Oceans are a vital resource for energy, food, transport, recreation and more. And with mounting evidence of serious pollution, marine litter, overfishing... the world is finally waking up to the importance of Marine Protected Areas to preserve the complex and delicate balance between ecosystems and the services they provide. A massive international consortium, funded by the EU, took up that challenge, focusing on the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Coastal waters around the world are under threat from land-based pollutants that affect water quality, marine ecosystems and tourism. An EU-funded project is creating an IT-based platform to support applications that use earth observation (EO) to monitor coastal waters.
Nature provides benefits worth billions of euros a year to EU agriculture - such as pest control by insect predators. An EU-funded project has improved knowledge of the habitats that foster these so-called ecological services, helping to support an increase in sustainable farming and food security.
By involving them in research on marine mammals, an EU-funded project is arousing young people's interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It aims to ensure that Europe has sufficient talent in STEM subjects - essential to remaining competitive globally.
From tackling poverty, climate change and environmental degradation to preserving cultural heritage and agricultural sustainability, crop diversity is integral to solving some of the greatest challenges on the planet. An EU-backed research effort has made agrobiodiversity conservation in the Andean region its business. The hope is that crops like tarwi, amaranth, cañahua, arracacha, yacón and isaño could one day become household names as quinoa is today.
Drones, small satellites and smart software are set to enhance connectivity in some of the world's harshest environments thanks to an EU-funded project enabling innovative applications for Internet of Things devices such as polar climate sensors.
Turkey's Mediterranean Conservation Society and the EU-funded MERCES project are researching innovative solutions for restoring the Mediterranean's degraded habitats.
With EU backing, an international team has developed a unique bespoke - modular yet integrated - solution for reusing wastewater in remote and/or water-stressed communities. The patented technologies are being piloted in locations where water is a precious commodity for agriculture or in the conservation of natural freshwater ecosystems.
An EU-funded infrastructure project is enhancing international cooperation for research and monitoring in the Arctic. This is providing a better understanding of environmental change, and how to adapt to it.
The EU-funded SEDNA project is developing ways to improve the design, operation, navigation and anti-icing features of ships traversing the harsh Arctic region. SEDNA's innovations could help protect lives, safeguard the region's unique natural environment, and open more competitive routes for Europe's shippers.
