Valuating nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation

In a few months, FOL will start working on the FutureMARES project, which stands for “Climate Change and Future Marine Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity”, funded by the H2020 porgamme with a budget of €8M. The main goal of FutureMARES is to provide socially and economically viable actions, strategies and nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate adaptation and mitigation to safeguard future biodiversity, and ecosystem functions, maximizing natural capital and its delivery of services from marine and transitional ecosystems, like estuaries and coastal wetlands..

The project FutureMARES is led by Prof. Peck at the University of Hamburg and involves researchers from 32 institutions of 17 different countries who will work together to develop NBS for climate adaptation and mitigation. The set of solutions that will be explored range from the restoration of habitats, to conservation actions, and sustainable harvesting of seafood. The consortia will develop case studies in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters in Europe, and will also collaborate overseas with partners from Chile and Belize.

FOL team, lead by Elena Ojea, will coordinate one of the project’s work package, devoted to the development of  vulnerability assessments in marine social-ecological systems. A range of climate vulnerability assessments will be coordinated and developed across NBS in the case studies in Europe and Chile and in the Caribbean, in order to identify most at-risk marine ecosystem services and dependent livelihoods. The results from the vulnerability assessments will guide adaptation policy and specifically the potential of NBS fro addressing climate change impacts.

We want to thank Prof. Peck and the rest of the team in U. Hamburg, and all the consortia for the opportunity to participate in the project and wish everyone a successful research.