Maria Calvo Uyarra

Coastal and marine ecosystems are fundamental to maintain the planet’s ecological balance and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services to human societies (Peterson and Lubchenco 1997; Barbier 201...

The development of marine renewable energies and wave energy (WE) in particular, are vital components of sustainable ocean governance and the transition towards a low-carbon economy. In a new industry like marine renewable energy (MRE), and Wave Energy (WE) in particular, time-consuming procedures linked to uncertainty about project environmental impacts, the need to consult with numerous stakeholders and potential conflicts with other marine users appear to be the main obstacles to consenting WE projects. These are considered as non-technological barriers that could hinder the future development of WE in EU. Through three different strategies (environmental demonstration strategy, consenting and planning strategy and education and public engagement strategy), the aim of the SafeWAVE project has been to contribute to overcome these barriers through the knowledge and tools developed during the project life.

The development and deployment of novel technologies, including those associated with marine renewable energy, are vital for the ongoing decarbonisation of our energy system. However, technology on its own is not sufficient to realise the energy transition away from fossil fuels. Non-technical barriers – such as regulatory, economic, environmental or social aspects – can be a substantial impediment to widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies. One such impediment, is public opposition to specific deployments of renewable energy and/or indeed to the use of particular technologies. Within the SafeWAVE project, we are cognisant of the importance of good community relations and the need to develop two-way communication with stakeholders to facilitate the successful scaling up of ocean energy device deployments. Accordingly we have worked to co-develop and demonstrate a framework for education and public engagement (EPE), specifically aimed at ocean literacy for communities in France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. This EPE framework aims to go beyond social acceptance, which is often equated to acquiescence to a fait accompli, and is designed to contribute to the development of projects which exhibit inherent social acceptability. This paper presents the work within SafeWAVE project to develop the EPE framework with input from the communities. The first part of the paper reports on critical review of selected EPE programmes associated with marine energy test sites and infrastructure deployments, with methods adopted in each case analysed, key challenges faced identified, and best practices documented. Next a framework for public education and engagement is presented, which builds on this review and draws from literature across multiple disciplines – including sociology, psychology, political science, education. Finally, leveraging this developed knowledge the collaborative process of deriving tailored EPE programmes on ocean literacy around marine renewables for the four focal communities is outlined and described. These programmes are intended to reach out to, and engage with, local communities, interested stakeholders and the wider public on issues surrounding the deployment of ocean energy devices, including but not limited to: effects on local communities, implications for marine life, potential impacts for water users, etc. The paper concludes by discussing the experience of developing the bespoke programmes, outlining emergent feedback from trialling of key elements of the programmes, discussing experiences and proffering guidance based on lessons learned.

The European Atlantic Ocean offers a high potential for marine renewable energy (MRE), which is targeted to be at least 32% of the EU’s gross final consumption by 2030. The European Commission is supporting the development of the ocean energy sector through an array of activities and policies: the Green Deal, the Energy Union, the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) and the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy. The nascent status of the MRE sector and Wave Energy (WE) in particular, yields many unknowns about its potential environmental pressures and impacts. Wave Energy Converters’ (WECs) operation in the marine environment is still perceived by regulators and stakeholders as a risky activity. The complexity of MRE licensing processes is also indicated as one of the main barriers to the development of the sector. The lack of clarity of procedures, the varied number of authorities to be consulted and the early stage of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) implementation are examples of the issues identified that may delay the permitting of the projects. Finally, there is also a need to provide more information on the sector to the general public. Only with an informed society would be possible to carry out fruitful public debates on MRE implementation at the local level. These non-technological barriers that could hinder the future development of WE in EU were addressed by the WESE project funded by EMFF in 2018. The present project builds on the results of the WESE project and aims to move forward through the following specific objectives: Development of an Environmental Research Demonstration Strategy based on the collection, processing, modelling, analysis and sharing of environmental data collected in WE sites from different European countries where WECs are currently operating (Mutriku power plant and BIMEP in Spain, Aguçadoura in Portugal and SEMREV in France). Development of a Consenting and Planning Strategy through providing guidance to ocean energy developers and to public authorities tasked with consenting and licensing of WE projects in France and Ireland; this strategy will build on country-specific licensing guidance and on the application of the MSP decision support tools (i.e. WEC-ERA[1] and VAPEM[2] tools) developed for Spain and Portugal in the framework of the WESE project; the results will complete guidance to ocean energy developers and public authorities for most of the EU countries in the Atlantic Arch. Development of a Public Education and Engagement Strategy to work collaboratively with coastal communities in France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, to co-develop and demonstrate a framework for education and public engagement (EPE) of MRE enhancing ocean literacy and improving the quality of public debates. The project will finish in September 2023. In this contribution we present the main outcomes, results and lessons learnt during the project. [1] https://aztidata.es/wec-era/; [2] https://aztidata.es/vapem/

In a world of declining biodiversity, monitoring is becoming crucial. Molecular methods, such as metabarcoding, have the potential to rapidly expand our knowledge of biodiversity, supporting assessment, management, and conservation. In the marine environment, where hard substrata are more difficult to access than soft bottoms for quantitative ecological studies, Artificial Substrate Units (ASUs) allow for standardized sampling. We deployed ASUs within five regional seas (Baltic Sea, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Red Sea) for 12–26 months to measure the diversity and community composition of macroinvertebrates. We identified invertebrates using a traditional approach based on morphological characters, and by metabarcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. We compared community composition and diversity metrics obtained using the two methods. Diversity was significantly correlated between data types. Metabarcoding of ASUs allowed for robust comparisons of community composition and diversity, but not all groups were successfully sequenced. All locations were significantly different in taxonomic composition as measured with both kinds of data. We recovered previously known regional biogeographical patterns in both datasets (e.g., low species diversity in the Black and Baltic Seas, affinity between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean). We conclude that the two approaches provide complementary information and that metabarcoding shows great promise for marine monitoring. However, until its pitfalls are addressed, the use of metabarcoding in monitoring of rocky benthic assemblages should be used in addition to classical approaches rather than instead of them.

Editorial: Bridging the Gap between Policy and Science in Assessing the Health Status of Marine Ecosystems