PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030 promotes the recovery of the biodiversity of European natural ecosystems through extending conservation networks, preventing and reducing anthropic impacts, and restoring the degraded natural heritage. Marine Deep Reefs (DR) are ecologically relevant benthic habitats acting as CO2 sinks and attracting a highly diverse associated fauna. The multiple pressures DR are currently facing (e.g., climate change, fishery and littering) make the need to protect and restore these habitats more urgent. Marine Litter (ML) can affect the health status of DR, leading to the loss of associated ecological functions. Through an innovative, sustainable approach, the LIFE DREAM Project aims at mitigating the anthropic pressure on deep sensitive habitats (DR) and promoting their protection, recovery and preservation. LIFE DREAM will comprise active intervention to aid the regeneration of DR and will provide supporting information to extend the Natura 2000 network to the deep-sea by integrating biological data on DR and ecosystems services they supply with spatial data on human activities. Active restoration (deployment of artificial structure as substrate for DR the forming-species growth) will be integrated with passive restoration activities (ML removal in correspondence of DR). The involvement of fishers and stakeholders within LIFE DREAM activities intends to enhance the impact of the project and boost a social behavior change. Following the principles of the circular economy, among the ambitions of the Project is pairing the recovery with recycling of materials at the end of their lifecycle, converting the recovered ML in 2nd generation fuel that will reduce the CO2 emissions. The results of LIFE DREAM would represent the baseline to extend the Natura 2000 network to the deep Mediterranean Sea and to restore deep sensitive habitats by providing best practices for DR restoration and the related costs and benefits.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE DREAM project’s objectives are to:
- Improve the knowledge base, at a transnational level, across the Mediterranean Sea on: the distribution of deep reefs, in particular focusing on their health status and the ecological services they provide; the multiple stressors threatening deep reefs, especially marine litter, in order to evaluate how they affect the environmental status of deep reefs; and the areas of conflict between conservation measures and human activities, to be used in the implementation of management plans;
- Extend the Italian Natura 2000 network to the deep sea by evaluating and proposing new sites in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Bari Canyon) and in the Gulf of Naples (Dohrn Canyon). The project will also provide information to support the potential enlargement of existing Natura 2000 sites along the Apulian coast from Barletta to Monopoli (Posidonieto San Vito - Barletta site of Community importance);
- Facilitate passive restoration of deep reefs through marine litter removal in the project areas;
- Promote active restoration through the deployment of eco-friendly 3D-printed modular artificial reef structures, applying a demonstration action to assess, mitigate and monitor the impact of marine litter on deep reefs, as a tool to guide conservation/restoration measures;
- Prevent further litter accumulation (mainly plastic items) in deep reefs, through fishing activities that support marine litter removal;
- Foster circular economy concepts by proposing a business model linking marine litter removal with subsequent recycling and reuse of plastic fractions by means of a low-temperature pyrolysis prototype developed within the project; and
- Increase public awareness (general public, sea users and stakeholders) about the importance of deep reefs for ocean health and for human wellbeing and therefore of the urgency to reduce and prevent marine litter accumulation in these charismatic habitats.
RESULTS
4 geodatabases; 1 geoportal; 4 multiple uses maps.
ca. 80 Modular Artificial Reef Structures units covering a surface of approximately 1 m2 and 1.5 m high.
ca. 0.5 items/100 m of Marine Litter from removal operations along the transects.
1 technical protocol (Long Term Data Preservation).
2 new Natura2000 sites with Standard Data Forms.
2 proposals with respective management recommendations for achieving or maintaining Good Environmental Status in Deep Reefs in the existing Natura2000 sites.
ca. 144 fishers involved and trained for the Prototype usage
ca. 25 fishing vessels involved
ca. 10 ports involved
ca 1-2 kg/day/vessel of Marine Litter from fishing activities
ca. 9 tons of plastic recycled
1 portable Prototype
ca. 3,000 L of marine fuel classified as “ultra-low sulphur fuel oil” (<1000 ppm) produced
ca. 0.5-0.75 ton CO2 eq. avoided per ton of marine fuel produced.
Monitoring of project results through 4 deep-sea observation systems and ca. 175 questionnaires for local stakeholders.