ABOUT
In a seashell
The BLUE CONNECT is a Mission Ocean funded project that addresses the urgent need to protect and restore marine habitats and ecosystems and to reach ambitious EU and global protection and restoration targets by 2030. Together with Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, authorities, industries, and local communities from 12 Demonstration sites and beyond, BLUE CONNECT is co-developing, promoting, and demonstrating a systematic approach to marine conservation planning and management.
Project Duration
Funding call
Total project budget
42 months | September 2024- March 2028
HORIZON-MISS-2023OCEAN-01
€ 8,375,060.00
The blueprint
Setting science- based conservation objectives
Co-defining conservation actions for effective MPA co-management
Ensuring conservation effectiveness and
Demonstrating the high potential of these tools for replicability and broader use.
This will be made possible by establishing a holistic modelling framework that integrates various elements of biodiversity, ecological functioning, ecosystem services, and connectivity, while also considering inputs from stakeholders and local communities regarding social, economic, and cultural aspects when defining MPAs and ecological corridors.
The project will contribute to a more comprehensive, science-based and inclusive approach to designating new MPAs or expanding existing ones, transitioning to strict protection, restoring ecosystems, enhancing ecological connectivity, and facilitating MPA co-management. By fostering just and fair stakeholder cooperation and citizen science initiatives, BLUE CONNECT will build a greater feeling of co-ownership of protected and restored marine ecosystems and MPA networks and empower communities to play a crucial role in safeguarding our seas.
Our target audience
BLUE CONNECT project is designed to fully mobilise stakeholders and citizens in the process of co-creation of conservation planning and management process. Cooperation and engagement process will be implemented at different levels: international, EU, Sea Basins, national, local, involving stakeholders from different backgrounds and expertise, from environmental, policy, governance, administrative, industry, ensuring impact on public mobilisation and engagement. The project will contribute to Mission’s ambition to connect Europe’s citizens and local communities with the ocean, seas and waters, facilitate broad ownership and education and co-design the transitions within the communities that will allow the European Green Deal targets to be reached.
The key local stakeholders will be engaged in BLUE CONNECT from the beginning of the project to encompass different needs and views, enable co-creation of project results and outcomes, contributing to commitment and ownership. In addition to local sites related stakeholders and national/regional stakeholders, EU wide and global audience will be reached, including youth and society at large.
What will the impact be?
BLUE CONNECT will have significant impacts on the implementation of relevant EU and international policies and achievement of the set conservation and restoration targets, primarily in the EU Green Deal, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Restoration Law and relevant EU directives such as MSFD, Habitats and Birds, etc.
It will particularly contribute to the 30% protection target, 10% of strict protection target, mainstreaming active cooperation with stakeholders and citizens’ engagement in the process to achieve co-ownership of effective marine conservation and management. Furthermore, it will significantly support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, such as SDG 14 (Life below water). It will show the impact-driven tools’ scalability, replicability and up-scaling potential through the transferability roadshow of the Blueprint.
But the more targeted impact will be:
