good.

Cultural heritage provides a sense of place, unity, and belonging. Rooted in specific landscapes, seascapes, buildings, stories, traditions, language, and cultural practices, cultural heritage is a fundamental part of every society. It connects people to each other and to the past and helps guide the future.

Protection and advocacy for cultural heritage can strengthen identity and local society, thereby improving the overall quality of life. Culture and heritage are essential in maintaining and building Europe's economic, social, cultural and natural capital. Realizing the potential of cultural heritage in these terms can generate prosperity, bring new jobs, enhance communities and improve environments in ways comparable to Blue Growth initiatives.

Yet, coastal cultural landscapes face risks from climate change, pollution, urbanisation, mass tourism, demographic challenges in remote regions, the fundamental transformation of the European fishing industry, neglect, and inconsistent policies of sea and shore conservation across governance scales and between regions.

The overall aim of the project is to deliver a set of fully-costed ecosystem management options that would deliver the objectives of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, the European Commission Blue Book and the Guidelines for the Integrated Approach to Maritime Policy. This will be achieved by (i) providing a comprehensive knowledge base to support policy for the development of sustainable and integrated management of European marine ecosystems; (ii) developing Operational Objectives to achieve the High-Level Policy Objectives set by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive, and with reference to the proposed Maritime Policy; (iii) identifying Management Options (individual management tools and combinations of tools) to meet the Operational Objectives; (iv) providing a risk assessment framework for the evaluation of Management Options and to assess the risk associated with the different options; (v) conducting a cost-benefit analysis of a range of Management Options using appropriate techniques; (vi) identifying stakeholder opinions on the creation of governance structures directed towards implementation of the ecosystem approach, and elaborating different scenarios for changing governance structures and legislation to facilitate a gradual transition from the current fragmented management approach towards fully integrated ecosystem management; (vii) documenting the steps necessary for the transition from the current fragmented management scheme to a mature and integrated approach, and providing a toolkit that could be used to evaluate options for delivering ecosystem-based management; and (viii) communicating and consulting on the outcomes of the project effectively with policy makers and other relevant user groups.

The vision of MareFrame is to significantly increase the use of ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) when providing advice relating to European fish stocks. A more widespread use of EAFM is encouraged through development of new tools and technologies, development and extension of ecosystem models and assessment methods, and development of a decision support framework that can highlight alternatives and consequences. I addition, a widespread use of EAFM depends not only on collaboration with stakeholders in general, but on close integration and co-creation with stakeholders in all development phases, to ensure that ownership lies with them, and to increase the chance of acceptance and uptake of the project outcomes.

The Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) coordinates the European funded COST Action OceanGov (Ocean Governance for Sustainability – Challenges, Options and the Role of Science), chaired by Anna-Katharina Hornidge.

During the 4-year term of the project, ZMT brings together scientists, policy-makers and civil society representatives from 29 COST Member States to create and coordinate a research network for inter- and transdisciplinary research on ocean governance in the EU.

Thematically the network concentrates on the following six governance challenges:
Land-Sea Interactions
Area-Based Management
Seabed Resource Management
Nutrition Security and Food Systems
Ocean, Climate Change, and Acidification
Fisheries Governance

Within these six fields existing scientific research on different scale levels, regions and sustainability challenges is systematical being brought together and prepared in the form of integrated advice on governance tools and mechanisms to improve ocean related decision-making.

This is an international researcher-practitioner collaboration to co-produce a conceptualisation of marine identity.
The collaboration aims, via workshops, shared writing tasks, and networking platforms, to co-produce an academic paper for publication on the nature and types of marine identities.

What does it mean to identify with the marine? Are there universal aspects to this? To what extent does it affect the relationship between humans, other humans, and the coast? The paper will engage with such questions and this collaboration will aim to create space for follow on work and opportunities in developing knowledge in this space.

The Code of Conduct project focuses on development of codes of conduct for sustainable and responsible fisheries in Denmark. Codes of conduct for sustainable fisheries at general level (UN and EU) already exist. The project intends to integrate market and management interests in a process where fishermen formulate the specific code of conduct for their fishery. By analysing expectations and demands regarding sustainable and responsible fisheries from public management and from central market actors such as large European supermarket chains, the project will provide the fishermen with information of usefulness of a code of conduct: Can the code be a tool for fishermen to "take back responsibility" in management, and can it support attempts to get a higher value out of the catch? The general framework for codes of conduct and a specific code of conduct for the pelagic fishery will be formulated in interaction with the fishermen and their organisations.

The project consists of four phases: 1) Analysis of trends in demands and expectations to sustainable fishery from central market interests and the management system. 2) Development of a general framework for codes of conduct within Danish fisheries. This will be discussed with representatives from the catch and processing sectors as well as management. 3) Development of a specific code of conduct for sustainable and responsible fisheries within the Danish pelagic fishery. In this phase the project team will help fishermen from the sector and the Danish Pelagic Producer Organisation formulating their own code of conduct. 4) Communication of the experiences from the project through a conference, articles and a folder with guidelines for a framework of codes of conduct for sustainable and responsible fisheries and for how to involve the fishermen in the specific fishery.

The MERCES project is focused on the restoration of different degraded marine habitats, with the aim of: 1) assessing the potential of different technologies and approaches; 2) quantifying the returns in terms of ecosystem services and their socio-economic impacts; 3) defining the legal policy and governance frameworks needed to optimize the effectiveness of the different restoration approaches. Specific aims include: a) improving existing, and developing new, restoration actions of degraded marine habitats; b) increasing the adaptation of EU degraded marine habitats to global change; c) enhancing marine ecosystem resilience and services; d) conducting cost-benefit analyzes for marine restoration measures; e) creating new industrial targets and opportunities.

The core aim of the RESOCO is to build an interdisciplinary synthesis of up-to-date Nordic knowledge and best practices and set the stage for alternative solutions on how to effectively reconcile seal-fishery conflict in the Baltic Sea.

The overall objective of RESOCO is to propose pragmatic and regionally applicable measures which are acceptable to all key stakeholders involved in seal-fishery conflicts in the Baltic Sea. These measures include a mixture of technological tools and practices, management of seal populations, economic measures, and institutional and governance instruments.

The project applies a transdisciplinary approach, incorporating technological sciences, social sciences, economics, environmental psychology, and natural sciences. It supports participatory, coordinated and synergetic approaches for moving towards a more balanced situation in seal-fishery conflict.

This research project aims to develop a transdisciplinary approach to Deep Seabed Mining (DSM) - the exploration, and exploitation of minerals found on the ocean floor. This topic is highly relevant as those metals are necessary to build clean energy technologies enabling the transition from fossil fuels, and thus mitigate climate change. However, there are outstanding gaps and uncertainties as to the possible environmental impacts, and how to legally and politically carry out these activities in a just and sustainable way. This research arrives at a unique historical juncture, as exploitation activities will not commence before 2025, even though 31 exploration licenses are currently being considered worldwide. The Arctic region, with the case of Norway and Greenland, is the latest frontier of prospecting for deep seabed mining. The Arctic represents particularly sensitive and vulnerable ecosystems and, indirectly, coastal communities and Indigenous Peoples may be affected by these DSM projects. This project explores possible criteria for justice, equity and fairness that could apply in an effective regulation of DSM with Norway and Greenland as case study. It does so by integrating law, planning, and anthropology to build a transdisciplinary approach that allows the inclusion of DSM into the global energy transition challenge.