LifeWatch ERIC & Marine SABRES at the Tropical Summit 2024

LifeWatch ERIC and Marine SABRES at Tropical Summit 2024

On 4-8 November 2024, LifeWatch ERIC attended the Tropical Summit 2024 in Lisbon, being present with a stand in the “Biodiversity and digitalisation” section of the Exhibition Hall.
The event was a key opportunity to present our Research Infrastructure to the people stopping at our booth, highlighting its main services and tools, and presenting some demos on Metadata Catalogue and EcoPortal. We also proposed a survey we prepared for the participants, that people can fill as an additional form of engagement.

Moreover, LifeWatch ERIC presented the project Marine SABRES, showing the project brochure, and the videos we produced in the framework of the project, with a special focus on the Macaronesia DA, where the climate of the islands varies from subtropical to tropical – a region that for this reason was even more connected to the themes of the conference. Here, the project is focusing on promoting a marine biological corridor between the Azores, Madeira and Canary archipelagos, especially paying attention to the management of migratory species like marine birds, mammals and big pelagic species like tuna. The benefits of ecotourism, and of conservation and restoration actions are also being evaluated. The booth promoted best practices and examples, fostered by the project’s approach, of sustainable use of marine resources and tourism, raising awareness on the importance of governance solutions to address the impacts of future economic and climate scenarios.

Approximately 50-70 people, including passionate university students and researchers, experts and representatives from the world of NGOs, start-ups and businesses coming from different tropical countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Colombia, India etc, amongst others, visited our stand and learned more about how to restore marine biodiversity and support a sustainable blue economy by increasing the uptake of ecosystem-based management. During the event, LifeWatch ERIC also engaged with some participants to promote its Serious Game School Competition (more information here).

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this incredible event exploring sustainability, resilience, and inclusive growth!

The summit
The Tropical Summit 2024 was a truly inspiring global gathering: more than 400 hundreds of individuals, representing over 50 nationalities, came together under one roof to discuss, collaborate, and drive progress toward the 2030 Agenda goals. The harsh lessons of the past, in fact, evidenced in the many unfulfilled global agendas, underlined the imperative of not treating the 2030 deadline as a distant point in the time horizon, but as an urgent reality, which requires immediate attention.

The summit sought to embrace everyone who contributes to the sustainable development of tropical regions. Therefore, the main objectives of the Tropical Summit were to promote the transfer of knowledge, catalyse stakeholder engagement, foster multidisciplinary collaboration, and contribute to the co-creation of innovative projects, accelerating the implementations of concrete and robust solutions. The focus was on driving investments, forging new partnerships, and advancing multi-actor actions through South-South-North triangular cooperation across four key domains:

  • Planetary Health: Nurturing life within the global boundaries
  • Agricultural Development: Sustainability as a path to socioeconomic progress
  • Territorial and Social Transitions: Building resilient spaces and societies in every dimension
  • Human Growth: Empowerment and technology for the times ahead

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this truly inspiring conference!

For more information, please visit Marine SABRES official website: www.marinesabres.eu

Watch our documentary trailers on LifeWatching WebTV platform: www.lifewatching.tv/tv-show/marine-sabres/

That’s a wrap! Marine SABRES at the EU Researchers’ Night 2024

LifeWatch ERIC presented the project Marine SABRES at the European Researchers’ Night, a unique event to meet researchers, learn more about their work and get closer to their world for one night (and beyond). LifeWatch ERIC organised in particular the first Marine SABRES fair, that is, the initiative “Marine SABRES in fairs: biodiversity conservation and restoration, sustainable blue economy and the benefits of ecotourism”.

More than 100 people, including enthusiastic children, young people, families and the general public at large, passionate university students and researchers visited our stand and learned more about how to restore marine biodiversity and support a sustainable blue economy by increasing the uptake of ecosystem-based management in Europe (see our photo gallery here).

