Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas

Project Information

MERCES

Grant agreement ID: 689518

DOI 10.3030/689518

Project closed

EC signature date 2 May 2016

Start date 1 June 2016

End date 30 November 2020

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost € 6 651 117,80

EU contribution € 6 651 117,80

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE
Italy

Deliverables

Documents, reports (26)

Policy briefing summarizing the key transferable findings from Tasks 5.1-3
Popularized mainstream or industry article on social costs of marine restoration activities and cost –effective analysis of restoration measures by case study
Manual of restoration measures in soft bottoms based on surveys and experiments
State of the knowledge on European marine habitat mapping and degraded habitats
Restoration of marine ecosystems: a manual for users
Popularized mainstream or industry article on social benefits of marine restoration activities
State of the knowledge on marine habitat restoration and literature review on the economic cost and benefits of marine and coastal ecosystem service restoration
Review of current EU and international legal frameworks
Enhanced tools and indicators for restoration of shallow hard bottoms and mesophotic habitats
Criteria and protocols for restoration of shallow hard bottoms and mesophotic habitats

Criteria and protocols for restoration of shallow hard bottoms and mesophotic habitats (CoNISMa, hard bottoms; CSIC, mesophotic habitats)

State of knowledge on key eco-evolutionary processes and factors driving the resilience of the shallow hard bottoms and mesophotic habitats
Review of existing international governance structures, regarding the conservation, restoration and recovery of marine ecosystems
Summary of the final meeting
Evaluation of the effectiveness of pilot restoration actions under a changing ocean scenario
Report, including a policy relevance section, on full social cost-benefit analysis for the selected case studies

Report, including a policy relevance section, on full social cost-benefit analysis for the selected case studies

Use of Choice Experiment to estimate number of ecosystem service values from restoration project
Release of the Data Management plan
Policy brief providing input and options for the development of legitimate governance arrangements and effective regimes regulating the conservation, restoration and recovering of marine ecosystems

Policy brief providing input and options for the development of legitimate governance arrangements and effective regimes regulating the conservation, restoration and recovering of marine ecosystems (WU, AAU-IFM)

Restoration results in the case study sites
Social acceptance of restoration activities
Review on restoration, conservation and recovery of marine ecosystems in the four regional EU seas
Development and effectiveness of tools and techniques for active restoration in the deep-sea
Review on the principles of deep-sea restoration and on the ecological benefits of passive and active restoration
Effectiveness of passive restoration in fjord ecosystems, hydrothermal vents and in cold water corals
Current marine pressures and mechanisms driving changes in marine habitats
Mathematical model of the interactions between seagrass and other engineering species

Websites, patent fillings, videos etc. (6)

Dissemination plan (revised every year)
Recording and long-term archiving of 5 industry webinars and final report on the webinars outcomes
Annual publication of business-focused e-newsletters and final report synthesising the MERCES business-focus e-newsletters as industry brief
Final report summarising industry and authorities engagement in MERCES through the Business Club and Industry Portal and highlighting any tangible outcomes (e.g. new methods and new projects) created from these interactions
Second Year report on networking, public engagement and communication activities including collation of products and e-MERCES tools
MERCES project homepage, MERCES Intranet with project templates and guidelines

Other (1)

Visual representation (e.g. infographic) of relationships between habitat characteristics, pressures, restoration methods, ecosystem change, and recovery potential

Open Research Data Pilot (1)

Maps (in GIS format) showing case study sites and variation in the recovery potential of different ecosystem services; and information on changes in ecosystem services provision following habitat restoration (as metadata)

Maps (in GIS format) showing case study sites and variation in the recovery potential of different ecosystem services; and,; information on changes in ecosystem services provision following habitat restoration (as metadata). WCMC (maps of case study sites and information on changes in ecosystem services provision following habitat restoration), NIVA (maps of variation in recovery potential of different ecosystem services)

Publications

Conference proceedings (1)

Implementing the Monitoring and Restoration of Marine Ecosystems Impacted by Offshore Platform

Author(s): Danovaro R, Barone G, Carugati L, Lo Martire M, Dell'Anno A, Corinaldesi C
Published in: Offshore Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition, 29-31 March, Ravenna, Italy, 2017
Publisher: OnePetro

Other (1)

Evolutionary Character of International and European Law: Linking sustainability with environmental responsibility and marine ecosystem restoration under the European union's Ocean Governance Agenda

Author(s): Long R
Published in: Legal Order in the World's Oceans: UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 2017
Publisher: Leiden/Brill, Brill, 2018