The OCEAN-LEAVES chair (optimization of conservation and engagement for marine seagrass), led by the UBO Foundation (University of Western Brittany) and scientists Claire Hellio and Fanny Kerninon, has been officially launched.
An unprecedented scientific initiative in the face of environmental urgency
In the face of the urgent need to safeguard seagrass beds, underwater ecosystems composed of flowering plants that play an essential role in the balance of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the OCEAN-LEAVES chair will organize research by bringing together experts, institutions, and public and private partners. It will provide essential knowledge and expertise to define concrete actions, guide policy decisions, and strengthen cooperation at regional, national, and international levels.
Seagrass beds must be better known to be saved
Overseas seagrass beds are essential allies for climate and biodiversity, yet they remain largely unknown. Today, they face multiple pressures: climate change, pollution, increased turbidity, excess nutrients, sedimentation, trampling, and uprooting. The artificialization of the coastline and the degradation of water quality worsen their fragility.
In the face of their decline, it is urgent to produce robust scientific data to better understand and act to preserve these ecosystems. They are considered priority ecosystems to protect and restore. France has a strong commitment to preserving marine and coastal ecosystems.
Seagrass beds are plant ecosystems composed of marine angiosperms. Highly productive and rich in biodiversity, they play a major role in climate, coastal protection, and biodiversity support.
They fulfill essential functions for: – Marine biodiversity, serving as habitat and nursery for numerous species; – Coastal protection, stabilizing sediments and limiting erosion; – Climate, thanks to their ability to store carbon in marine soils; – Human activities, such as fishing or maintaining the quality of coastal waters.
There are 72 species worldwide, covering approximately 300,000 square kilometers of mapped seagrass beds. In tropical areas, their services are enhanced by their interactions with coral reefs and mangroves.
In France, these ecosystems play an important role, especially in overseas territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Mayotte, La Réunion, New Caledonia, French Polynesia), where they are particularly well-developed and diversified.
The OCEAN-LEAVES chair, an expert tool to structure research and conservation actions
Faced with these challenges, the OCEAN-LEAVES chair aims to bring together researchers, institutions, and public and private actors around three main objectives: 1 – Structuring operational and innovative research for the benefit of territories; 2 – Strengthening the interface between actors and the dissemination of knowledge; 3 – Supporting sustainable management and conservation actions at different scales.
It is part of a public-private dynamic aimed at strengthening the impact of actions carried out in territories, especially in overseas regions.
The partners and supporters
Led by the UBO Foundation, the OCEAN-LEAVES chair is primarily supported by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, and the Ministry of Overseas Territories as part of Ifrecor. Other financial partners are involved in the process.
About the UBO Foundation – University of Western Brittany
The UBO Foundation is a partnership structure that aims to strengthen the ties between the university and its socio-economic partners. Its main missions are to support research, innovation, and training, enhance the attractiveness and visibility of UBO, and promote synergies with public and private actors for the benefit of the region.
A footnote on Ifrecor
Founded in 1999, Ifrecor’s main objective is to promote the protection and sustainable management of coral reefs and associated ecosystems in overseas territories at the local, national, and international levels. It implements a 5-year action program on various themes, such as monitoring networks, reef restoration, red lists of species and ecosystems, compensation calculation tools, mapping, etc. This action program is then implemented in local action plans established by each overseas territory. Ifrecor also disseminates French scientific and technical knowledge acquired on coral reefs, promotes French technologies and know-how, and encourages the participation of French public institutions, researchers, and study offices in international research and coral reef management programs.