More in detail, during the event LifeWatch ERIC presented results and activities carried out in the framework of the project, with a special focus on this simple socio-ecological system framework designed and developed with the active support and participation of local stakeholders in three European marine regions, where researchers are developing and testing ways to balance varying combinations of conservation priorities and economic activities. The booth promoted best practices and examples, fostered by the project’s approach, of sustainable use of marine resources and tourism, raising awareness on the importance of governance solutions to address the impacts of future economic and climate scenarios.

The event was also an opportunity to premiere the last trailers of Marine SABRES’ documentary realised by the LifeWatch Italy Multimedia Production Centre (the two video trailers focused on Macaronesia and Tuscan archipelago will be soon available online – the trailer focused on the Arctic Northeast Atlantic Demonstration Area is available on LifeWatching YouTube Channel and on the Marine SABRES dedicated web platform).

During the event, LifeWatch ERIC also engaged with some teachers and students to promote its Serious Game School Competition.
The first school competition will be launched on World Fisheries Day, Thursday 21st November 2024. Marine SABRES online serious game will introduce students between 10 and 18 years old to basic concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology and increase their awareness of the strong relations between us and the ocean. Moreover, they will have the unique opportunity to meet teachers and students from across Europe and learn from peers and a European network of researchers.
Download this presentation for more information about Marine SABRES and this international educational activity at the following link! More information here.

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this incredible night!

For more information, please visit the official European Researchers’ Night ERN Apulia Med 2024

For more information, please visit Marine SABRES official website: www.marinesabres.eu

Watch our documentary trailers on LifeWatching WebTV platform: www.lifewatching.tv/tv-show/marine-sabres/

Sandy Beaches Symposium: the world’s leading experts gather in Lecce

The IX International Sandy Beaches Symposium was held in Lecce, Italy, on June 24-27 2024. The event was an opportunity to bring the world’s leading experts on sandy coastal ecosystems together in the city.
Past, present, and future of sandy beaches were at the center of the symposium: biodiversity loss, abundance, distribution and dynamics of species of sandy beach ecosystems, climate change impacts, anthropogenic pressures (fisheries, tourism, etc), urbanization, the key role of marine protected areas, and the challenges of creating a network between them, coastal erosion and mitigation strategies, insights from environmental DNA metabarcoding and advanced statistical models, are some of the many topics brought up for discussion by experts from all over the globe.

From Orkney sandy beaches, in Scotland, to the coastal ecosystems of Namibia and Costa Rica, to the sandy beaches of California and Apulia region: the event gathered some of the most renowned experts in the field, offering a unique opportunity to explore the latest research and developments in this disciplinary area, while illustrating to the public the importance of sandy beaches and the challenges we are facing in safeguarding these fragile and threatened ecosystems.

The symposium was an opportunity to present and discuss the state of the art in the field of sandy beach research, from a national, regional and global perspective. The event was organized by the University of Salento, with the support of LifeWatch ERIC.

Among the scientists invited as high-level keynote speakers were: Prof. John M Baxter, University of St Andrews and Heriot-Watt University; Prof. Omar Defeo, Unidad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay; Prof. Mike Elliott, Professor of Estuarine and Coastal Sciences at the University of Hull, UK; Dr. Shinji Sassa, Chair of the International Technical Committee on Scour and Erosion National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Japan; Prof. Alberto Basset, Full Professor of Ecology at the University of Salento and LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre Director; Dr. Lucia Fanini, researcher at the University of Salento, etc.

To learn more about the International Sandy Beaches Symposium, please visit the dedicated website: https://isbsymposium.org/

ESFRI Landmark Monitoring: LifeWatch ERIC undergoes its first five-year assessment

Monitoring of ESFRI Landmarks

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Landmarks were introduced in the ESFRI Roadmap 2016 as reference Research Infrastructures (RIs) and are pillars in the European Research Area (ERA) landscape, offering not only services to academic research but also supporting development and innovation. Guaranteeing the excellence of the Landmark label, ESFRI shoulders responsibility for monitoring the quality of the RIs listed in the ESFRI roadmap as Landmarks. Therefore, it has started the evaluation process of all active ERICs subdividing them in three batches, in 2022. 

