Marine Biodiversity Conference explores solutions and shares marine ecological restoration projects

Marine biology experts, scientific institutions and various organisations are taking part today in the first session of the 3rd Balearic Marine Biodiversity Conservation Conference, held at Can Tàpera in Palma. Eleven experts and researchers will share projects and initiatives aimed at connecting marine restoration science with its management and practical application in Balearic waters. The conference will work towards shared criteria on what to restore, how, where and with whom, based on the consensus that restoration involves much more than planting.

The first meeting of specialists was opened by Sílvia García Higuera, representing the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO); Pablo Rodríguez Ros, Director of the Marilles Foundation; and Tatí Benjumea, Marilles’ Habitats and Species Coordinator. Margalida Monserrat, a researcher at IMEDEA, then presented the guide Restoring to Conserve: A Guide to the Balearic Sea. Emma Cebrian, a researcher at CEAB-CSIC, explained how PEREMCAT, the plan to restore Catalonia’s marine ecosystems, works. Following an overview of Catalonia’s experience, Sílvia García Higuera, a MITECO officer specialising in protected marine species and habitats, outlined the national framework, priorities and opportunities for marine ecosystems set out in the National Restoration Plan.

Participants then heard about the status of specific species in talks by Beatriz Marin-Diaz of IMEDEA, who spoke about Cymodocea restoration, and Jana Verdura of the University of Girona, who discussed the restoration of macroalgal forests.

The conference will continue throughout the morning with environmental scientist and writer Andreu Escrivà, who will speak about the limits and uncertainties of restoration, and Pedro García, Director of the Association of Naturalists of the South-East (ANSE), who will present the restoration of salt pans and coastal sandy areas around the Mar Menor as a case study. The talks will conclude with a round-table discussion of practical examples, including the CABALGA project, to be presented by ICM-CSIC specialist Patricia Baena, and experiences in Portocolom, Pollença and Menorca, to be shared by Laura Royo (Cleanwave Foundation), Gigi Torras (Arrels Marines) and Eva Marsichach (OBSAM).

The morning will conclude with a discussion among attendees. In the afternoon, the event will continue with a closed meeting at which the experts will draft a document setting out the meeting’s conclusions and management proposals, which will be submitted to the relevant authorities.

The conference will continue for a further two days. On the 29th, the discussion will focus on invasive species, while 5 November will be devoted to sustainable fishing.

The Marine Biodiversity Conference is organised by the Marilles Foundation and the Sa Nostra Foundation. Its main aim is to provide a space for sharing knowledge and discussing best practices in monitoring and conserving marine biodiversity, both in the Balearic Islands and in other parts of the Mediterranean.