BLUE BIOMED – Mediterranean Innovation Alliance for sustainable blue economy

The Blue BioEconomy encompasses all economic activities based on the sustainable use of aquatic resources, including both activities “based on” seas, rivers, and lakes, as well as those “related” to them, such as fishing and aquaculture, renewable energy, coastal tourism, maritime transport, biotechnology, port operations, and digital services linked to the aquatic environment.

In this context, the strategic project BLUEBIOMED aims to contribute to enhancing governance and innovation policies for the blue bioeconomy of the Mediterranean by pursuing the following objectives:

• Connecting transnational governance initiatives (e.g., UfM, UNEP-MAP, EUSAIR, WestMed Initiative, Bluemed Initiative, etc.) with territorial policies—regional/national—and S3 strategies;
• Developing a working model that can guide innovation policies towards new sustainable development challenges;
• Strengthening the international Blue Bioeconomy community through the promotion of an open innovation alliance in the Mediterranean area.

The partnership covers 9 Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and consists of 11 partners, including technical-scientific partners with research experience in blue technologies, fishing, and aquaculture. The technical partnership is supported by 32 associated partners, primarily composed of regional and state administrations.

ACTIVITIES

• Mapping innovation trends and priorities for the blue bioeconomy emerging from S3 strategies as well as transnational strategies for the blue bioeconomy in MED countries;
• Identifying quadruple helix innovation actors (national and regional authorities, research, businesses, civil society) active in the blue bioeconomy in the MED area;
• Encouraging cooperation among actors for the co-design of innovative actions to address sustainable development challenges for the blue bioeconomy;
• Building an open, bottom-up, and multilevel innovation alliance for the Mediterranean area between policymakers and sector stakeholders;
• Analyzing different governance models to strengthen the blue (bio)economic innovation community beyond the project’s duration.

RESULTS

• Drafting of a Manifesto for the blue bioeconomy;
• Establishment of a MED Innovation Alliance;
• Organization of two editions of the Blue Economy Innovation Forum
• Organization of thematic multi-stakeholder workshops;
• Development of a Technology Forecast on topics such as aquaculture, fishing, maritime surveillance, and blue biotechnologies, aligned with the sustainable development challenges (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs) and intended for policymakers in the Mediterranean area.