Description

ECOSERVICES – Assessing the environmental quality, vulnerability and risks for the sustainable management of the NW coast natural resources and ecosystem services in a changing world, is aligned with one of the three main research lines of CIIMAR: Global Changes and Ecosystem Services. The central goal of ECOSERVICES is to strengthen and consolidate CIIMAR expertise and competence to assess environmental quality, vulnerability and risks providing knowledge, technology and solutions for the sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystem services (especially focusing on the NW Portuguese coast including its main estuaries but with a worldwide interest) contributing to address and overcome the challenges resulting from the human population exponential growth and global climate changes. The project team includes several top level CIIMAR researchers highly reputed internationally, complemented with the creation of scientific jobs that will reinforce our capacity to carry out international level research in environmental topics that are crucial to: guaranty the sustainability of our planet; improve environmental, animal and human health and wellbeing; increase human food safety and security; and to manage the exploitation of natural resources and ecosystem services in a sustainable way. The knowledge and technology produced will be translated to the competent Authorities and/or other end-users (e.g. private institutions from the industry/business sectors), and other stakeholders. It will be then available to support environmental policies, management actions, and other activities contributing to increase the exploitation of natural resources and ecosystem services in a sustainably way, thus promoting environmental quality that is crucial for human health and wellbeing. One of the main innovations of ECOSERVICES is the assessment of the effects, pressures, and risks of a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors (exotic invasive species, pathogens, chemical contamination, physical and other alterations due to global climate changes) acting together. This will be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach including endpoints at different levels of biological organization (from molecular to the ecosystem level), physical, chemical and other system parameters, supported and integrated through robust integration modelling with distinct components. The other main novelty is providing solutions, including some “ready for use”, for the valorization and the sustainable exploitation of natural resources (e.g. water, sand) and ecosystem services (e.g. bioremediation, human food sources, new materials,..). The knowledge and technological development gathered during this multidisciplinary project that will involve researchers with ecological, biological, chemistry, ecotoxicology, toxicology, genetic, modelling, among other types of expertise, will be crucial to increase CIIMAR competitiveness in the environmental area.