The LIFE IP INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, has signed an alliance with the marine citizen science platform Sea Observers, coordinated by three institutes of the Spanish National Research Council – ICM, CEAB and IMEDEA – which has been presented in Barcelona.
The objective of this new collaboration between both institutions is to promote the marine citizen science program of reference in Spain, strengthening the scientific research network, made up of citizens, scientific researchers and professionals. It aims to be a tool that provides and validates data referring to the impacts, habitats and species found within the areas of the marine Natura 2000 Network.
During this presentation, the new web platform of Sea Observers was launched, which has had the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). Thanks to this update, the platform’s image is modernized and it makes navigation more agile. In addition, it is committed to promoting direct contact between scientists and observers, and greater interaction between users of the platform.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATION
The Sea Observers initiative reinforces one of the main objectives of LIFE INTEMARES, to achieve an effective, innovative and integrated management of marine protected areas, with the active participation of the sectors involved and research as basic tools for decision-making.
The citizen science platform Sea Observers collects visual data and experiences of citizens on different phenomena that occur at sea, to promote research and create new knowledge together. In addition, it is made up of experts from different national and international research centres, who analyse and validate the observations received, which represents an added value with respect to other existing initiatives.
Currently, the community that makes up the Sea Observers platform is made up of more than 2,000 citizens, 70 scientists and nearly 300 entities.
The new stage of collaboration between LIFE INTEMARES and Observadores del Mar will include a large number of actions. Among them, and in order to promote participation and the development of knowledge, ten workshops or seminars are contemplated, as well as five participatory meetings that serve as a tool for relations between attendees and that promote the communication of the marine citizen science program in various forums. These upcoming activities will also be key to promoting cooperation and communication with Natura 2000 Network managers and other public administrations.
Also within the framework of this collaboration, a report will be prepared for the scientific community that will include the methodology applied in the projects developed by Sea Observers, with the aim of coordinating the action protocols between scientific societies. In addition, documents will be prepared that will collect the data collected by the community of Sea Observers and will assess how they can contribute to the improvement of conservation measures in the areas of the marine Natura 2000 Network.
LIFE INTEMARES
The LIFE INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, aims to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network.
The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the same ministry, the IEO, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.
