Blue Marine Foundation: Innovation, Restoration and Communication to protect the Mediterranean

Blue Marine Foundation

Blue Marine Foundation is working to protect and restore life in the ocean. The complex web of marine life enables the ocean to absorb around a third of the world’s carbon dioxide and produce as much as half our oxygen so it is vital that we protect more of it. A healthy ocean is also key to the sustainable development of human society, particularly for the billions of people who depend on seafood for protein, and are most exposed to the negative impacts of climate change. Blue Marine’s mission is to see at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean under effective protection by 2030, and the other 70 per cent managed in a way that allows life to regenerate.

The interconnected seagrass meadows of Formentera are thought to be between 80,000 to 100,000 years old, making them one of the oldest known living things on the planet. Seagrass has suffered significant decline throughout the Mediterranean through anchoring, pollution and other human disturbance. To address this decline and protect this vital blue carbon habitat, we urgently require effective restoration efforts, improved mapping and community support.  

Blue Marine Foundation is partnering with the Vellmarí Association to begin an ambitious programme to restore Posidonia in Formentera and Ibiza through innovation, protection, restoration and education of marine users. This will create a pioneering restoration model that can be replicated nationally and across the Mediterranean. This project aims to actively restore damaged meadows through seedling and fragment planting. The project also aims to educate young people about the ocean through ‘Dive Camps’ and classroom workshops, providing participants with valuable hands-on experience.