Santa Maria La Nova, Napoli, Italy, June 17-21, 2024. 2B-BLUE partner, Universidad de Murcia (UMU), presented the project to representatives from the Oceanographic Observatorium of Banyuls in the framework of the 2024 World Seagrass Conference (WSC2024) and the 15th International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW15).
The theme of WSC2024 and ISBW15, Seagrasses in the Anthropocene, come from the knowledge that seagrass ecosystems are facing an accelerating human pressure at local and global scales. Environmental changes are transforming seagrass ecosystems into new configurations unlike anything observed before. Returning to past configurations is no longer an option.
The global challenge is to establish a new baseline, protect, restore, and rehabilitate the existing resource.
The key questions that were addressed during the meetings:
To which extent species are resilient to environmental changes?
Which are the mechanisms behind that?
What can we do to ensure seagrass sustainability?
Which methodologies can we apply and/or further develop for keeping meadows functional?
How can we effectively combine socio-economic, cultural and management approaches with the basic science?
