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 to address environmental urgency
In the face of the urgent need to safeguard marine seagrasses, underwater ecosystems made up of flowering plants that play an essential role in the balance of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the OCEAN-LEAVES chair will structure research by bringing together experts, institutions, and public and private partners. It will provide essential knowledge and expertise to define concrete actions, inform policy decisions, and strengthen cooperation at regional, national, and international levels.
Marine seagrasses must be better understood to be saved
Overseas marine seagrasses are essential allies for climate and biodiversity, yet they remain largely unknown. Today, they face multiple pressures including climate change, pollution, increased turbidity, nutrient excess, sedimentation, trampling, and uprooting. The artificialization of the coast and the degradation of water quality exacerbate their fragility.
Given their decline, it is urgent to produce robust scientific data to better understand and act to preserve these ecosystems. They are considered a priority for protection and restoration. France has a strong commitment to preserving marine and coastal tropical ecosystems.
Marine seagrasses are plant ecosystems made up of marine angiosperms. Highly productive and rich in biodiversity, they play a major role in climate, coastal protection, and biodiversity support.
They serve essential functions for:
– marine biodiversity, by serving as habitat and nursery for numerous species; – coastal protection, by stabilizing sediments and limiting erosion; – climate, by 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 km² of mapped seagrass beds. In tropical zones, their services are reinforced 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 diverse.
The OCEAN-LEAVES chair, an expert tool to structure research and conservation actions
Facing 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 in service of territories; 2 – strengthening the interface between actors and knowledge dissemination; 3 – supporting sustainable management and preservation actions at different scales.
It is part of a public-private dynamic to enhance the impact of actions on territories, especially overseas.
Partners and support
Led by the UBO Foundation, the OCEAN-LEAVES chair is mainly supported by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature, and the Ministry of Overseas Territories within the framework of Ifrecor. Other financial partners are also involved.
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, strengthen the attractiveness and influence of UBO, and promote synergies with public and private actors in the service of the territory.
About Ifrecor
Established 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, coral reef restoration, species and ecosystem red lists, 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 management programs for coral reefs.
