Science meets Policy Day

Thursday 27 August 2026
Time: 8:00 – 18:30
Location: At the ECSA 61 conference,  Square, Brussels, Belgium

Register here

During ECSA 61 we will be holding a dedicated Science meets Policy Day on Thursday 27 August, offering a unique opportunity to discuss how outcomes from the Horizon Europe program can support the implementation of marine biodiversity policies across Europe.

You will have the chance to discuss research findings and applications for a sustainable future of coasts with managers and decision-makers from Europe and all over the world, and the ways in which these can be used in current monitoring and assessment policies.

Expected audience:

  • Scientists,
  • European Commission officers and experts,
  • Regional Sea Convention representatives (RSC),
  • EU Parliament members,
  • NGOs,
  • National Authorities (MSFD, MSPD, Habitats Directive, NRR, etc.),
  • Broader stakeholders from relevant organizations and business

 

Draft Program

Timing

Title

Contents

8.00-9.00

Registration

 

9.00-9.30

Welcome session to the
policy-science day

ECSA President John Humphreys;
Conference Chairs Angel Borja,
Mike Elliott, Tim Jennerjahn

9.30-10.00

Keynote: Listening to the
Ocean: Science, Policy,
and Global Marine Biodiversity
Challenges
A high-level overview of the
importance of bridging science
and policy to address
global marine biodiversity
challenges (20+10 min.)

 Speaker: Ricardo Serrão Santos,
PhD Marine Biology, former member
of the European Parliament and
former Ministry of the Ocean in
Portugal

10.00-10.30

Keynote "Monitoring and assessing
the marine status under EU and
global policies" (20+10 min.)

 Possible speaker: Ángel Borja

10.30-11.00

Refreshment break

11.00-12.30

Session 1: Innovative tools for
monitoring and marine
conservation

Flash presentations (6’ each)
+>30 minutes of global
discussion. Stelios Katsanevakis,
on technologies for invasive
species; Jacob Carstensen,
on technologies for
monitoring biodiversity;
Vanessa Stelzenmüller, on
innovations in Marine
Spatial Planning;
Colomban de Vargas,
on eDNA for monitoring;
Julie Brenmer, new monitoring tools;
Nicolas Pade, multi-sensor
data networks for biodiversity
monitoring; Anna M. Addamo,
on protecting the European seas

Possible Moderator: Ute Jacob (BioAgora)

12.30-13.00

Flash presentation of policy
briefs from the projects supporting
the conference,
grouped by thematics,
the key outputs from all projects
policy briefs and future directions

They will be made available during lunch break

13.00-14.30

Lunch break

Poster session 1
(Science & Policy relevant posters)
and policy briefs from EU projects

14.30-16.00

Session 2: Assessing the status
of the ocean to take decisions
on management measures

Flash presentations (6’ each) +30 minutes of
global discussion. Maria Gutierrez,
use of biodiversity data; Heliana Teixeira,
on cumulative impacts of invasive species;
Emma Verling, on improving uptake of
ecosystem-based management with
decision supporting tools; Myron Peck,
use of climate change projections on cumulative
pressure effects assessment; 
María C. Uyarra, new tools in integrative
assessment of the ocean; Ute Jacob,
challenges and legacy in science-policy

Moderator: Camino Liquete (JRC)

16.00-16.30

Refreshment break

16.30-18.00

Roundtable Discussion:
From Research to Action - Making Research
Outcomes Useful for Policy Makers
(short comments from each panelist followed
by moderated discussion and audience engagement)

Moderator: Sigi Gruber (DG-RTD)

Panelists: Alice Belin (DG-ENV), Camino Liquete (JRC), Carole Durusel (OSPAR); Scientists: Isabel Sousa Pinto, Ute Jacob, Stelios Katsanevakis

18.00-18.30

Wrap up of the Conference,
award presentations and closing ceremony

 Conference chairs, ECSA president