Palma epicenter of the debate on marine biodiversity loss in European seas

In an effort to combat the increasing loss of marine biodiversity in European marine waters, the second scientific meeting of the European B-USEFUL project took place last week.

More than 20 biodiversity and fisheries experts from 13 European institutions met in Palma to address the critical challenges facing marine biodiversity in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean for the future. The meeting takes place in the framework of the project "User-driven solutions for improved monitoring and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services in European seas", acronym B-USEFUL and funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme.

The four-day event organized by the Balearic Oceanographic Centre of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, CSIC) marks an important milestone in international collaboration and the search for common solutions to protect our oceans and continue to enjoy the services they offer us. The project has chosen for this meeting its local partners from the city of Palma, as a flagship city in its link with the sea and its resources, as well as the major development challenges and climate change impacts it faces.

Participants discussed innovative strategies, shared cutting-edge research and fostered interdisciplinary collaboration to develop tools to facilitate international decision-making in the management of marine ecosystems and spatial planning of socio-economic activities in the ocean.

Key issues addressed included agreeing on a common methodology across European seas to assess the state of marine biodiversity; the search for innovative decision-making tools designed in collaboration with managers, policy makers, NGOs and other sectors that exploit marine resources; the analysis of climate change impacts and application to future scenarios based on socio-economic development; and highlighting the importance of collaboration between scientists, governments, NGOs and industry to achieve effective solutions.

The event featured keynote lectures, research presentations, working groups and networking opportunities to foster collaboration at the European level.