The project “Evaluation of Entrance Fee Policy and Socioeconomic Impacts at the Alonissos-Northern Sporades National Marine Park” aims to ensure that the national water park’s pricing model is both economically sound and socially responsible, with direct benefits flowing back to the community that supports and sustains it. The main objectives of the project are to:

• Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the entrance fee policy implemented in the A Zone of the Alonissos-Northern Sporades National Marine Park over the past three years. The evaluation will focus on assessing the impact of the policy on local tourism, economic activity, and social dynamics while considering external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and transportation connectivity. (Task 1)
• Develop a sustainable and equitable pricing model for a national water park by integrating ecosystem services valuation (ESV) and social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA). Additionally, the analysis will also determine the appropriate proportion of park-generated profits to be reinvested into the local community. (Task 2)
• Actively involve stakeholders in co-creation workshops, ensuring the pricing and revenue allocation strategies reflect the values and needs of all relevant parties. (Task 3)

Task 1: Evaluation of Entrance Fee Policy and Visitor Impact

This task will assess the effectiveness of the entrance fee policy in protecting the ecological integrity of Zone A of the park and its influence on visitor patterns, particularly on the number of recreational boats and tourists visiting the area. Moreover, we will evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of the entrance fee policy on the local community, focusing on its effects on local businesses, employment, and overall economic activity in the region.

Task 2: Ecosystem Services Valuation and Social Cost-Benefit Analysis

This task will conduct a comprehensive ecosystem services valuation (ESV) to quantify the economic value of the park’s ecosystem services, including provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Simultaneously, perform a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) to evaluate the broader social, environmental, and economic impacts of various pricing strategies. The outcome will be used to set a fair and sustainable pricing model for the park.

Task 3: Stakeholder Involvement and Co-Creation Workshops

This Task aims to engage key stakeholders, including local communities, park management, environmental groups, tourists, and government officials, through a series of co-creation workshops. These workshops will be designed to gather input, build consensus, and co-develop the pricing and profit allocation strategies.

Deliverables:

• Comprehensive report on the ecosystem services valuation and social cost-benefit analysis.
• A proposed pricing model for the national water park, including a detailed breakdown of entry fees, activity charges, and other related costs.
• A recommendation for the percentage of park profits to be allocated to the local community.
• Workshop reports documenting stakeholder input and the co-created strategies.
• Finalized pricing and revenue allocation model, with stakeholder endorsement.

Duration: 9 months – November 2024 – August 2025

The study involves the Athens University of Economics and Business, with Professor Phoebe Koundouri as the Scientific Supervisor. Team members: Dr. Conrad Landis, Lydia Papadaki, Eirini Afentouli

Το άρθρο Evaluation of Entrance Fee Policy and Socioeconomic Impacts at the Alonissos-Northern Sporades National Marine Park εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

Making the bridge from the first to the second implementation phase of the Mission Ocean and Waters (MOW), CO-WATERS will strengthen the growing momentum by developing and animating a Coalition of waterfront cities, regions, islands, and third parties supporting these in their local journeys to reach the MOW objectives (e.g. universities, NGOs, investor,s etc). COWATERS will deliver to the Coalition a wide range of networking, knowledge exchange, and support services (twinning, working groups, interactive training, advisory support) to further empower Coalition members to think and act systemically, engage citizens and local stakeholders, and enhance access to funding and financing streams that will support their MOW transition journey (WP1, WP2, WP3, WP5), as per their needs (modular approach). At the same time, in close collaboration with the EC Mission Ocean and Waters Secretariat and in line with existing labelling schemes (e.g. Cities Mission Label, Sustainable Island Label), CO-WATERS will develop the MOW Label (WP4) and will pilot the Label application process with two waves of applicants, who will receive tailored support. The services provided by CO-WATERS will be appropriately sequenced so that Coalition members receiving these can also smoothly apply for the MOW Label – without having to follow new processes / pieces of training / courses of action which will stretch their limited resources. In order to maximise value for Coalition members and ensure alignment and coherence, the project will strongly align and build on key actors and activities in the EU COM and the EU Missions’ space, as well as other related EU and international initiatives and projects (including investor networks).

