Description: This deliverable reports on the achievements of the EuroSea project in developing targeted indicators co-designed with demonstrators (WPs 5–7) and forecasts (WP4). For this, the indicators implemented are expressed in term of Essential Ocean/Climate Variables (EOVs/ECVs) together with their requirements. The co-development undertaken address ocean indicators for all range of scales: from the large, basin scale to the regional and local scales. Such approach as well as the proposed solution to focus, at regional/local scales, on EEZs, represent one of the innovative results of EuroSea that will help to rationalize risks assessments and guide environmental management approaches in European Seas.

Description: The agriculture sector in Asia and the Pacific region contributes massively to climate change, as the region has the largest share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. The region is the largest producer of rice, a major source of methane emissions. Further, to achieve food security for the increasing population, there has been a massive increase in the use of synthetic fertilizer and energy in agricultural production in the region over the last few decades. This has led to an enormous rise in nitrous oxide (N2O; mostly from fertilizer-N use) and carbon dioxide (mostly from energy use for irrigation) emissions from agriculture. Besides this, a substantial increase in livestock production for meat and dairy products has increased methane emissions, along with other environmental problems. In this context, this study conducts a systematic review of strategies that can reduce emissions from the agriculture sector using a multidimensional approach, looking at supply-side, demand-side, and cross-cutting measures. The review found that though there are huge potentials to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture, significant challenges exist in monitoring and verification of GHG emissions from supply-side measures, shifting to sustainable consumption behavior with regard to food consumption and use, and the design and implementation of regulatory and incentive mechanisms. On the supply side, policies should focus on the upscaling of climate-smart agriculture primarily through expanding knowledge and improving input use efficiency in agriculture, while on the demand side, there is a need to launch a drive to reduce food loss and waste and also to move towards sustainable consumption. Therefore, appropriate integration of policies at multiple levels, as well as application of multiple measures simultaneously, can increase mitigation potential as desired by the Paris Agreement and also help to achieve several of the United Nations’ SDGs.

Description: Billions of people in Asia and the Pacific depend on healthy oceans for their livelihoods, food security, health, and recreation. However, the impacts of climate change, marine pollution, overfishing, and unsustainable coastal development are increasingly threatening these ecosystems, jeopardizing the region’s small island nations and other developing coastal economies. Blue Economy and Blue Finance: Toward Sustainable Development and Ocean Governance provides evidence-based approaches for promoting sustainable ocean and coastal development and management in Asia and the Pacific. It discusses governance, planning, sectoral management, and risk management imperatives. This includes innovative ocean financing schemes and strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change and unsustainable practices on ocean and coastal ecosystem-reliant communities and sectors. The book offers timely insights for policy makers and scholars seeking to better understand the region’s ocean sustainability challenges and opportunities.

Description: The European Ocean Observing and Forecasting System (EOOFS) plays a pivotal role in understanding, monitoring, forecasting, and managing the complex dynamics and resources of Europe's Seas. It serves as a critical interdisciplinary system for addressing a myriad of challenges, from climate change impacts to marine resources management. However, to ensure its continued effectiveness, it is essential to identify and address the gaps within this system and provide actionable recommendations for improvements at short- and long-term. Therefore, this document serves as a baseline that can guide the funders and supporters of the EOOFS, as well as the various stakeholders directly or indirectly related to the EOOFS, towards the gaps that hinder better monitoring and prediction of various ocean phenomena, along the ocean observing value chain. The main identified gaps are related to spatial and temporal coverage of data and products of the EOOFS, the data integration and accessibility by various types of users, the uncertainties of projections, the technological challenges, as well as to the engagement of various actors and the communication of results and services to them. The main recommendations to be taken into consideration for addressing all highlighted gaps are detailed in the report for every phenomenon and component of the ocean value chain. These recommendations are not provided just to satisfy the academic interest of the EOOFS community, however, they may have profound implications for multiple sectors and the society as a whole, if taken into consideration. This is due to the fact that the EOOFS is essential for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, in improving the efficiency of the marine resources’ management, in enhancing the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as coastal cities and infrastructures against disasters and extreme events, for shipping and navigation safety, and for the scientific advancements and innovations of Europe in the field of marine science that serves the society. We propose a scoring approach that can evaluate the EOOFS readiness level (RL) in monitoring ocean phenomena, on a regular basis and in a systematic way. We have demonstrated the usefulness of this approach by implementing it based on our assessment and the feedback of the EOOFS community. The main results clearly show that the EOOFS has “Fitness for Purpose” readiness levels (RL 7) in the three main pillars of the value chain (Input, Process, and Output) only for one ocean phenomenon, while 83% of ocean phenomena have RLs varying from 1 (Idea) to 4 (Trial). A deeper analysis of the scoring results reflects that the EOOFS major gaps are predominantly concentrated in two of its three pillars: the coordination and observational elements (Process) and data management and information products (Output) (Figure 1). In a changing world that is affecting all aspects of European lives, it is crucial to significantly invest and support the EOOFS to better monitor and accurately predict the European Seas, and provide sustained services that can help businesses and improve the resilience of communities and resources.

Description: The 4th Evolving and Sustaining Ocean Best Practices Workshop was held online during the period 17-30 September 2020, addressing community needs for advanced method development and implementation in ocean observations, data management and application. The proceedings for the subject workshop are provided in 2 volumes. Volume 1 addresses the meeting overview, and Volume 2 - Annexes includes the complete Working Group reports.

Description: Asia and the Pacific accounts for over 50% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, driven by rapid economic growth and energy consumption in developing countries. Far-reaching efforts are urgently needed to reduce the region’s emissions and realize a 1.5°C temperature drop required to fight climate change and associated threats to sustainable development, particularly in highly polluted cities. Many governments have pledged to meet net-zero carbon emissions by around mid-century, but action to transform energy markets alone will not be enough. Measures to promote the decarbonization of the transport, buildings, agriculture, and other sectors must also be taken forward to successfully achieve emissions reduction targets. Climate Change Mitigation: Policies and Lessons for Asia highlights evidence-based approaches for advancing decarbonization across sectors. It offers timely insights for policy makers and scholars seeking to better understand the region’s climate change mitigation challenges, policy approaches for fostering emissions breakthroughs, and the sustainable development implications.

Description: Identification of local and regional impacts of oxygen, heat and pH related “Extreme Marine Events”: Ocean model data products are overlaid with existing marine biological datasets to identify sensitive areas and organism vulnerabilities.

Description: Report on ASV-Network structure and roadmap Revised edition