On the 1st of July the structured project Next-Sea (financed by the operational program Norte 2020) had it’s official launch meeting at the IB-S building in Braga.
Next-Sea, which stands for Next generation monitoring of coastal ecosystems in a scenario of global change, and aims to focus on human societies increasing need to rely on marine system, whether due to the increasing demand for food, energy or mineral resources, for innovative medical treatments based on novel bioactive agents, or simply because the oceans are seen as a privileged path for trading, transportation of goods and leisure. Impacts on marine ecosystems are expected as a result of human population growth and of an increasing pressure for obtaining additional resources. Global changes are, to some extent, coupled with this human growth and increase demand for more resources, which in turn may be causing additional impacts on the ecosystems and jeopardizing their balance. Human societies seem to be unable to unlock new development paradigms towards a sustainable growth. One of the main reasons behind this inability is the lack of knowledge about the natural processes that are affecting marine and coastal ecosystems. The ecosystems health depends on a wide number and type of variables, most of them are still insufficiently characterized. This information is vital for a more sustainable exploitation of resources and require historical references, long‐term monitoring programs and assessment of the main drivers of degradation. This proposal aims to create the foundations for the next generation coastal systems management based on knowledge and innovation and supported by the team’s expertise in the areas of electronics, materials, taxonomy, ecology, conservation and metagenomics, using the NW of Portugal as a case study. Monitoring is at the centre of this commitment. Efficient monitoring based on cutting‐edge technologies (lab‐on‐chip, MEMs, smart materials and underwater networks together in marine electronics applications) is essential to broaden the type, frequency, temporal and spatial scales of variables and type of habitats to be monitored. This development will occur in close relation with the Biology, Electronics and Civil Engineering fields. The effective monitoring of coastal systems will provide the ideal background for future innovation in Marine Sciences combining a holistic approach. New synergies will be unlocked in order to make the transition from an antagonist relation into a sustainable evolution path based on interventions that are beneficial to both the ecosystems and the human society. Effective knowledge about the coastal systems will support not only the decision making process but also the establishment of a baseline database, that will allow to detect abiotic and biotic changes in response to global stressors in the coastal environment. This approach will enable the anticipation of environmental problems and the support of adapting strategies for communities and ecosystems, increasing its global resilience.