Which environmental minimum requirements could qualify certain aquaculture activities as legitimate nature-based solutions?

Proposed marine and coastal Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) are presently being implemented across the European Union in various contexts. Yet, what different stakeholders perceive as relevant NbS and their potential impacts and risks may vary greatly, compromising the implementation and effectiveness of NbS. Even worse, it may lead to misuse of the concept, providing a slippery slope for greenwashing either deliberately or accidentally. While general guidelines for NbS implementation exist (IUCN, 2020), several critical uncertainties remain about the detailed interpretation in marine and coastal ecosystems - including aquaculture activities (Riisager-Simonsen et al. 2022). To overcome this, the recently launched EU Horizon project TRANSEATION, will address the risks and challenges facing the different project phases in the development of marine and coastal NbS - including aquaculture. A core deliverable from this project will be a set of environmental minimum requirements which future marine and coastal NbS should align with. This presentation will share the first insights on environmental minimum requirements from several expert workshops, interviews as well as literature and policy reviews. Additionally, we invite Aqua24 participants to contribute with their knowledge and ideas, for how such minimum requirements could be implemented and documented in a relevant way. The aim is to cover the full project cycle from documentation to investors, environmental agencies and beyond.

The final draft minimum requirements for marine and coastal NbS, will be put into public online consultation in the beginning of 2025, before being finalized as guidance for actors ranging from companies, municipalities and capital asset managers towards Hence, improving the implementation, effectiveness and documentation impacts which underpin ecosystem-based marine management.

In the coming years the project will go beyond minimum requirements and draft a marine and coastal NbS building rating system based on the LEED certification scheme.