ArtReefs Project
Press release #1
November 18, 2016
Can Artificial Reefs help coastal communities and the environment?
A European public-private consortium will develop their potential
to materialise sustainable tourism and integrated coastal
management in the Mediterranean and Black Sea
The ArtReefs project seeks to promote innovative artificial reefs as a versatile tool to tackle widespread challenges in the Mediterranean and Black sea regions, such as environmental degradation and conflicts between users of the coastal area.
This project proposes custom-designed artificial reefs to boost sustainable tourism and Blue Growth, integrating environmental protection within multi-user management plans, and supporting public policy objectives.
Beyond their main use for fisheries and ecological restoration, artificial reefs can drive coastal management and support compatible activities such as diving, snorkelling, recreational fishing, aquaculture, monitoring or research, contributing to increase the attractiveness and resilience of a territory.
ArtReefs will offer public and private actors the information, tools and guidelines they need to develop master plans at local to regional level, combining environmental sustainability and business opportunities with participative governance. The results will also be shared with the administrations responsible for licenses to deploy artificial reefs.
Benchmarking international best practice, the project addresses specific regional needs, capitalising accumulated knowledge thanks to innovation and cross-cutting cooperation between specialised partners. To do so, the project brings together the expertise of six organisations:
- Innogate to Europe: a Spanish SME specialised in innovation and entrepreneurship;
- CNR-ISMAR: the marine branch of the Italian National Research Council;
- Pole Mer Mediterranee from France, the largest maritime cluster in the region;
- National Tourism Cluster "Bulgarian Guide", specialised in sustainable and alternative tourism;
- The Italian region of Abruzzo, leading Integrated Coastal Management in the Adriatic;
- The Union of Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities, a regional network of 21 municipalities in the Black Sea.
Interested stakeholders are invited to learn more about the project, and to participate in the workshops and networking events that will take place in Spain, France and Bulgaria, and especially in the final brokerage event for investors and public authorities in Pescara, Italy, 2018.
More information: www.artreefs.eu
Project manager: Mr. Luis LOZANO llg@innogatetoeurope.eu
Communication: Mr. Colin RUEL ruel@polemermediterranee.com
Partner 5: NTC “Bulgarian Guide”: info@bg-guide.org
ArtReefs project has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement No. EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.7/03/SI2.735917