LifeWatch ERIC had entered the ESFRI Roadmap back in 2006, while it was attributed the status of Landmark in 2016 and has then formally established as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium on 17 March of the following year. 

“This spring it was time for LifeWatch ERIC, together with the other RIs of the third batch, to undergo its first five-year monitoring assessment which will be carried out by a dedicated Monitoring Panel” says Christos Arvanitidis, LifeWatch ERIC CEO. “The report submitted by LifeWatch ERIC provides a picture of the advancements and results achieved in the last first years of its activity, as well as of the challenges ahead of us. I want to thank all LifeWatch ERIC and National Distributed Centres colleagues, who contributed to the submission of this report, as well as the members of our Scientific and Technical Advisory Board (STAB) and General Assembly”.

The Monitoring should further enable regular exchange between ESFRI and Landmarks on their long-term development, assess the quality of each individual Landmark, identify possible problems and support the Landmarks to take appropriate actions. It shall also provide information on the performance, outputs and impacts of the Landmarks. 

The results of the 3rd batch evaluation are expected by December 2024.

To know more about the ESFRI Landmark Monitoring, please refer to:
www.esfri.eu/monitoring

Civil Society Roundtable: ‘Gender, climate change and health: how can we do better for women and girls?’

On August 1st, 2023, an interactive online roundtable alongside gender, climate, and health experts to devise gender-responsive climate strategies focusing on health. Africa Zanella, LifeWatch ERIC International Gender Officer, had been invited to share her viewpoint and make her recommendations.

As many studies pointed out, climate change disproportionately affects women, girls and marginalised communities, compromising the rights of women and girls and slowing the advancement of gender equality.
Growing evidence shows that the climate crisis has an impact on women’s health and their access to health services. Health impacts related to food insecurity, infectious diseases, mental illness, and poor sexual and reproductive health are increasing due to the warming climate.
International commitments emphasise the importance of gender equality and women’s participation in climate action, but the reality is that gender considerations are yet to be effectively mainstreamed in ongoing climate change strategies, activities and national planning.
The interactive roundtable ‘Gender, climate change and health: how can we do better for women and girls?’ alongside gender, climate, and health experts aimed to study the intersection of these issues and devise gender-responsive climate strategies focusing on health.

Africa Zanella, LifeWatch ERIC International Gender Office, had been invited to join the event and share her viewpoint and perspective on these critical issue with other fellow civil society leaders and specialists in gender, health and climate, including inspirational women working in climate-affected rural communities. Africa is a renowned global expert in gender issues and a social scientist; currently based in Europe, she comes from Australia, one of the eleven Commonwealth member states in the Pacific region (and among one of its historic, founder members in 1931 along with New Zealand).
She made her recommendations during the live event while explaining LifeWatch ERIC’s vision, and how our Research Infrastructures could support researchers and climate action.
“LifeWatch ERIC is the European e-Science and Technology Consortium for biodiversity and ecosystems research, composed of eight member states (Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain), with a Statutory office in Seville and Common Facilities in Italy and the Netherlands”, she explained. “LifeWatch ERIC provides access to a multitude of datasets, webservices and other research resources, allowing the accelerated capture of data, their analysis and support for knowledge-based decision-making for biodiversity & ecosystem management. Under a Gender Equality Plan and EU guidelines, LifeWatch ERIC has promoted a greater participation rate of professional women scientists to help us have a more cohesive as well as fair and scientific gender balance vision of our climate issues and solutions”.