Partnership:
Athena – Research & Innovation Information Technologies, ATHENA RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Το άρθρο HORIZON EU | CO-WATERS: Coalition of Waterfront Cities, Regions and Islands εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

The MariTech Talent will develop a twin transition INTRApreneurship skills development programme, bringing maritime industry professionals and innovative enterprises with concrete digital solutions together in a two-way learning experience. The programme will provide: – Necessary twin skills for the maritime workforce – Support to deep tech solutions providers developing key technologies for unlocking the twin transition in the maritime industry Thе MariTech Talent programme will apply a challenge-based INTRApreneurship model which will nurture learning by working on the most pressing needs identified by the ports and maritime companies themselves. Teams consisting of current workers and deep tech startups, scaleups and SMEs will work together to apply concrete solutions, undergoing the necessary training on the way. On the one hand the programme will secure the required skill set for the maritime workforce related to the green and digital transition. They will acquire operational knowledge in key digital domains enablers of the twin transition in the maritime industry such as machine learning and data analysis for predictive maintenance, energy management systems, system integration, automation, remote operation, cybersecurity and e-navigation through direct collaboration with deep tech solution providers. On the other, it will provide valuable insights and feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of the applied digital solutions. As a final result, maritime companies and ports will gain in-depth insights into the benefits digital solutions can bring to their operations, while at the same time their employees will become skilled and confident in their use.

Partnership:
Athena – Research & Innovation Information Technologies, ATHENA RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Koundouri

Team Members:
Panagiota Koltsida   Lydia Papadaki    Eleni Toli 

Το άρθρο HORIZON EU | MariTech Talent εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

NAVGREEN aims to improve the maritime industry’s environmental impact. The program will focus on several key areas: developing alternatives to traditional fuels, improving energy efficiency in ships and ports, using new digital technologies to better manage operations, and encouraging recycling and the use of biofuels. Through this program, we aim to make shipping more sustainable and efficient.

NAVGREEN’s objectives are:

• Holistic approach for optimizing “Green Shipping”, with alternative solutions for various maritime activities.
• Development of solutions for alternative fuels, production, storage, and energy management.
• Energy upgrading of ships and ports with design, technological, and operational solutions.
• Implementation of digitalization technologies and management of ship and port operations.
• Promotion of circular economy and energy recovery, through green recycling and biofuel production.
• Evaluation of solution efficiency and finding the ideal combination for each case.
• Development of a decision support tool that includes investments.
• Compilation of a roadmap of actions for promoting shipping towards decarbonization and offering solutions to researchers, shipping companies, ship inspectors, ports, ship and equipment manufacturers.

Το άρθρο NAVgreen | Green Maritime Industry εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

DiverSea develops novel marine observation and monitoring technology by combining: 1a) The new DNA-based identification approach “DNA-marks”: This approach will harnesses low coverage/cost genomic data to document genetic diversity and discriminate beyond species, to the population and individual level. This opens revolutionary possibilities, both for environmental samples (eDNA) and for monitoring species key biological parameters beyond simple identification, and, 1b) The experimentation required to quantify uncertainties in marine eDNA/eRNA interpretation, while developing general indictor methods with novel approaches harnessing new approaches and theory on mechanisms of molecular shedding and degradation; 2) emerging molecular techniques and approaches integrated with autonomous systems satellite remote sensing, citizen science, existing monitoring program data collection and, covering EOVs/EBVs, for comprehensive mapping of important marine habitats; 3) A novel data integration processing and interrogation AI-ML architecture that processes incoming biological, physical and biogeochemical data from diverse data platforms and from case studies in (2). The analysis module overarching framework will combine EOVs/EBVs for spatial and temporal biodiversity prediction, gap analysis identifying urgent data needs and investigating causal links/feedbacks between abiotic cycles, multiple stressors, biodiversity dynamics and biogeochemical cycles 5) An interactive platform to communicate the scientific outcomes of DiverSea to policy makers, stakeholders and the general public, the “Biodiversity Services Dashboard”. The dashboard visualizes key environmental and socio-economic indicators with quantified scenarios for societal and functional biodiversity interaction, connections of biodiversity to ecosystem functions and services. This will facilitate evaluating and comparing policy and planning alternatives considering the requirements of different target stakeholders.

Partnership:
Athens University of Economics and Business – Research Center, AUEB-RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri
Team Memebres:
Dr. Akinsete Ebun     Dr. Conrad Landis    Mrs. Alice Guittard    

Το άρθρο HORIZON EU | DiverSea: Integrated Observation, Mapping, Monitoring and Prediction for Functional Biodiversity of Coastal Seas εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

The ecosystem services of the Black Sea (e.g., food provisioning, recreation and climate services) are under threat from multi-stressors (e.g., overfishing, pollution, acidification, deoxygenation, warming) driven by the climate change and anthropogenic pressures. BRIDGE aims to understand how the multi-stressors impact Black Sea ecosystems and alter the sustainability of ecosystem services provided to society.  Building on a unique concept linking oceanographic dynamics to resilience, ecosystem services, multi-stressors and innovation in Blue Growth; BRIDGE will deploy an interdisciplinary approach building on past and ongoing initiatives and using stakeholder knowledge. Physical, biogeochemical and ecological processes, as well as the socioeconomic dimension of the Black Sea will be assessed, mapped and modelled to establish ecosystem status and the role of multi-stressors on its resilience and potential tipping points.  Beyond predicting the future states, tools will be developed for policymaking, contributing to our ability to sustain the ecosystem services. The resilient ecosystems of the Black Sea will be evaluated as a booster of innovation in the region.

