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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

45 million euros for European research projects focused on innovative and sustainable maritime activities

The European Commission will present Thursday, September 9, 2010 funding of 45 million euros provided for research projects on maritime activities in the context of the call The Ocean of Tomorrow in 2011. Financial proposals are expected for research projects designed to maximize the potential of the seas and oceans through innovative approaches, looking and durable. Large multidisciplinary research projects based on partnership between EU Member States and third countries will be rewarded.Tomorrow's information day will take place at the Albert Borschette Conference Centre (ABCC), 36 Rue Froissart, Brussels, with opening speeches by EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki at 10h00 followed by a press conference at approximately 10h40 in ABCC Room 4C.

Commissioners Geoghegan-Quinn and Damanaki said: that oceans covered 70% of the Earth's surface and that they were key to our eco-system but that they were also key to our current and future economy and that we needed Smart Seas to help us meet the challenge of creating sustainable jobs and growth in the 21st century. They added that selecting the best proposals from this call would help Europe move forward in areas like offshore energy and blue biotechnologies.

Oceans offer substantial opportunities for sustainable economic development. However, human activity is exerting increasing pressure on our seas. In particular, the growing demand for maritime transport, offshore energy, coastal development and over-exploitation of resources is threatening both marine ecosystems and the development of sustainable maritime activities.

This cross-thematic initiative, the second of its kind within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), bears a strong innovative and forward-looking component. For example, bids are invited for the design of a small research vessel adapted to shallow waters, the investigation of multi-use offshore platforms and new bioinformatics approaches for the exploitation of marine biodiversity.

Partly focused on the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the call for proposals will foster closer cooperation with neighboring countries. It should provide a scientific basis for sustainable management measures and improved governance in these regional seas faced with tough sustainability challenges.

Promoting integration between complementary research areas
The ocean of tomorrow 2011 call was launched on 20th July 2010. It shows how the EU's funding programme for research can address global issues in an interdisciplinary way. The projects selected will be funded by several funding themes.

4 topics, €45 million
The call is split into four topics, of which two are generic and two are of particular relevance to the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Within each of these topics, projects will cover these themes: food, agriculture, fisheries, and biotechnology, energy, environment and transport.

The first topic (€14 million) addresses innovative designs for multi-use offshore platforms including their economic and environmental viability;
The second topic (€9 million) focuses on bioinformatics approaches to foster new insights into the functioning of marine ecosystems and their biotechnological potential ;
The third topic (€13 million) deals with combined effects of natural and human pressures on the marine environment in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and the responses of ecosystems;
The fourth topic (€9 million) deals with integrated management of networks of marine protected areas and wind energy potential.
The application deadline for the call is 18th January 2011 and projects selected will be announced by Autumn 2011.

Background
The growing importance of sea-based activities such as maritime transport, offshore energy, tourism, coastal development, fisheries and aquaculture offers huge opportunities for economic development but it also poses a major threat to the marine environment. In 2008, the European Union established a new Integrated Maritime Policy, of which the European Strategy for Marine and Maritime research is a fundamental part. It highlights the importance of integration between established marine and maritime research disciplines with the objective of reinforcing excellence in science and reconciling sea-based activities with environmental sustainability. Among other actions, it suggests the use of cross-thematic calls for proposals under FP7 on major research topics.

Source  Europa.eu

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