Moreover, she focused on climate finance, illustrating in particular the World Bank Climate Investment Fund, highlighting the nexus between climate, health and gender, and the importance of an inclusive and rights-based approach towards development and disaster risk reduction frameworks.
“Women and girls are reportedly disproportionately affected by disasters: some estimates show for example that women comprised 70% of casualties after the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami; women’s higher vulnerability to risks is rooted in socially defined roles within reproduction and caregiving – women with families suffered the most because of the ‘family commitment’ with aging parents and children-. As Gender Focal Point for the Climate Investment Fund (CIF), I’ve been engaged in integrating gender into programmes, e.g. in the Nature People and Climate Programme, when we focused on differential impact of climate change on men and women, and the specific vulnerabilities of women and girls in disaster situations, exploring even the intersectional nature of women’s realities that are manifested through age, class, caste, disabilities, health status, migrant status, sexual orientation, gender identities, health status, etc.”

Organised by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Commonwealth’s agency for civil society supporting people’s participation in democracy and development, the roundtable aimed to be useful to identify and devise collective positions on gender, climate and health ahead of the 13th Women Affairs Ministerial Meeting (13WAMM) in August where the conclusions from this roundtable will be presented to Ministers and Senior Officials.
Commonwealth Member States use the Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting to set shared priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment. This year’s Meeting will also shape the gender equality agenda for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

“In summary”, she concluded, “climate change is a global issue that affects communities, decision-making, economic activities at global, national and regional level; for this reason, we have to consider the global and the ‘local’ dimension of the problem, looking at the organisational culture and socio-economic aspects of each countries and regions. We must address the challenge of a just and sustainable transition for all, mainstreaming health, gender equality and women’s empowerment in climate policies”.

Policy recommendations and video highlights from the Roundtable with Ministers and Senior Officials will be shared next month.

For further information, visit the page of the event.

Enhancing Biodiversity Access through Collaboration

We are delighted to announce the collaboration between LifeWatch ERIC and OpenAIRE, aimed at advancing Open Science. By joining forces, we will enhance the accessibility of Open Science, improve the FAIRness of LifeWatch ERIC research and enrich the OpenAIRE Graph.

Open Science is gradually becoming the modus operandi in research practices, shaping the way researchers collaborate and publish, discover, and access scientific knowledge. Scientists are increasingly publishing research results beyond the article, to share all scientific products generated during an experiment, such as metadata, data, analytical services, etc.

LifeWatch ERIC and OpenAIRE proudly signed a Memorandum of Understanding to sustain and accelerate Open Science. They commit to enhance their Open Science activities by improving the FAIRness of the LifeWatch ERIC research and enriching the OpenAIRE Graph. Both organisations have joined forces to work on EOSC projects, with the OpenAIRE Graph playing a crucial role in aggregating data sources and connecting metadata such as funding information, data, publications, software, and other unique identifiers (PIDs). Through this collaboration, the combined efforts of Lifewatch ERIC and OpenAIRE will enhance the overall data quality presented on the EOSC Portal.

As a result of this collaboration, all publications, datasets, research projects, software and other outputs of LifeWatch ERIC will now be made accessible through an OpenAIRE CONNECT gateway. Moreover, a MONITOR service with a set of configurable indicators and tools will be made available to simplify research monitoring and evaluation, while measuring and increasing the uptake of Open Science practices.

Sustaining flagship project outputs that provide the infrastructural backbone of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and open data discovery is a priority to both organisations. These efforts will also play key role in realising a meaningful European Open Science Cloud for research communities, building upon the work that is already undertaken in other projects, such as EOSC-FUTURE, FAIR-IMPACT, BioDT and OpenAIRE Nexus project. 

“Providing access to the world’s biodiversity content, services and communities in one click is LifeWatch ERIC’s vision. The signature of this Memorandum of Understanding is yet another milestone to this direction, by fostering synergies and complementing each other, both OpenAIRE and LifeWatch ERIC will have a more significant impact and valuable contribution to the acceleration and integration of Open Science and FAIRness within the European Research Area and beyond, providing even more innovative and interoperable tools for our research communities”, Christos Arvanitidis, LifeWatch ERIC Chief Executive Officer.