Further, BRIDGE will undertake an extensive outreach and capacity building campaign involving joint Masters programs, PhD student mobility and outreach integrating science, innovation and art. Working closely the Black Sea CONNECT CSA, BRIDGE will generate major impacts such as providing the harmonized data and facilities needed for addressing multistressors towards the vision of a healthy and resilient Black Sea by 2030, as well as contributing to major EU policies (e.g., the Green Deal, MSFD, CFP) and UN SDGs (2, 13 and 14). BRIDGE’s outputs will demonstrate how a resilient Black Sea ecosystem can be sustained while supporting the Blue Growth. By the end of BRIDGE, a community of young researchers and innovators will emerge with new start-ups that incubate in a culture of scientific excellence.

Official website

Partnership:
Athens University of Economics and Business – Research Center, AUEB-RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Team Members:
Alice Guittard       Panagiota Koltsida       Eleni Toli

Το άρθρο Horizon 2020 | BRIDGE-BS: Advancing Black Sea Research and Innovation to Co-Develop Blue Growth within Resilient Ecosystems εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

DOORS will bring the four pillars of the SRIA into reality, turning the challenges into opportunities for a highly valued Black Sea. It will harmonise research and provide the infrastructure to better understand the Black Sea, particular ecosystem characteristics, develop the framework to support Blue Growth and early development of start-ups, and provide evidence to inform policy and behavioural change. To reach its ambitious objectives, the project team will work closely with stakeholders from the start to develop an open research system and establish a framework to support continuous stakeholder dialogue. DOORS will implement three Work Programmes: a System of Systems to harmonise approaches and provide an accessible data repository, a Blue Growth Accelerator to support enterprise, and Knowledge Transfer and Training to share best practice and build capacity. These will:

•  Engage stakeholders through communication, dissemination and training activities to raise awareness, build capacity and foster a stronger Black Sea identity
•  Harmonise data collation, analysis and access to optimise data use in decision and policy making
•  Strengthen the Black Sea scientific network through new collaborations, and bridge the gap between science and policy
•  Provide a range of products to support Black Sea innovation and enterprise

DOORS will have long-lasting impact by giving stakeholders in the region the skillsets and understanding to:

•  Implement key policies and legislation
•  Improve environmental quality and reduce pollution risk
•  Design measures to mitigate pollution and remediate historically contaminated areas
•  Become resilient communities • Realise and sustainably develop potential economic growth for future well-being
•  Build capacity in existing industries, develop new start-ups and become actively involved in delivering Blue Growth
• Create ocean informed citizens to better understand Black Sea’s potential

Official website

Grant agreement ID: 101000518

Partnership:
Athena – Research & Innovation Information Technologies, ATHENA RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Team Members:
Dr. Ebun Akinsete       Lydia Papadaki

DOORS is an EU Horizon 2020 project, funded under Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement No 101000518

Το άρθρο Horizon 2020 | DOORS: Developing an Optimal and Open Research Support system to unlock the potential for blue growth in the Black Sea (BS) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

The EU-funded SEAwise project will address the need to increase benefits to fisheries while reducing ecosystem impacts under environmental change and increasing competition for space. The network of stakeholders, advisory bodies and scientists will improve stock productivity predictions using environmental metrics, density dependence, predation, stock health indicators and habitat extent. In addition, multispecies-multifleet models will provide ecosystem forecasts of the effect of fisheries management measures. SEAwise tools and courses for stakeholders and decision makers will ensure that these methods can be used directly in Mediterranean, Western European, North Sea and Baltic Sea waters. The predictions will inform an online advice tool highlighting stock- and fisheries-specific social and ecological effects and management trade-offs.

The SEAwise overall objective is to provide a fully operational approach for European Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management based on persistent networks and co- designed innovation.

SEAwise overcomes the four major challenges by addressing four specific objectives using state of the art risk assessment methodology:

1) Build a network of stakeholders, advisory bodies, decision makers and scientists to co-design key priorities and approaches to EBFM and to ensure SEAwise’s continued impact long after the project period.

2) Assemble a new knowledge base on European fisheries interactions with social and ecological systems that integrates scientist and stakeholder experience based knowledge.

3) Develop predictive models of fisheries interactions with social and ecological systems to evaluate, select and implement EBFM strategies across Europe accounting for changes in the environment and use of marine space.

4) Provide ready-for-uptake advice for EBFM for Mediterranean, western and northern European waters.

