On the 7th of April, Lara Ventas, on behalf of the Atlantic Steering Committee, took part as speaker at a workshop organized by the European Union about the Mission restore our Oceans and Waters by 2030.
The aim of this workshop was to mobilise Atlantic and Arctic countries and regions to join the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters, and particularly the Atlantic- Arctic Lighthouse. The workshop also included national and regional maritime departments, local government, marine institutes and other key stakeholders. It discussed how the Mission can support the delivery on national and regional policy priorities, by accelerating the transitions to a healthy ocean and restored waters. It also discussed how the countries can join forces to deliver on the Mission objectives. The workshop outlined the process of co-creating the Lighthouse Charter discussing how Atlantic and Arctic countries can get involved to benefit from the innovation, knowledge and tools provided by the Mission. In particular, it focused on the Atlantic-Arctic lighthouse, with its objective of restoring coastal and marine ecosystems to boost resilience of coastal communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change including sea level rise and extreme climate events. The European Commission and the countries were invited to present their existing and planned programmes that will contribute to restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, view of jointly delivering on the Mission objectives.
The event brought together and started a first cross-sectorial dialogue between the research and blue economy communities in order to:
●Follow up on the One Ocean Summit, in particular the side event related to the Mission and its lighthouses;
●Develop an overview of programmes and initiatives of Member States and partners for ecosystem protection and restoration, including marine protected areas and climate adaptation initiatives that can contribute to the Mission objectives and its Atlantic-Arctic lighthouse, and links with the ASC work;
●Discuss the implementation Charter of the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030";
●Contributions of ongoing and future national and regional initiatives to the Mission objective of ecosystem protection and restoration, including marine protected areas and climate adaptation initiatives.
Lara Ventas discussed the objectives of the Atlantic Strategy Action Plan, the space for collaboration and synergies with the EU Mission, as well as the workshops that will be taking place shortly. You can find the complete speech here.