A Community of Practice (CoP) is a voluntary interactive member-driven network of people with shared interests who come together to learn, share expertise and work together to achieve individual and common goals.
The MARCO-BOLO CoP will bring together and empower European (and beyond) biodiversity observatory operators, data producers and users. The overall purpose is to foster transformative change and overcome traditional barriers that have limited the generation, transfer and uptake of marine biodiversity knowledge.
Through the MARCO-BOLO CoP, generators and users of biodiversity data across Europe will be brought together to co-design and co-develop biodiversity tools and services that are fit for purpose and suit the needs of users (policymakers, industry, researchers, civil society and other stakeholder groups) at local, national, regional and international levels.
Policymakers could use biodiversity data and tools for policy assessments, sustainable management and conservation efforts that collectively contribute to more evidence-based decision-making to restore European and global marine biodiversity.
NGOs could use biodiversity data and tools to raise public awareness about the many challenges facing the ocean, and the critical role of ocean data and information in monitoring ocean health, climate change and contributing to a sustainable blue economy.
Industry (blue economy) could use biodiversity data and tools to determine biodiversity health, predicting and monitoring changes, giving them a better understanding of the environmental impact of their activities, enabling them to proactively manage environments.
By creating next generation fit for purpose and user friendly, validated and integrated coastal, marine and freshwater biodiversity observation, mapping and monitoring tools that provide data to feed models of prediction of biodiversity, the MARCO-BOLO CoP will:
Ensure that biodiversity observations can deliver outputs that enable transformative change in biodiversity and interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies.
Feed more effectively into policy and other processes to support the EU and its member states in reaching national, regional and global biodiversity targets.
Enable integration of internationally used (meta)data standards and ensure interoperability within European and global observation frameworks.
Improve the uptake and use of biodiversity data and knowledge in decision making.
Achieve common standards enabling the European contribution to global biodiversity restoration efforts.