Official website project 

Partnership:
Athena – Research & Innovation Information Technologies, ATHENA RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Team Member:
Lambros Lois

SEAwise has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101000318

Το άρθρο Horizon 2020 | SEAwise: Shaping ecosystem based fisheries management εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

The recent EC directive on single-use plastic products (SUP) requires governments to take action to reduce or ban certain SUP to increase plastic waste prevention (PWP). EIT Climate-KIC portfolio lacks applications of the SUP directive that engage experiments with local government citizens and private operators. In terms of innovation, in Europe cities lack of governance systems to enhance reusable solutions adoption to drive behaviour on PWP and abandon SUP products.

Touristic and coastal areas would benefit from a governance system able to target both local communities and tourists, throughout interventions involving foodservice operators, including those located nearby the sea that might impact also on marine littering.

The project will focus on design and setting innovative experiments at the city level to test the application of incentives to replace SUP products with a proven and monitorable environmental impact, and implementing integrated models of stakeholders’ engagement in three countries along the Mediterranean coast, in:

• Italy, cities of Emilia-Romagna region, located along the Adriatic coast and of touristic relevance
• Croatia, Cres (County Primorsko-goranska) and Zlarin islands, County Šibenik-Knin
• Greece, the island of Corfu, in the Ionian seas and in the Aegean Sea, the island of Ikaria and the municipality of Syros island, part of the very touristy Cyclades islands.

The objective of the project is to set replicable protocols voluntary for free single-use plastics food packaging adoption enforced at the city level, for several types of foodservice operators (FO) (cafes, restaurants, foods stores, hotel, beach facilities). The project will provide FO with an inventory of innovative solutions based at environmental and financial levels. FO and cities will promote the protocol and innovation solutions adopted through a platform to engage consumers in proactive behaviours contributing to the solutions replication.

The latest news of MEDFreeSUP:

30/09/2020: First online workshop for the MEDFreeSUP workshop: The case of Greece

14-18/08/2020: Fieldwork on the Syros island

24-28/08/2020: Fieldwork on the Ikaria island

04/08/2020: Kick-off meeting of the MEDFreeSup project

01/12/20: MEDfreeSUP connect with EllaHellas

For more information contact:

Alice Guittard 

Lydia Papadaki 

Το άρθρο EIT Climate-KIC | MEDFreeSUP εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.

The maritime sector accounts for 90% of global trade and 2.2% of global GHG emissions – a figure projected to increase threefold by 2050. Within the Deep Demonstration for maritime hubs, the port of Piraeus is working with other ambitious partners on land (Port of Valencia) and at sea (Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Shipping) who share a common ambition to create a circular, inclusive, net-zero-emissions maritime sector. The Port of Piraeus and its partners have been carefully selected to reflect different geographical, economic & social environments and different development stage in their environmental strategies and activities.

In 2019 we have set a solid foundation by looking at the current state-of-play through a deep understanding of the specificities of the Port of Piraeus -maritime system. This initial step allows us, in a co-design process with the port, to develop a systemic future vision and a transition pathway, setting up the base for the FRAME phase. In 2020 we will finalize this work by reinforcing the roadmap co-created with the port and continue to define the field of innovation ac on needed to reach the port’s vision. We will look for instance at innovations and alternative solutions related to mobility and in the field of alternative sources of energy and reduction of energy consumption. At the same me the iterative, participative approach taken by this project will allow us, throughout a process of constant building of understanding (involvement of the relevant stakeholders at each step of the process to provide regular feedback), to explore alternative fields of innovations which might be better suited to ultimately reach the port’s vision.

These steps will allow us in the following years to develop an experiment portfolio, supported by EIT Climate-KIC network, for our prioritized areas to test impactful solutions, support mutual learning and communicate our work to a wider audience, with the aim to replicate similar transformation globally.

Find the presentation at this link: http://www.unsdsn.gr/deep-demonstration-on-zero-net-emissions-resilient

Latest news:

16/12/2020: Start-ups Pitch Day (online)

24/11/2020: EIT Climate-KIC Deep Demonstration FRAME workshop: Reconnaissance (online)

31/10/2020: 4th meeting – Global Roundtable for Sustainable Shipping and Ports – The case of Port of Piraeus (online)

14/10 – 19/11/2020: Future Literacy Trainings by FLxDeep (online)

29/07/2020: Sensemaking workshop (online)

27/04/2020: Sensemaking workshop (online)

14/02/2020: Intent Workshop in the Port of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece

24-25/10/2019: Futures Literacy Lab on Maritime Hubs, Turku, Finland

17/09/2019: Workshop on Deep Demonstration of the Port of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece

09-10/07/2019: Deep Demonstration workshop, Valenthia, Spain

For more information contact:

Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Prof. Andreas Papandreou

Lydia Papadaki 

Το άρθρο EIT Climate-KIC | Deep Demonstrations for Zero-Net Emissions in Maritime Hubs: Port of Piraeus εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Ae4ria.