The EU Horizon 2020 project MERCES (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas) (http://www.merces-project.eu/) is holding a webinar on ‘Getting Better Value from Our Coasts’ at 15.00h Central European Time on Thursday 15 February. Further details can be found at https://news.grida.no/getting-better-value-from-our-coasts. Pre-registration is required.
Further information on the MERCES project can be obtained by contacting merces@deepseasolutions.co.uk
There are two talks of about 20 minutes each.
Valuing Multiple Eelgrass Ecosystem Services in Sweden: Fish Production and Uptake of Carbon and Nitrogen
Dr Scott Cole, EnviroEconomics Sweden Consultancy, Gothenburg and Dr Per-Olav Moksnes, University of Gothenburg
Eelgrass meadows create several important ecosystem functions, which in turn provide society with important ecosystem goods and services. Along the Swedish northwest coast, more than 60 %, approximately 12 500 ha, of the eelgrass beds have vanished since the 1980s as a result of coastal eutrophication and overfishing. How can we value the many different benefits of eelgrass beds and what have we lost? Scott Cole, an environmental economist, will discuss a three-year research project that developed an interdisciplinary framework for estimating the monetary value associated with multiple ecosystem services provided by eelgrass meadows and how the consideration of multiple benefits in the coastal zone leads to better management decisions.
Using 3D Computer graphics to convey restoration goals to decision makers and the general public.
Professor Johan van der Koppel, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
In this session, Johan van de Koppel will outline a new technique for presenting the projected outcome of nature restoration and compensation projects using a combination of ecological models and 3D visualization techniques. Using ecological simulation models, we predict the way in which ecosystems might evolve following restoration measures. This is then used as the basis for 3D Computer Graphics techniques that can build photo-realistic representations of what ecosystems may look like following restoration. These representations, in photo, video, or virtual reality formats, can be used the convince decision makers and the general audience of the value of ecosystem restoration and how they might be used for habitat compensation planning in the coastal zone.
We hope you and your colleagues will be able to join us.
Source: MARINE-B, the MArine Research Information NEtwork on Biodiversity





