Ecosystem approach projects at Blue Cluster

In 2021, Blue Cluster published a whitepaper with input from both academics and the industry regarding ecosystem services and an ecosystem approach within the blue economy. This came about by entrepreneurs who wanted to commit to sustainability, for which the Blue Cluster wanted to help them consider the ecosystem within their operations. 

More sustainable marine activities can be designed in such a way that they reduce potential losses of local ecosystem services not only in the marine environment, but also along their entire value chain. To achieve this, we need to apply an ecosystem approach and choose a tool based on their specific needs, taking into account the current stage of the company or project, the desired output, and the effort the company wants to put in.

Since the white paper was launched, three projects (SUMES, MEsP and WABESCO) facilitated by the Blue Cluster have conducted research to deal with this challenge. In its newly published position paper, Blue Cluster gives a brief description of each project together with the specific target group(s), the current state of play and an outlook to the future.