The overarching goal of B-USEFUL is to co-develop a set of user-oriented solutions and decision-support tools allowing end-users to identify and visualize areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services in order to prioritize conservation efforts in biodiversity hotspots, or other high-risk areas requiring a stricter degree of protection
To achieve this overall goal B-USEFUL will pursue several objectives serving to inform and improve marine management and governance frameworks for biodiversity protection in European Seas within the broader context of ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning.
Putting Europe’s threatened marine biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030 requires well informed science advice and operational decision-support tools allowing end-users to formulate management plans and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation actions for biodiversity protection, notably with regards to marine protected areas (MPAs). This in order to halt biodiversity loss and protect vulnerable ecosystems while ensuring their capacity to provide services vital to society and the environment (e.g., food provisioning and climate regulation). The B-USEFUL project will contribute to achieve the ambitious policy goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 by developing user-oriented tools and solutions to monitor, assess and protect marine biodiversity, effectively building and improving upon existing European data infrastructures and governance frameworks. To that end, B-USEFUL will provide evidence-based guidance for ecosystem-based management in general and marine spatial planning (MSP) in particular to ensure protection and recovery of biodiversity and the sustainable use of European marine resources.
