WP8 Policy Impact Facility

Mapping the relevant policies and implementing/governing institutions at the international, regional, and national levels for various topics related to DestinE and its related EGD and Digital Strategy. Among these are marine resources, maritime, fisheries, biodiversity, waste and pollution, cultural assets, economic activities(particularly Blue Growth), and open and standardised data. Included will be policy and regulatory documents on relevant EU directives and strategies (including EU Climate Pact, Blue Growth Strategy, Mission Starfish 2030, WFD, MSPD, MSFD, Nitrates Directive, Birds and Habitats Directives, etc.), international and regional agreements on seas that also include non-EU member states (e.g., the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans surrounding the EU Seas), data standardisation protocols (e.g., INSPIRE and FAIR), the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the UN SDG. This map will categorise the policy institutions, relevant authorities, and stakeholders by geographic level (international, regional, national, and local), sector (business, government, education, and civil society), industry (fishing, maritime, energy, tourism, natural and cultural heritage, environmental planning/management, etc.). The policy map will also identify the enhanced monitoring of marine and coastal environments for the ongoing and developing good environmental status (GES) monitoring frameworks by Multilateral Environmental Agreements(MEAs), e.g., HELCOM, OSPAR, BlackSea Commission and Barcelona Convention; and also those by other key players on environmental monitoring needs, such as FAO, with related RFMOs, and the CBD. Associations/organisations formed by them will also be identified in order to reach out to a large number of stakeholders easily. This map will be used for various tasks in WP1-W2 and WP8-WP11, including identifying opportunities for policy harmonisation between EU member states and (neighbouring) non-EU countries. Iliad will make this map publicly available.

• Duration:  M1 - M6
• Task Lead:  Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC)

Iliad DTO will bring high-impact technological and societal innovation that can help empower citizens, governments and industries to collectively share the responsibility to monitor, alert on threats, preserve and enhance marine and coastal habitats, while also supporting a sustainable blue economy. Task 8.2 will develop a guidebook for prospective users to effectively use the DTO to conduct policy monitoring, compliance assessment, and even identify gaps that should be bridged to improve compliance. The guidebook/toolkit will be geared toward local and national authorities, coastal management bodies, and port authorities to improve their marine spatial planning, pollution control, biodiversity conservation, environmental compliance, disaster resilience, and other capabilities. The product may also offer pathways to greater harmonisation and alignment of policies and environmental governance practices across the EU and non EU countries.

• Duration:  M12 - M36
• Task Lead:  idryma technologias kai erevnas (FORTH)

Task 8.3 will conduct two assessments of Iliad DTOs impact on select policy topics, e.g., marine spatial planning (including ability to determine GES in relation to its descriptors), citizen science and engagement to advance the Green Deal, relevant authorities’ compliance with EU regulations related to the Green Deal, data sharing and interoperability, etc. Specific topics for the assessments can be agreed upon in collaboration with the EU Commission during the Action. The assessment will identify the strengths and potential weaknesses of Iliad in meeting the policy goals and targets. It will identify ways in which the Iliad DTO can be improved to serve as a high-impact tool supporting the implementation of these policies. It also aims to identify some constraints and limitations of DTOs in meeting policy goals and suggesting paths forward, aligned with Task 1.6.

• Duration:  M12 - M36
• Task Lead:  American University of Armenia Foundation (AUA)

Task 8.4 will highlight and engage policy interests to ensure the Iliad DTOs policy objectives are served. Specifically, Iliad will develop a set of policy engagement and dialogue tools related to the Mission Starfish 2030 report & DestinE initiative, UN Decade on Ocean Science and related UN SDGs. These tools will include webinars, policy briefs and broadcasts, policy workshops and simulations, and policy hackathons. These are to be used for/by the Iliad policy networks, Iliad Science Schools, MOOC content, Iliad business and capacity development activities to engage and link the DTO technology and policy interests. These tools will also help to engage in dialogue and collaboration on advancing the aims of DestinE at the national, regional, and international levels, e.g., improved implementation and monitoring of EGD, increasing citizen and stakeholder engagement, increased transparency of and interoperability of data and data platforms, etc.

• Duration:  M6 - M36
• Task Lead:  American University of Armenia Foundation (AUA)

Iliad is an important initiative that will significantly impact progress on objectives of DestinE initiative and Mission Starfish 2030, offering powerful tools for advancing the EGD and Digital Strategy. It also offers the EU opportunity to showcase its advances and leadership role on the aims of the Digital Transformation toward a Global Environmental Data Strategy (GEDS). Iliad will organise at least three high-level discussions on the opportunities and challenges of addressing the policy goals DTOs are envisioned to address. The discussions will be built around outcomes of Iliad and similar work done throughout EU and globally. Iliad will present the values and consistency of the products on those fields in various Regional meetings and Global events including, among others, seminars, workshops and side events of MEAs gatherings, and will retrieve valuable feedback to identify areas where additional focus is needed, where efforts can be scaled up, where there are limits and constraints. That will allow to better adapting the production of outputs to solid scientifically grounded environmental policy implementation needs, so amplifying impact. The focus of the discussions are many but could include: a) data gaps, e.g., high-resolution water column physico-chemical properties (CTD, Chl-a, turbidity, CDOM, Dissolved Oxygen, Dissolved Methane, Dissolved Hydrogen Sulphide and CO2, microplastics content); b) relevant added value of those data applications—e.g., climate vulnerability and risks data products, waves spectral characteristics and direction of microplastics and/or floating litter distribution, prediction of dispersion of petroleum hydrocarbons, marine noise, blooms of jelly fish, algae and others, NIS presence and trends including invasive ones, historical shoreline changes evolution and related coast vulnerability to alterations and trends, potential biodiversity threating overheat, anoxic and light-blocking turbidity events, river inputs and nutrient fluxes, and other threats; c) possibilities for scaling up efforts with existing technology; d) limits and constraints that should could be addressed to accelerate progress toward the goals of DestinE; among others. As part of this task, Iliad will produce a report summarising the outcomes of the dialogues and action agendas for moving forward within the EU and through global collaboration.

• Duration:  M6 - M36
• Task Lead:  Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC)