Author:
Ivana Stojanovic – Submariner Network
During the successful Blue Mission BANOS Mission Arena 3 event that took place on 26-27 November in Amsterdam, workshop Leading the way: Marine Nature Restoration advancements, challenges and needs in the North Sea region brought together experts, reasearchers, authorities, and other stakeholders to inform about the ongoing regional and national efforts on the implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law and explore strategies for overcoming barriers and advancing restoration efforts. Hosted by Submariner Network, the event combined expert presentations, interactive discussions, and collaborative breakout sessions to identify challenges and shape actionable solutions.
Presentations provided an overview of restoration initiatives and policies across the region. Key examples included the OSPAR Convention’s regional cooperation, NORA (Native Oyster Restoration Alliance), and efforts like The Rich North Sea Programme, NERA (Dutch reef restoration alliance) in the Netherlands and reef restoration initiatives in Belgium.
The workshop also highlighted the scientific contributions of EU-funded projects that support evidence-based restoration policymaking such as Future MARES and BELREEFS.
Identifying Needs and Barriers
Interactive sessions engaged participants in pinpointing key needs and barriers for marine restoration:
· Identified needs: More funding, better-aligned regulations, comprehensive monitoring, stronger enforcement of decisions and policies, knowledge-sharing, and citizen science.
· Key barriers: Policy incoherence, inadequate funding, low public awareness, insufficient stakeholder engagement, and technological gaps.
These inputs guided breakout group discussions that delved deeper into five critical areas:
· Data and Research: Participants emphasized the need for improved coordination within the scientific community and better integration of local, regional, and international data. Recommendations included creating a central data repository for open sharing, fostering cross-sectoral collaboration between researchers and blue economy stakeholders, and addressing gaps in basic research for habitats and species targeted by the Nature restoration Law.
· Technology Development: Discussions highlighted the challenges at every stage of technology development, from research to implementation. Participants stressed the importance of planning restoration efforts with measurable outcomes and benefits, enabling effective evaluation. Integrating training programs to enhance technological capabilities—especially in sectors like wind farms—was seen as essential for operationalizing restoration initiatives.
· Policy and Governance: Aligning monitoring efforts across Member States was identified as a critical step to avoid duplicated efforts and inconsistent approaches. Policies need to support, rather than hinder, companies engaged in restoration efforts. Participants also suggested incorporating marine restoration requirements into tendering criteria for economic activities such as offshore renewables in all the North Sea countries and beyond. Engaging national OSPAR committees to connect local and regional efforts was encouraged.
· Funding: Establishing sustainable and scalable financing models emerged as a key priority. The Nature Restoration Fund being developed in the Netherlands was highlighted as a promising example. Other suggestions included exploring innovative funding mechanisms like blue bonds and carbon offsetting. Expanding funding beyond national levels was also recommended to ensure continuity in restoration efforts.
· Stakeholder and Community Engagement: Awareness and education were recognized as fundamental to advancing restoration efforts. Participants stressed the need for increased public understanding of restoration’s benefits and costs, as well as greater use of citizen science. Bringing diverse stakeholders together to foster dialogue and agreement was seen as critical, with the North Sea Agreement highlighted as a successful model for multi-sectoral cooperation.
Outcomes and next steps
The workshop resulted in a ranking of action points as next steps for advancing marine restoration in the region. Participants prioritized:
1. Coordinate local and regional restoration efforts to guarantee their successful implementation and foster cooperation. Allocate more resources and time to stakeholder engagement processes.
2. Strengthen enforcement for marine protection and restoration by establishing robust regulatory frameworks and monitoring protocols.
3. Increase funding for marine restoration, and support innovation in technology. This includes R&D in pollution control, energy-efficient shipping, and habitat restoration tools, as well as establishing funding programs for startups and research institutions to develop innovative technologies and solutions.
4. Advance integrated marine protection and restoration within the blue economy by fostering transparent communication, coordinated research, and collaborative governance to align stakeholder efforts.
5. Enhance outreach and education on marine restoration needs costs and benefits, highlighting positive contributions from blue economy sectors like energy. Focus on educating policymakers, legislators, and the public about the North Sea’s state, and reduce (regulatory) barriers to restoration efforts.
This collaborative event provided actions for strengthening restoration efforts in the North Sea, offering recommendations to overcome challenges and foster effective marine restoration across the region.
Relevance for BLUE CONNECT project
BLUE CONNECT project is working in 12 demonstration sites, focusing on Marine Protected Areas designation, expansion, strict protection and management, as well as habitat restoration and advancing biodiversity monitoring. One of the sites is located in Belgium – Vlaamse Banken MPA: Hinderbanks, where active oyster restoration activities will start in 2025. Stakeholder and citizen engagement is an essential pillar of the project, creating Local Stakeholder Working Groups in the sites for co-creation and validation of results of the project. This event offered insights and feedback from the North Sea stakeholders on marine restoration, that will be taken up by the project, such as allocating resources for stakeholder engagement, education and communication on restoration efforts, Ocean Literacy, need to strengthen regulatory frameworks and monitoring protocols, as well as better coordination and communication among the sectoral stakeholders, bringing closer marine conservation and sustainable ocean (multi) use. The project should build upon the work done by MSP4BIO in the Belgian part of the North Sea, ensuring links with the results of the Decision Supporting Tools applications (Ecological Toolkit of MSP4BIO) and feedback received from Communities of Practice.
