Rome, 28 November 2025

As part of the Final Conference of the LIFE SeaForest project, a high-level panel titled “Implementing a Blue Carbon Model in Europe” will convene on Friday, 28 November 2025, at the ISPRA Conference Hall in Rome. The session will gather leading scientists, policymakers, and carbon-market experts to discuss the barriers and opportunities for scaling Posidonia oceanica preservation and restoration across the Mediterranean.

Over the past years, the SeaForest Consortium, supported by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) and the University of Tuscia, has developed a rigorous methodology to quantify carbon emissions avoided and removed through seagrass restoration. Despite this scientific progress, the consortium was unable to identify a high-integrity carbon standard capable of endorsing the methodology, reflecting a broader challenge faced by Blue Carbon initiatives in Europe. Existing standards, such as the French Méthode Herbiers de Posidonie under Label Bas-Carbone, remain underused, with only a small number of projects successfully applying them.

Against this backdrop, the panel aims to explore viable pathways for unlocking the potential of Blue Carbon in voluntary carbon markets—an area of growing interest for European climate strategies. