An integrated observation and monitoring strategy at regional level, Galicia, Spain

An EU-funded initiative is underway to develop an integrated marine observation and monitoring strategy at a regional scale in Galicia, Spain, an area highly dependent on marine resources and known for its complex ecosystem within a dynamic upwelling system.

To develop this strategy, over 200 marine researchers from diverse fields and from 14 research institutions across Galicia are collaborating through a participative approach involving  the quintuple helix—government, academia, industry, civil society, and the natural environment— on four coastal and marine system key areas:

i) advancing new observation technologies, tools, and platforms with a high degree of automation, enabling extensive and sustained collection of essential data for comprehensive ecosystem management. This effort particularly targets variables for which commercial technology is currently limited or unavailable;

ii) creating an integrated marine big data platform that ensures high standards of data storage and standardization, adhering to FAIR principles and connecting with other ongoing international data platforms. A Marine Virtual Laboratory is also being developed within this platform to allow end-users to visualize and utilize the data effectively;

iii) constructing a multi-scale, transdisciplinary marine simulator, a crucial tool for integrating data from multiple sources to generate insights and provide a structured framework to tackle environmental, social, and economic challenges. This simulator will aid in exploring and predicting the impacts of global change on the marine environment and will support knowledge-based decision-making processes for sustainable management of marine uses and resources; and

iv) planning through a participatory approach the governance of marine monitoring in Galicia by fostering synergies among stakeholders, enhancing existing systems and services, increasing visibility, coordinating ongoing and future initiatives, implementing new monitoring strategies, developing services, refining data policies, and facilitating national and international collaborations in Galician observation efforts.

The goal of this strategic plan is to lead to better-informed decision-making for the modernization and reinforcement of marine observation and monitoring as a foundation for a robust social, economic and environmental resilience, enabling sustainable use of Galicia’s marine environment ecosystems.