Regional cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development, with the involvement of the Department of Biological Sciences, of the University of Cyprus and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research
In a pilot research project in the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Kavo Gkreco, among other MPAs, which aims towards the improvement of their management and protection, with the subsequent involvement of citizens, participate as partners the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Cyprus and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
The Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research have secured a total funding of €316,401 from the European Territorial Cooperation programme Interreg V-B Balkan Mediterranean 2014-2020, towards the implementation of the research project RECONNECT, titled “Regional cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development”.
The research project has a duration of 2 years, with the deadline set at 14th of September 2019 and the total budget of €1.227.576.70. The partnership of the specific research project includes five more active partners from Greece, Albania and Bulgaria and two observer partners from Italy and France.
The project is implemented under the framework of the Interreg V-B Balkan Mediterranean 2014-2020 Interregional Cooperation Programme, which is co-funded by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and the national resources of the participating countries. The Lead Partner of RECONNECT is the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research). For Cyprus, the coordination of the project for the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus is under the responsibility of Associate Professor Dr. Spyros Sfenthourakis and his team including Ms. Yiota Lazarou and Mr. Pavlos Diplaros. For the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the coordination is under the responsibility of Ms. Melina Markou, and her team, including Ms. Maria Rousou.
The general aim of project is the development of shared practices for the sustainable management of the MPAs and Natura 2000 sites, against the most significant pressures and threats these ecosystems face. For this reason, pilot actions will take place in four selected study sites: Karpathos (Greece), Kavo Gkreco (Cyprus), Gradina-Zlatna Ribka (Bulgaria), and Ksamil Bay and islands - Stillo Cape - Togo Island (Albania). It’s important to mention that the research will focus on keystone species, such as, the protected species Posidonia oceanica and Pinna nobilis, but also on other valuable marine species, as the project’s aim is to highlight the services that they offer and to contribute to their successful management and conservation with the help of the local community.
For the first time, a common management strategy will be developed based on a combination of ecological, genetic and socio-economic aspects under the umbrella of a common Decision Support System, where joint policies and practices will be implemented.
With the active involvement of citizens
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is the involvement of locals, for both the assessment of the services offered by marine ecosystems (using questionnaires), and through their contribution to the systematic monitoring and assessment of the quality of the marine ecosystems. To this end, project partners have planned to implement a series of workshops for key stakeholders (e.g. divers, swimmers) and to create an innovative mobile application through which they will be able to communicate the information they collect to the relevant Managing Authorities of the Marine Protected Areas.
During the following months, the researchers will do the following:
· Identify and map the key marine habitats and evaluate the services they provide by socio-economic and cultural approaches;
· Enrich the current management toolbox with instruments based on the genetic and functional biodiversity;
· Engage citizens in environmental monitoring and conservation activities and involve stakeholders to boost potential for blue growth and job creation;
· Develop a platform for data storage and analysis of results based on cutting edge information technologies;
· Establishment of a Decision Support System to enhance the MPAs and Natura sites management on a scientific basis.
In the framework of the monitoring of the project’s progress, the first interim meeting was held in Cyprus (Larnaca) on 12th to 14th of June 2018. The Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research hosted the event and contributed substantially to the drawing of a fruitful discussion. Representatives from six (6) out of the seven (7) partners of the project participated in the meeting, including the following: the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, the Management Agency of Dodecanese Protected Areas, the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, the International Centre for Research on the Environment and the Economy, as well as the two (2) Cypriot partners mentioned before.
For more information, you can contact Ms. Yiota Lazarou and Ms. Maria Rousou, who are responsible for the project management, on behalf of the two departments, by sending them an email to the following addresses: lazarou.yiota@ucy.ac.cy and mrousou@dfmr.moa.gov.cy.
You can additionally visit the project’s website https://reconnect.hcmr.gr/, as well as the following social media pages:
https://www.facebook.com/BalkanMedReconnect/
https://twitter.com/reconnect_bmp
https://www.linkedin.com/company/balkanmed-reconnect/ https://www.researchgate.net/project/Regional-cooperation-for-the-transnational-ecosystem-sustainabledevelopment-RECONNECT