Date
14/01/2016
The FP7 COCONET project will hold its final conference at the European Commission in Brussels. The project addressed the potential, needs and requirements for coast-to-coast networks of marine protected areas (from the shore to the high and deep sea) coupled with seas-based wind energy potential in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This final conference will present the project results and to discuss the best and more efficient way to transfer those results to final users.
COCONET coordinated by Professor Ferdinando Boero (University of Salento/CoNISMa/CNR-ISMAR), deals with environmental policies on protecting habitats and ecosystems valuable for their biodiversity, as well as producing energy in cleaner ways.
The primary project objectives are to:
- Identify prospective networks of existing or potential MPAs in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, shifting from a local perspective (centred on single MPAs) to the regional level (network of MPAs) and finally the basin scale (network of networks), comprising also the high and the deep seas; and
- Explore where Off-shore Wind Farms (OWF) might be established, producing an enriched wind atlas both for the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. OWF locations will avoid too sensitive habitats but the possibility for them to act as stepping-stones through MPAs, without interfering much with human activities, should be evaluated.
Further information on the project is available here
Location
European Commission DG RTD/COV2
