Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

General:

Promote the environmental, economic and social sustainability of marine ecosystem services (SEM) in protected natural areas.

Specific:

1. Identify and promote synergies within the consortium and outside it.

2. To evaluate the state of the SEMs using environmental, social and economic variables.

3. To analyse the contribution of EMS to the fulfilment of the 2020 objectives of the Framework Directive of the European Marine Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals.

4. Raise awareness of the relevance of EMS for human well-being.

A1- Coordination meeting. Approach to the work

A 2.1- Analysis of the state of the art of scientific knowledge on SEM

A 2.2- Mapping SEMs that contribute to human well-being

A 2.3- Analysis of the economic and sociocultural contribution of SEM in PNAs

A 2.4- Co-design of future scenarios on SEM

A 3.1- Analysis of the contribution of EMS to compliance with the European Marine Strategy Directive and the SDGs

A 3.2- Design of indicators for monitoring SEM in protected natural areas

A 3.3- Preparation of a Guide for the management and monitoring of SEM in the context of PNAs

A 4.1- Campaign to disseminate the results of the project

A 4.2- Virtual dissemination campaign of the Guidelines for the management of SEM in ANPs

A 5- Organization of an International Symposium on SEM

A6- Control and Monitoring

The ECOSER project has been aimed at promoting the environmental, economic and social sustainability of EMS in three protected areas on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts: Atlantic Islands National Park and the “Os Miñarzos” Marine Reserve of Fishing Interest (Galicia) and the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park (Andalusia).

The results obtained are presented below:

• Search for information on SEM: analysis of the state of scientific knowledge on SEM, creating a database made up of scientific articles, books, technical reports and projects on biophysical, economic and sociocultural information on SEM marine ecosystem services carried out to date in Spain and a list of sources of information and bibliography consulted.
• Interviews have been carried out and three workshops have been organized, one for each case study, under a deliberative and participatory work approach, with agents from the academic sector, administration and managers of NPAs, fishermen’s organizations, non-profit entities with a scope of work in the NPAs. Likewise, a mapping of the ecosystem services analysed has been developed.
• Environmental, economic, social and institutional indicators have been designed for the monitoring of SEM in protected natural areas and to obtain information on the degree of compliance with the SDGs and the European Marine Directive.
• The Guide for the management and monitoring of marine ecosystem services in the context of protected natural areas has been prepared, which contains a protocol for the evaluation of SEM in protected natural areas, including difficulties and good practices, with potential replicability in other protected areas of the Spanish territory, as one of the main results of the project.

• A virtual symposium on Marine Ecosystem Services, held over two days, has been held to showcase the results achieved during the project, provide greater public awareness of the relevance of marine ecosystem services, and determine the steps to be taken to give continuity to the results of the project.