BLUE CONNECT addresses the need to protect marine habitats and ecosystems to meet the ambitious global and EU targets for protection and restoration by 2030.

Together with protected area managers, authorities, industries, and local communities from 12 pilot sites, BLUE CONNECT develops, promotes, and demonstrates a systematic approach to marine conservation planning and management.

This collaboration will create a blueprint for 1) setting evidence-based conservation objectives, 2) defining common measures for effective co-management of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s), 3) ensuring conservation effectiveness, and 4) demonstrating these tools' potential for replication across multiple protected areas.

This is achieved by establishing comprehensive modeling frameworks that integrate different elements of biodiversity, ecological function, ecosystem services and connectivity. The framework also integrates stakeholder and community input on social, economic, and cultural aspects for defining and/or managing MPA’s and ecological corridors.

The project will foster a more comprehensive, science-based and inclusive approach to marine conservation. This includes designating new MPA’s and expanding existing ones, transitioning to more effective protection and restoration of ecosystems, improving ecological connectivity, and facilitating co-management.

By promoting collaboration with stakeholders and grassroots research initiatives, BLUE CONNECT will enhance ownership of protected and restored marine ecosystems, networking between MPAs and empower local communities to play a critical role in ocean conservation.

SALT participates in all work packages of the project, focusing especially on establishing knowledge-based conservation objectives and defining common actions for effective co-management of MPAs. Additionally, SALT contributes to the project’s dissemination and communication efforts and with facilitating the dialogue and information flow between the thematic-oriented work packages and the involved pilot protected areas.

In collaboration with NIVA, SALT has contributed to Raet National Park being one of the 12 pilot protected areas participating in the project, meaning that SALT has responsibility for disseminating information, data, and experiences from this protected area throughout the project and towards the external project audience.

The project runs until the spring of 2028 and is a collaboration between 25 partners from 13 different countries, including SALT Research AS and NIVA.