LIFE Marha - Marine sedimentary habitats seminar for European Atlantic Biogeographic region
On 12 and 13 March 2025, our partner of the Federal gouvernement visited the seminar on ‘ marine sedimentary habitats in the Atlantic biogeographic region ’, organised by the Life Marha project coordinated by the French Biodiversity Office. The speakers and audience consisted largely of French researchers working on monitoring and nature conservation, complemented by a number of researchers and policy-makers from neighbouring countries. Several themes around marine soil research were presented and discussed in succession. Thus, we gained insight into the state of knowledge on marine habitats, the effects of human impacts and climate change, innovations in monitoring, policy frameworks to improve habitat protection, and best practices and challenges for marine protected areas.
The main conclusions were that not only technology is rapidly evolving and improving (cartography, eDNA, development of new indicators, etc.), but also the approach: marine biodiversity is not only monitored more on the basis of species richness and abundance, but functional diversity is also taken into account, along with many abiotic factors. The consequences of human impacts (wind farms, reclamation, fishing, etc.) are also still unclear and are therefore addressed, preferably with an integrated approach. The new Nature Restoration Regulation brings with it new obligations, which will ensure a progressive increase in knowledge about the state of marine habitats.
To protect better, we must first understand better, and there are still many knowledge gaps to fill. So work to be done! A very interesting congress, with plenty of networking opportunities during the breaks (and the tasty benefits of French cuisine).
Photo LIFE Marha