SeagrassRestorer launch marks new era of global collaboration
From scientists to conservationists, community groups to environmental funders - everyone will now have access to an innovative new knowledge-sharing platform: SeagrassRestorer.
Launched on World Ocean Day, SeagrassRestorer is the result of an international partnership comprising some of the world’s leading seagrass scientists that aims to accelerate global progress in marine habitat restoration and contribute to the resilience and sustainability of coastal ecosystems.
Director of CQUniversity's Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) and World Seagrass Association President Professor Emma Jackson explained that seagrass meadows faced significant losses across the globe and the platform was an important development when it comes to managing seagrass research, conservation and restoration.
“With the rate that seagrasses are being lost globally, restoration research needs to be fast tracked - without compromising the quality of science.
“The platform has been designed to provide a unique opportunity to learn not just from each other’s restoration successes but, perhaps more importantly, each other’s restoration failures,” Professor Jackson said.
“A tool that enables rapid global sharing of both successes and failures will help us to accelerate learning, avoid repeating mistakes and support more effective, evidence-based restoration efforts at scale.
“This is important because a growing number of initiatives are underway to restore these vital underwater ecosystems, with projects taking place in diverse locations ranging from temperate estuaries to tropical lagoons. Seagrass restoration is not as simple as planting trees on land though. While some projects have achieved notable success, most scientists agree that many seagrass restoration projects fail to meet their intended goals.
“SeagrassRestorer will foster global collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the global seagrass restoration community like never before and users can share and download information on where, when and how seagrass restoration projects have been undertaken, what methods have worked and what methods have not.
“It represents a crucial step forward in the field of seagrass restoration by filling a critical gap and providing open access to an interactive and continuously updated portal that records details of seagrass restoration projects across the globe.
“By centralising data, promoting transparency and fostering collaboration we can apply proven methods to help restore seagrass meadows across the world."
The founding partners of SeagrassRestorer include Project Seagrass, CQUniversity, Dalhousie University, Deakin University, Göteborgs Universitet, Hassanudin University, Swansea University, Universidade do Algarve, University of Aveiro, University of Groningen and Universiteit Stellenbosch.
