Within this initiative, the ICM will develop a citizen science platform where each community involved will be able to upload and share their observations.
This October has started ARSINOE, a European project of the Societal Challenges, Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency, and Raw Materials program in which the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) will monitor biodiversity with the participation of citizens.
Specifically, within this initiative, the ICM will develop a citizen science platform where each community involved will be able to upload and share their observations, thus contributing to the biodiversity monitoring in the different regions of the project where this participatory activity will take place.
The project, which has a budget of 15 million euros and is coordinated by the University of Thessaly, brings together a total of 41 partners from 15 countries. Over the next four years, they will all work together with the aim of developing and implementing innovative climate change adaptation measures and solutions across Europe.
"Some of the solutions proposed will require intensive monitoring of biodiversity, and this is where the participatory platform that we will implement will play a key role", explains the ICM researcher and project leader Jaume Piera.
A complex scenario
According to the experts, current solutions for adapting to climate change are insufficient given that this challenge is closely linked to other global challenges such as food security, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.
Therefore, the measures developed under the ARSINOE (Climate Resilient Regions Through Systemic Solutions and Innovations) project will take into account the complexity, interdependencies, and interconnectedness of contemporary societies and economies, encompassing the interests of all stakeholders.
They will also be aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal, which aims to overcome challenges such as climate change or environmental degradation. Finally, the solutions proposed through ARSINOE will be specific to each European region and will seek to promote the sustainability and improvement of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
The applicability, replicability, potential and effectiveness of the measures will be tested in nine different European regions, including rivers, ports, lakes, islands, and coastal areas in both southern and northern Europe. In the particular case of Greece, the ICM team will develop the platform in close collaboration with the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA), which is responsible for the management of the country's protected areas and the conservation of its biodiversity.