This week ARTEMIS, together with our partner MEDSEA, was in Cascais, Portugal, to participate in the World Ocean Summit Europe—the leading international forum organized by The Economist to shape a European strategy for sustainable ocean governance and the development of a responsible blue economy. The summit gathered more than 300 high-level participants, including EU policymakers, institutional representatives, investors, companies, NGOs and researchers, to debate some of the most urgent marine challenges of our time: coastal resilience, marine biodiversity protection, decarbonization of shipping, sustainable fisheries regulation and the contribution of oceans to future food security.
Against this backdrop, ARTEMIS brought the Mediterranean perspective of its ongoing work in our 4 pilot sites, presenting concrete solutions to a critical question: how to move from “protection on paper” to effective management and active restoration in a panel + workshop called “How to strengthen marine protected areas through policy, innovation and accountability”. In the panel on community engagement in Marine Protected Areas, speakers included Giulia Eremita, Chief Communication Officer of the MEDSEA – Mediterranean Sea and Coast Foundation; Nicolas Fournier, Europe Campaign Director at Oceana; Eleanor Whittle, Founder and Managing Director of Alopias Earth; and Jean-Luc Solandt, Senior Project Manager and Conservation Scientist at the Blue Marine Foundation. Together they shared strategies and case studies on how to mobilize local communities, connect science with policy, and create tangible benefits that strengthen MPA management and long-term ocean stewardship.
World Ocean Summit Europe, Cascais – Panel “How to strengthen marine protected areas through policy, innovation and accountability,”
In Europe, MPAs cover about 11–12% of sea surface, but only 2% are effectively managed, and many remain vulnerable to destructive practices such as bottom trawling. ARTEMIS demonstrated how restoration and ecosystem service valuation can transform MPAs from zones of negotiated compromise into true ecological assets.
A key focus was the Capo Testa – Punta Falcone MPA in northern Sardinia, one of the project’s flagship pilot sites. Here ARTEMIS is conducting advanced analyses to measure the ecosystem services provided by Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, a foundational habitat of the Mediterranean. Scientific assessments show that one hectare of Posidonia delivers services worth approximately €86,000 per year ¹—including carbon sequestration, coastal protection, water purification, and nursery habitats for fisheries. Yet despite their value, Mediterranean seagrass meadows are shrinking rapidly and remain dramatically underfunded. Current estimates indicate that conservation and restoration would require €336 million annually, but only €17 million are currently available—leaving a funding gap of €319 million every year².
ARTEMIS is working to close this gap by aligning ecological value with investment frameworks. The project is pioneering the use of Payment for Ecosystem Services, blue carbon credits, and biodiversity credits to turn seagrass restoration into an investable asset class. This means that the benefits of restoration—such as avoided coastal erosion, increased fish stocks and carbon capture—can be monetized and integrated into both public and private finance.
Beyond finance, MEDSEA placed strong emphasis on community engagement and communication, recognizing that the success of the restoration projects depends on the active participation of those who live and work around them, esplecially in managed MPA.
Restoration is not simply a scientific exercise; it requires shared governance. But first, every sector needs to understand the value of what is at stake.
Within the ARTEMIS project we have carried out active restoration activities in northern Sardinia, our pilot site, and we are currently assessing the value of two key ecosystem services provided by the Posidonia oceanica seagrass. These evaluations are still under study, and the next step could be to translate these values—both what we gain through a preserved habitat and what we risk losing—across all productive sectors, from fisheries to tourism and beyond, creating an economic and social framework that supports long-term ocean stewardship.Giulia Eremita, CCO MEDSEA / Communication Manager at ARTEMIS
During a panel moderated by Tatiana Der Avedissian, Business Development Unit at The Economist, Giulia Eremita, Communication Manager at ARTEMIS and MEDSEA Communication Chief Officer, contributed with insights from the ARTEMIS Sardinian pilot site and the other MEDSEA’s projects. The discussion highlighted that protection alone is no longer sufficient to secure ocean health. The panel emphasized the urgent need to embed restoration targets and measurable ecosystem service valuation into MPA management, and to create market-based instruments capable of attracting private capital at scale.