“This partnership aims to bring together the biodiversity communities closer to Open Science in practical ways, through shared infrastructure, bringing economies of scale, and building trusted relationships. OpenAIRE can only learn from LifeWatch ERIC so as to calibrate our services to respond to the real needs of this vibrant community”, Natalia Manola, OpenAIRE CEO.

About:

LifeWatch ERIC: LifeWatch ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium providing e-Science research facilities and services to scientists investigating biodiversity and ecosystem functions in order to support society in addressing key societal challenges linked to climate change and resource efficiency, food security and agriculture, sustainable development, energy and health. LifeWatch ERIC’s vision is to become the Research Infrastructure providing access to the world’s biodiversity content, services and communities in one click.

OpenAIRE: OpenAIRE is a Non-Profit Partnership, established in 2018 as a legal entity, OpenAIRE AMKE, to ensure a permanent open scholarly communication infrastructure and support research in Europe and beyond. OpenAIRE is making Open Science happen. Collectively and in practical ways. Its fields of expertise and activities include services, policies and training. Operating since 2009, OpenAIRE is an integral part and a leading force behind the European Open Science Cloud developments.

OpenAIRE Nexus: The Horizon 2020 OpenAIRE-Nexus project, a consortium of 11 partners, brings in Europe, EOSC and the world a set of services to implement and accelerate Open Science and tools to embed in researchers’ workflows, making it easier for them to accept and uptake Open Science practices of openness and FAIRness.

Semantic Academy: the registration for the LifeWatch ERIC Intensive School is now open!

In recent years, one of the major challenges in Environmental and Earth Sciences has been managing and searching larger volumes of data, collected across multiple disciplines. Many different standards, approaches, and tools have been developed to support the Data Lifecycle from Data Acquisition to Data Curation, Data Publishing, Data Processing and Data Use. In particular, modern semantic technologies provide a promising way to properly describe and interrelate different data sources in ways that reduce barriers to data discovery, integration, and exchange among biodiversity and ecosystem resources and researchers. Therefore, we are delighted to announce the launch of the 2023 edition of The Semantic Academy – The LifeWatch ERIC Intensive School: Boost your research with semantic artifacts. And this time, we are back in person!


This school is organized by LifeWatch ERIC and will take place in Lecce, from 25 to 29 September 2023.
This edition’s title is “Boost your research with semantic artifacts”. This course is built as a five-day intensive school providing the knowledge on how to create semantic artifacts for a specific domain and use them to annotate and analyse data in a Virtual Research Environment (VRE). It will cover topics such as Data Science, Semantics, Ontology, Vocabularies, Virtual Research Environments (VREs). The School is therefore mainly aimed at IT architects, Research Infrastructure (RI) service developers and user support staff, and RI staff.

The Semantic Academy will welcome participants with a welcome cocktail event and social dinner, while the actual Intensive School programme will last from Monday afternoon to Friday morning, closing with a certificate ceremony.

The outline of the School programme is as follows:

  1. Introducing the LifeWatch ERIC eScience Infrastructure
  2. Ontology Engineering
  3. Designing and Developing vocabularies
  4. Using Semantics for discovering, accessing and analysing data in the Notebook-as-a-VRE (NaaVRE)
  5. Putting everything together: practical activity with participants projects presentations

EXTENDED DEADLINE: Interested persons are invited to apply by 30 July by filling in the sign-up form here
Participation is free, but registration is compulsory. Three grants are made available by LifeWatch ERIC to support applicants younger than 30 years. Successful candidates will be offered accommodation for the whole duration of the intensive school on the basis of their motivation letter and their curricula, while travel must be self-funded. LifeWatch ERIC is an equal opportunity organisation, and encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of race, gender, age, national origin, or sexual orientation. Follow LifeWatch ERIC updates!

You can access the dedicated minisite with more detailed information on the Semantic Academy here.
You can find information about other Summer Schools on Data FAIRness previously organised by LifeWatch ERIC and the ENVRI Community on our Training & Education page.