Status: In progress
Project Description:
The project "NaturPorts" has been
developed to integrate ecological restoration strategies in port environments
using Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). This project represents a collaborative and
multidisciplinary effort to address some of the most significant environmental
challenges facing coastal and marine ecosystems, particularly in areas impacted
by port and urban activities.
NaturPorts includes the implementation of three
specific NbS pilots to promote the integration of coastal infrastructure: one
pilot to support seagrass meadow restoration, another to encourage the
development of barnacle communities on port infrastructure, and a third to
assess the effect of wave action on NbS design.
NaturPorts also places a special emphasis on
community engagement and awareness, actively involving stakeholders and the
general public in the process. This ensures not only greater understanding and
support for the project’s initiatives but also fosters sustainable and
environmentally respectful practices among a broad range of groups.
Main Project Actions:
- Conceptualization and Baseline: This phase aims to characterize the
demonstration environments and produce protocols that include methodologies,
technological and non-technological tools, and rigorous experimental designs to
support the planning process for restoration efforts.
- Demonstrative Restoration Actions: This activity will focus on the
restoration of four key coastal ecosystems, which are widely distributed and
play a fundamental role in supporting biodiversity. The action is organized
into three tasks, according to ecosystem type: seagrass meadow ecosystems,
rocky reefs based on wave exposure, and the transformation of piers into
barnacle farms.
- Impact Assessment and Indicator Monitoring: Spatial and temporal monitoring
will follow a standardized protocol to evaluate the effect of restoration
interventions on the capacity of demonstration environments to provide
ecosystem services (such as the diversity and abundance of key species, support
for populations of commercially significant species, water filtration by
biofiltering species, and carbon sequestration).
- Governance, Transferability, and Dissemination: The objectives of the NaturPorts
project’s governance, transferability, and dissemination actions focus on: (I)
identifying key environmental and socioeconomic data to build roadmaps and
strategies that support the scaling up of restoration actions, (II) conducting
a detailed assessment and cataloging of the socioeconomic costs and benefits
associated with restoration activities, (III) enhancing existing funding
options while exploring new sources of financial support to strengthen
restoration initiatives, and (IV) developing a Scaling Plan that precisely
defines the stages and measures necessary to increase the effectiveness and
reach of the restoration actions within the NaturPorts project.
Contribution:
- Green Port: The project contributes to ecosystem
improvement and restoration, promoting biodiversity and carbon sequestration
capacity.
- Innovative Port: Nature-based innovative solutions are
implemented for the restoration and rehabilitation of port environments.
- Inclusive Port: NaturPorts fosters active participation from
local communities and stakeholders in restoration activities.
This project is co-funded by the European Union
through the FEMPA (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund).
