Ocean of Tomorrow call - FP7-OCEAN-2010

 

Joining research forces to meet challenges in ocean management

Oceans offer opportunities for sustainable economic development. However, human activities are exerting increasing environmental pressure on the oceans, threatening marine ecosystems and sustainable maritime activities. In particular, the growing demand for maritime transport, offshore energy, tourism, coastal development, resource extraction, fisheries and aquaculture may have a major impact on the marine environment.

 

The European Union has taken up this challenge and established a new integrated maritime policy, of which the Communication "A European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research" (COM (2008) 534) is a fundamental part. The strategy highlights the importance of integration between established marine and maritime research disciplines, in order to reinforce excellence in science and to reconcile the growth of sea-based activities with environmental sustainability. The cross-thematic "ocean of tomorrow" calls seek to implement this commitment.

 

The objective of the call was to build the knowledge base for a sustainable growth of sea-based activities. It did this in two ways: by improving understanding of marine ecosystems’ response to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, and by providing a scientific foundation for feasible, sustainable management measures supporting policies and possible related technologies.

 

Three projects have been selected under the call:

The call was published on CORDIS on 30 July 2009 under the Cooperation Themes: Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology; Energy; Environment; Transport; Socioeconomic sciences and Humanities.