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H2020 program / Horizon Europe

PHAROS

Lighthouse for Atlantic and Arctic Basin

Principal Investigator
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Group Leader

I’m a biologist and the leader of the Fish Ecology and Sustainability research team. My primary research area is marine ecology, specifically concerning fish communities. I’m particularly interested in understanding how human activities, including marine litter and microplastics, impact ecosystems and their ability to provide services and societal benefits. In my research, I’ve been employing innovative approaches to leverage stakeholder knowledge, as Fishers Ecological Knowledge, and provide scientific support to environmental managers and decision-makers. Throughout my career, I’ve bridged the gap between science and society, advocating for stakeholder integration in science, fostering collaborative solutions for environmental issues, and promoting Ocean Literacy.

RESEARCH GROUPS:

The EU has set bold quantified and measurable targets to achieve its Ocean Mission objectives relating to protecting and restoring marine ecosystems and biodiversity (Mission Objective 1); preventing and eliminating pollution of our ocean (Mission Obj. 2); and making the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular (Mission Obj.3) by 2030. The EU Mission Implementation Plan has two demanding, but necessarily near-term phases: the first ‘development and piloting’ phase by 2025, and the second ‘deployment and upscaling’ phase from 2026-2030. PHAROS will be the logical stepping stone bridging Mission Phase 1 ‘development and piloting’ and the second ‘deployment and upscaling’ phase from 2026-2030. PHAROS will have three demos in the Atlantic using a combination of newly developed innovative NBS and IMTA, tailored to the local context, resulting in multiple biodiversity and ecosystem restoration benefits (Mission Phase 1). These demos will also leverage key Mission projects including Ocean Citizen, Climarest, and Ultfarms (Mission phase 2). PHAROS will also partner with H2020 ECOTIP to leverage and extend its project in a demo to reduce invasive species in Iceland with eDNA monitoring (Mission phase 1 and 2). PHAROS will extending (TRL advancement) and rolling out leading Mission projects across the AA basin including Prep4Blue MPA platform and network, Nettagplus and Remedies Fisher Guardian and Citizen Litter Entrepreneur programs, and Probleu EU Blue School Network platform for education(bridge to phase 2) PHAROS will establish Living Labs, early in the project in each demo and replication region, securing participation for its co-creation approach, across all relevant and necessary actors including different levels of government, researchers and innovators, education institutions, small and large, businesses, investors and civil society.

Leader Institution
PLOCAN, Spain
Program
Horizon Europe
Funding
Other projects