Human activities and climate change are exerting increasing pressures that lead to the degradation of ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity, threatening essential goods and services for the planet, human life, and society. The BioProtect project seeks to develop new methodologies and strengthen the capacity to engage stakeholders, with the goal of monitoring and predicting changes in marine biodiversity, mapping human pressures, and assessing the ecological and socio-economic impacts of conservation actions, particularly those related to environmental protection and restoration. The project’s activities will be demonstrated across five Atlantic sites, ranging from the Arctic to the Azores. The innovative and flexible BioProtect framework will integrate multi-source data across spatial scales tailored to each study region, incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives and knowledge.
BioProtect will consider different scenarios, including those related to climate change, protection and exploitation strategies, and will evaluate their ecological and socio-economic impacts. The project seeks to collaborate closely with society and stakeholders, from ocean users to natural resource managers and policymakers. This will enable the effective implementation and adoption of the proposed solutions aimed at protecting and restoring marine ecosystems and biodiversity. BioProtect consortium comprises the necessary combination of leading experts of various disciplines to achieve the project objectives. The consortium consists of 18 partners from 5 EU member states (DK, DE, GR, IE, PT) and 3 associated countries (IS, FO, NO). Each partner brings unique competences, expertise and the infrastructure necessary for its successful implementation. They span across different aspects of marine conservation and human activities that threaten marine biodiversity and potential solutions across Europe.

BioProtect will deliver innovative, scalable ecosystem-based solutions to accelerate biodiversity protection and restoration in European seas, aligned with the EU’s 2030 targets and the European Green Deal. Human activities and climate change are degrading ecosystems, threatening essential goods and services. BioProtect aims to reduce pressures using an area-based management decision support framework (ABM-DSF), involving stakeholder engagement, biodiversity monitoring, pressure mapping, and prioritizing conservation actions across five sites from the Arctic to the Azores.