In the last week of May, the Marine Conservation and Multi-Use Strategy Group met at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) in Oldenburg for its annual workshop. The 25 participants included representatives from various research institutes from all over Germany as well as representatives from the offshore wind industry, federal authorities and funding organisations.
Organised as an open discussion round, the talks focused on the potential of multi-use concepts including ecological upgrading in offshore wind farms. The group discussed key concepts such as the understanding of "Mother Earth" in the context of protected areas and multiple uses, shed light on the perspectives of project organisers and presented innovative projects such as the "70 GW" real-world laboratory.
One focus of the meeting was the development of a roadmap to pave the way for future research, policy dialogue and practical implementation in the area of multiple uses and protected area development in the North Sea. In addition, the group is working on a series of publications and activities to broaden the discussions and create new forums.