New open-access platform supports biodiversity

A new tool aids efforts to meet the EU’s biodiversity targets. The recently launched information platform allows scientists to share data about freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems.

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With their rich biodiversity, aquatic ecosystems benefit our economy and society in many ways. However, human activities and pressures such as pollution, overfishing, invasive species and climate change are placing these aquatic ecosystems at risk and threatening their sustainability. To halt and reverse the loss of aquatic biodiversity, the EU has implemented a number of policies. But for them to be effective, there needs to be coordination and cooperation between different policy areas spanning freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, as well as innovative business solutions and public-private engagement.