Europe at the Seaside: Science, Policies & Blue Growth

Marine and coastal issues are coming under the spotlight, as the European Union looks for new ways of combining the apparently incompatible goals of protecting our environment and exploiting its resources to the fullest, sustainable extent. A “blue revolution” is required, to approach the sea from a new angle, explore the many unknowns that are left, make proper use of the knowledge we do have, and foster an era of blue growth. Oceanography, like other Earth Sciences, no longer pertains to the experts only: it is everybody’s concern, if we want to continue, and actually increase, enjoying the benefits of healthy seas. Marine atlases, detailed maps of maritime activities, plans to lay out the use of sea space, competence centers which specialists and laymen alike can turn to, to acquire the information needed in their activities, are the tools of a new era for sea-goers, in the scientific, economic as well as political arenas. Intelligence about the ecological boundary conditions of our socio-economic development is indispensable to support sustainable growth. Easier access to marine knowledge will reduce operational costs for data users, increase competition and innovation among re-users of marine data, and ease uncertainty in our understanding of the coastal seas. Regulations enacted by the European Union are forcing Member States to take stock of new marine knowledge requirements, and work together, at basin scales, to manage the well being of their near-coastal regions. Instruments such as the many sea-related information systems available today are starting to impact policing and managing of the European Seas, and are expected to have a major influence onto the way science is conducted and perceived by the general public.

BARALE Vittorio; 

2015-12-11

MEDCOAST Coastal Foundation (MEDCOAST Foundation)

JRC97159

978-605-85652-4-1,   

https://www.medcoast.net/modul/index/menu/Proceedings/36,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC97159,