Mission Starfish - regenerating our oceans by 2030
Horizon Europe will incorporate, as a new element, research and innovation missions. One of the five mission area is healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters, also referred to as "Mission Starfish". This mission area will support actions that address the water system as a whole looking at the many intertwined challenges to have healthy oceans and waters.
The interim report published on 25 June 2020, identifies the objectives and approach of the mission and proposes five targets:
i) Generate and organise the necessary science and data
ii) Tackle pollution
iii) Sustainable use and management of aquatic resources
iv) Accelerate decarbonisation
v) Improve effective governance.
ERRIN input
The governance of our oceans and waters is a fragmented framework spread over all levels – from international to local. Regional and local authorities and stakeholders will be an important player in the development and steering to create more coherence and efficient cooperation both in terms of investments and research and innovation agendas.
In July 2020, the Blue Growth WG organised a webinar to discuss the development of the mission on healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters with the European Commission and a member of the Mission Board.
Building on this, in June 2021 ERRIN’s Blue Growth Working Group organised a dialogue together with the Mission Starfish Secretariat focusing on the area-based lighthouses proposed in the Mission. It was an opportunity for ERRIN members to come together with those working on the Mission and its implementation plan to discuss potential lighthouse activities, scale and governance. During the meeting, inspiring examples were presented from ERRIN members including WaterCampus Leeuwarden, North Norway, Mid-Norway, Turku Southwest Finland, Welsh Higher Education, Emilia Romagna and South Denmark. We also counted on colleagues from JPI Water, where ERRIN sits on the Stakeholder Advisory Board, for their support and contribution during the meeting.
A report on the dialogue is available to read here and includes ERRIN's key messages on the scale, scope, governance and synergies of the area-based lighthouses within Mission Starfish. ERRIN looks forward to a continued dialogue involving even more members on this Mission in the coming months.
ERRIN report on dialogue with EC on Mission Starfish
Following the ERRIN - European Commission dialogue on the role of regions in the area-based lighthouses in Mission Starfish, a report of the discussion with examples from ERRIN members and ERRIN's key messages and outcomes from the meeting has been produced.
