BLUE CONNECT proposal development - call HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-01: European Blue Parks – Protection and restoration of marine habitats

The BLUE CONNECT project aims to demonstrate how strict protection, restoration and co-management can contribute to ensure effective conservation of MPAs and improved connectivity in Blue Corridors. The effective conservation of our seas is now an urgent global priority, as marine biodiversity is continuing its rapid decline due to pollution, overexploitation of resources, overfishing and the escalating impacts of climate change. To address this crisis, global and EU marine policies have set a series of ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030. The BLUE CONNECT project will offer solutions to enable increased marine ecosystems protection and restoration. By mobilizing stakeholders and citizens in 10 Demonstration Sites and beyond, it will co-create a systemic approach to marine conservation planning and management, contributing to reaching 30% of marine protection with 10% of strict protection targets. BLUE CONNECT has the ambition to co-develop a powerful blueprint framework for setting science-based conservation objectives, co-defining conservation actions for effective co-management of MPAs, ensuring conservation effectiveness and demonstrating the high potential of the tools for replicability and wider use. The project will apply an innovative hybrid modelling approach, assessing connectivity from a seldom used interdisciplinary perspective and anticipating future climate change impacts. By fostering just and fair stakeholder cooperation and citizen science initiatives, BLUE CONNECT will build co-ownership and empower communities to play a crucial role in safeguarding the EU's sea basins. That will be ensured through engagement of stakeholders in Demonstration Sites located across Europe with different levels of management maturity, needs and practices, which will serve as testing and demonstration grounds and advisory points for improved conservation and co-management systems at European level and beyond.