Irish Regions Office Website

September 08, 2008

Integrating marine & maritime sectors

In June 2007, experts in marine and maritime science and policy issued the so-called 'Aberdeen Declaration' calling for a European marine and maritime research strategy that addresses both environmental and economic concerns. The resulting document has now been unveiled by the European Commission and advocates a more joined-up approach, described by EU Maritime Policy Commissioner Joe Borg as being essential “to realise the full potential of sea-based activities in an environmentally sustainable manner”.
Key to the European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research is the integration of the efforts of the research communities studying the complexities of the marine environment and those focused more on the development of new techniques and technologies to exploit maritime resources. This aims to enable the shared understanding (including interdisciplinary research on cross-cutting issues, such as climate change; human activity impact on coastal environments; and renewable energy resource exploitation) to enhance the conservation of the fragile marine environment while facilitating the development of economic activities such as shipping, fisheries and tourism as well as emerging sectors such as offshore wind and tidal power.
The Commission additionally proposes that a Forum made up of stakeholders from both research communities, governments, regional and local levels, industry and representatives from civil society should be established to set common research priorities and establish measures to implement the strategy. Support for this initiative will be provided through a range of funding mechanisms, including the Seventh Framework Programme. The strategy will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the EU Member States.
Strategy: http://ec.europa.eu/research/press/2008/pdf/com_2008_534_en.pdf
EU Maritime Affairs website: http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/

Posted by iroronan at September 8, 2008 06:58 PM