Partners

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) is a large Governmental Research Centre that belongs to the Ministry of Education, Long-life learning and Religious Affairs, General Secretariat for Research and Technology. It is the main organization for Oceanographic, Fisheries and Inland Waters, Marine Biology and Genetics, and Aquaculture research in Greece, constituted of three relevant Institutes. The staff totals approximately 480 people comprising researchers, technicians, administrative and secretarial employees.

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CORILA is an association of the Ca’ Foscari University, the University IUAV of Venice, the University of Padua, the Italy’s National Research Council and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics. It is a non-profit organisation, overseen by the Ministry of Education, University and Research. In particular, the Ministry nominates the Board of Accountants (administrative control) and a member in the Board of Directors. Associated bodies of CORILA are scientific Public Institutions. The main statuary mission of CORILA is the coordination of research on the Venice lagoon system, aggregating and integrating the competences of its associated bodies, as indicated by the Committee for the Safeguarding of Venice.

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University of Thessaly through the Research Unit of Environment and Spatial Planning has given special emphasis in the development of tools and methods supporting the integrated approach at spatial planning with emphasis on the environmental dimension, such as development of environmental scenarios, carrying capacity assessment, strategic environmental assessment, spatial decision support systems, etc. The research group undertakes multidisciplinary research in environmental planning contributing to the advancement of knowledge and methodology in integrated spatial environmental policy and planning in international and national consulting in environmental planning, integrated water resource management, integrated coastal zone management, island planning, urban and regional policy, etc.

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The Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) is a Public Research Institute belonging to the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and focussed on the marine sciences in all issues related with scientific understanding of the oceans. It assists the Spanish Government on the assessment and management of the marine resources. IEO researchers are the scientific representatives of Spain in most of the forums and international organizations related to the sea and its resources with expertise in resources assessment, ecological studies of the structure and functioning of ecosystems where those species inhabit and on the impact of human activities on them. These activities are carried out under the coordination of International Commissions and Organizations, such as the ICES, ICCAT, NAFO, GFCM, etc, in which IEO participates actively.

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The MAP is the Mediterranean Action Plan. 
The MAP is a regional cooperative effort involving 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the European Union. Through the MAP, these Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols are determined to meet the challenges of protecting the marine and coastal environment while boosting regional and national plans to achieve sustainable development.
The 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention are: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Community, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey.  

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Plan Bleu aims at enlightening the environment and development issues in the Mediterranean. For that purpose, Plan Bleu studies the solutions allowing for a more sustainable development.
Plan Bleu – observation, analysis and prospective center – was implemented in the late seventies in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Programme for the Environment and the Convention for the protection of the Marine environment and Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).

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The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was founded in 1837 and is the oldest university of the Greek State. Aiming at the constant improvement of both fields of teaching and research in a broad spectrum of science, the Departments of the University of Athens are grouped in 6 large academic units, the Schools, though some Departments for historical or practical reasons are not part of any School. With a student body of about 125,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, over 2.000 members of academic staff and approximately 1.300 administrative and secretarial staff and specialised personnel, the University of Athens aims at excellence in both teaching and research in a significantly varied range of disciplines. The Department of Chemistry was founded in 1919 and since 1974 has played a significant role in Environmental and Oceanographic research.

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With 10 Faculties, 17 Departments and 22 Research Centers, the University of the Salento has grown remarkably in the last decades playing its leading role in the local cultural system. Its locations in Brindisi, Lecce and Arnesano (few kilometers from downtown), the University buildings and structures are a patrimony for the entire Salento, where tradition meets innovation, rootedness opens to contemporary. Visiting the University of the Salento is a pleasant journey among old buildings, cloisters and monasteries (like the Convento degli Olivetani, seat of the Rectorate), and very modern buildings (like the Engineering Department Building) which represent the icons of technology and research. The University of the Salento is a dynamic and versatile University, which is eager to progress and to increase its academic population in the perspective of scientific development and sharing of human and cultural resources.

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The Marine Biology Station (MBP-NIB) is a branch office of the National Institute of Biology (NIB) that carries out research about coastal marine systems with an emphasis on multidisciplinary marine ecosystem complexity. Activities include research, development and application of monitoring programmes to comply with national, EU and international legislation and teaching marine courses at undergraduate and graduate level. MBP-NIB has been also involved in many EU-funded RTD projects. (e.g. MARBENA; MarBEF, SESAME, MyOcean, PERSEUS, SEADATANET, RADAR, SMS). The MBP-NIB staff number and structure: 20 researchers, 7 PhD students, 5 expert and technical collaborators, 2 administrations. Researchers make good use of modern biological, microbiological, molecular, chemical, radiological laboratories and they are skilled and work on many aspects of phisical, chemical and biological oceanography.

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MARIS is deeply involved in Marine and Oceanographic Data Management systems on a Pan-European scale and is coordinating a number of EU-funded projects to harmonise and standardise data overview and access. In these projects MARIS is playing a significant role in the development of technical infrastructures and of long-term strategies for wider use of oceanographic and marine data. For an overview of the current and past projects, that usually run 3-5 years, click here.

MARIS is also active as developer of databases, Content Management Systems and websites in the tourism sector, for government and oil and gas industry.

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OGS, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics) is an internationally oriented public research institution. This institution operates and develops its own mission in the European Research Area (ERA) and internationally, prioritizing the basic and applied research fields of:

Oceanography (under the Physical, Chemical and Biological aspects);
Geophysics and Marine Geology;
Experimental and Explorative Geophysics.

OGS applies its own expertise in Earth Sciences, and in Marine and Polar regions to contribute not only to the spreading and widening of the knowledge, but also to the practical solution of environmental, economical and social issues in line with the National Program of Research (PNR) and strategic objectives set by the EU, with particular referral to Horizon 2020.

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ISMAR conducts research in mediterranean, oceanic and polar regions, focusing on the following themes:

• the evolution of oceans and their continental margins, studying submarine volcanoes, faults and slides and their potential impacts onshore
• the influence of climate change on oceanic circulation, acidification, bio-geochemical cycles and marine productivity
• submarine habitats and ecology, and the increasing pollution of coastal and deep-sea environments
• the evolution of fish stocks with a view to keeping commercial fishing within sustainable limits and improving mariculture and aquaculture practices
• natural and anthropogenic factors impacting economically and socially on coastal systems from pre-history to the industrial epoch.

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