Participants agreed that MPAs should evolve into investment-ready ecological infrastructures, where science-based restoration delivers both biodiversity benefits and economic returns. ARTEMIS was presented as a practical example of how data-driven seagrass valuation can accelerate policy decisions and motivate private stakeholders to participate in funding mechanisms such as blue carbon and biodiversity credits.
World Ocean Summit Europe, Cascais – Roundtable “How to strengthen marine protected areas through policy, innovation and accountability,”. Photo © The Economist Impact.
In a dedicated roundtable featuring representatives from MEDSEA / ARTEMIS, KPMG, Elafonisos Eco, Small-Scale Fishermen, Seas at Risk, ClientEarth, a NY-based start-up on organic carbon, and the Meridian Institute, participants identified several priorities for strengthening MPAs:
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Scientific references & monitoring – Use satellite data, local surveys and shared indicators to track ecological change and guide adaptive management.
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Process & governance – Institutional roles remain complex, implementation is too slow and fragmented. Co-management is essential: management plans must be developed and periodically revised with local councils, fishers, tourism operators, NGOs and residents, supported by formal agreements on decision-making powers and budget use. The MPA Louisiana case was cited as a leading example of adaptive co-management blending science and community participation.
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Communities & local actors – Fishers, residents, tourists and policy makers must be involved from the outset. Continuous education and transparent communication are critical to build trust and sustain participation. Clear mapping of “who decides and who delivers” prevents conflicts and accelerates action. Sharing knowledge about the value of well-preserved habitats and the risks of degradation—such as those quantified in Posidonia meadows—is vital to mobilize every economic sector.
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Policy & incentives – Rules alone are not enough. Tangible benefits—such as preferential fishing zones, co-managed eco-tourism concessions or revenue-sharing schemes—motivate long-term engagement. New entrepreneurs and young citizens can inject fresh ideas if given a defined role in co-management bodies.
Concrete co-management activities discussed included citizen science programs feeding directly into official monitoring, joint patrols and surveillance with fishers and volunteers, collaborative zoning and seasonal closures, and co-designed tourism guidelines and visitor quotas managed by local committees.
Key Takeaways from The World Ocean Summit Europe
The World Ocean Summit Europe discussions centred on the rollout of the new European Ocean Pact, with coordinated investments in conservation, research and sustainable fisheries to avoid past policy duplication and strengthen the EU’s global ocean governance role. Sessions highlighted coastal resilience and marine biodiversity, promoting regenerative solutions for food security, fisheries and aquaculture, and positioning “blue food” as a strategic pillar for Europe’s future.
World Ocean Summit Europe in Cascais – Photo © The Economist Impact.
The summit also addressed the transition to low-impact marine tourism, aiming to relieve pressure on ecosystems while supporting local stewardship. Alongside plenaries and hands-on workshops, participants joined field activities such as renewable-energy site visits, maritime-heritage walks and beach clean-ups to foster networking and public engagement. Overall, the event marked a key step in turning UNOC3 commitments into actionable European policies and in driving a shift from ocean exploitation to true stewardship.
Dominic Ziegler, senior’s editor in chief at The Economist – World Ocean Summit Europe in Cascais – Photo © The Economist Impact.
Dominic Ziegler, senior editor at The Economist, in the final notes, underlined “Europe’s responsibility to lead a genuinely sustainable blue economy”. He reported the urgency of all participants “to move beyond high-level declarations and focus on practical, measurable actions, warning that the continent must find a way out of greed and redefine its relationship with the ocean”. Ziegler highlighted the persistent tension between economic exploitation and true stewardship and challenged communicators and policymakers alike to confront the status quo, explain the urgency of ocean protection, and show that real change is both necessary and possible.
Notes: ¹ €86,000 per hectare/year is the value of the ecosystem services provided by Posidonia oceanica according to a recent decision by a French Court.
² MedPAN, RAC/SPA e WWF Med
