A recent paper by Federico Garzia, Stijn Verbeke, Cristian Pozza, and Amaryllis Audenaert, from EURAC Research, Antwerp University and VITO, analyses the benefits of Building Automation and Control Systems in meeting user needs in office buildings.
On June 7, 2023, the Danish government, in collaboration with all parties in the Danish Parliament, reached an agreement leading to proposed amendments to the Danish MSP prepared by the Danish Maritime Authority. These amendments encompass withdrawing previously designated zones for aquaculture and shellfish farming, expanding zones for renewable energy and energy islands, introducing zoning for CO2 storage and transport infrastructure, and proposing new zones for nature protection. The report published in November 2023 outlines the Espoo process involving neighbouring states to address potential transboundary environmental impacts.
The UN Global Compact Ocean Stewardship Coalition launched a report in December 2023, presenting key takeaways and recommended actions for improving ocean data and knowledge sharing across borders. This supports data-driven maritime spatial planning (MSP) and sustainable ocean management. Each takeaway includes case studies for best practices and innovative solutions. The report was shared during multi-stakeholder dialogue involving ocean industry, UN organizations, public authorities, academics, and other experts in ocean data.
Integrating maritime/underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) and its cultural values into MSP. The paper highlights the significance of cultural values in marine resource management and discusses methods for incorporating MUCH into MSP processes. It emphasizes the importance of integrating socio-cultural values into MSP plans for innovation and local community acceptance and advocates collaborative MSP efforts to promote sustainable blue activities while preserving ecological and cultural values.
This new policy report, commissioned by the European Commission (DG Near) to the EuroMeSCo network, and developed by eco-union under the supervision of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), aims to assess the status and potential of the sustainable Blue Economy in the Mediterranean region, including an analysis of socioeconomic benefits and impacts in relevant Blue Economy activities.
This guide has been developed as a tool to provide decision-makers and aquaculture producers with practical recommendations for reducing the impact of aquaculture activities on the environment. Its content is based on current technical and scientific knowledge for the sustainable management of farmed species. (language FR)
This Policy Study aims at contributing to the challenges and strategies that the region faces in the field of promoting sustainable development in the transport sector. It delves into this topic from three cross-cutting dimensions in the Western Mediterranean: infrastructures, energy and environment, and digitalisation.
The European Blue Forum consisting of stakeholders from all 5 EU sea basins, has published its first 2 Position Papers related to key issues concerning the European Seas.
Stay informed on the latest news from the EU Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism website by signing up for their bi-monthly newsletter. Receive sustainable aquaculture updates directly from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The newsletter covers policy news, highlights from the Knowledge Base of the Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism, the status of aquaculture sectors in Member States, updates on forthcoming EU funding opportunities, and details about upcoming events.
Fish stomach content is a compelling data source, as stomachs can provide information about diet of predators, distribution of prey fish, predator-prey preference or changes in diet over time. This recently published study analysis samples from the North and Baltic Seas, continues historical time series and updates an online database for the broader community, besides performing a preliminary analysis on the new data.
The EU has established a regulatory scheme for the production, marketing and control of organic products, including organic aquaculture. Organic algae and aquaculture producers who decide to label and certify their products with the EU organic logo must comply with detailed EU production rules set per species or per group of species.
CINEA has launched a new digital tool to illustrate the joint EU support to the industrial carbon management emerging market and the synergies between the programmes that the Agency manages. The tool allows viewers to interactively discover how the EU funding is distributed across the sector, what projects have received support and how these projects contribute to drive the European clean-tech innovation in the sector.
The EU Blue Parks is an initiative under the Mission Ocean and Waters dedicated to science-based solutions for setting and managing marine protected areas in the EU. Join the EU Blue Parks Community today and help shape the future of EU marine protection!
Decarbonising space heating in buildings is crucial for reaching greenhouse gas neutrality in the EU by 2050. Electrification is key.
Our latest papers, crafted collaboratively by European Blue Forum members through insightful discussions over the past 10 months are now accessible through our website. These documents are set to serve as a significant statement on maritime and coastal stakeholders’ common issues, challenges and future expectations for our European Seas. They gather the needs of the European Blue Forum members and provides the main axes of action for the years to come. The papers will be presented during a public meeting of the inter-parliamentary group SEARICA in Brussels on 7th March 2024.
The Mission Ocean and Waters service portal serves as a comprehensive one-stop-shop for stakeholders, offering essential tools, contacts, knowledge, matchmaking, financing, and support for the successful execution of the Mission.
In a move towards addressing youth unemployment, the CLUSTER project published its policy report focusing on the Blue Economy (BE) in the Mediterranean. The report underscores the pivotal role of sustainable ocean resource management in creating employment opportunities, particularly for the youth and women in the region.
This 2023 special edition of the GFCM’s flagship publication, The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries, updates statistics and figures on the status and management of fisheries in the region and includes, for the first time, an overview of regional indicators on the aquaculture sector in Mediterranean and Black Sea countries.
The new guide on financing opportunities for the Green Energy Transition of Fisheries and Aquaculture is out! The guide is set to support the sectors through EU funding under the 2021-2027 financial framework and NextGenerationEU and beyond
The first Atlantic Ministerial Declaration was approved! During the Ministerial Meeting France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, supported by the European Commission, committed to further build on Atlantic's success by cooperating on a wide variety of Sustainable Blue Economy topics.
