The ArtReefs project seeks to promote innovative artificial reefs as a versatile tool to tackle widespread challenges in the Mediterranean and Black sea regions, such as environmental degradation and conflicts between users of the coastal area.

The project studied during the last months prominent challenges related to the deployment of Artificial Reefs tackling the legislation, the perception of stakeholders, the possible business models and successful experiences across the world.

These activities were conducted through desk research, interviews and workshops gathering relevant stakeholders as actors from the tourism industry, public organisation and companies developing artificial reefs. It allows building among the partners a joint vision and designing guidelines and action plan.

Action Plan to deploy Artificial Reefs in the Mediterranean and Black Sea

The Action Plan highlights concrete and feasible actions by gathering together partners’ know-how, thematic knowledge and inputs from the in-depth analysis of policies, programmes, stakeholders and best practices related to artificial reef use for tourism purposes, carried out at international level. The activities are structured in thematic areas to ensure their correspondence to strategic goals and to reflect the interest of the consortium partners, as a proxy for the involved regions.

The main objectives of the action plan are:

•  Promote artificial reefs for environmental protection and coastal management
•  Showcase the potential of artificial reefs for sustainable tourism and complementary activities
• Promote cooperation between Integrated Maritime Policy stakeholders around the issue of artificial reefs;
• Ensure that new artificial reef developments are sustainable and properly managed.

To achieve these objectives, 17 specific actions are planned which can be categorized as follows:

• Actions dedicated to the realization of a framework for environmental preservation and sustainable tourism by artificial reefs;
• Actions dedicated to facilitate transnational exchanges and development of local and regional networks;
• Actions dedicated to the development of specific tools to optimize the implementation of artificial reefs for recreational use.
•  Actions dedicate to the deployment of standard methodology to facilitate the management and monitoring artificial reefs for recreational use.

The ArtReefs Action Plan does not rely on own funds but it is conceived to catalyze the existing funding at national and European levels.

More information here: ARTREEFS 2nd Press release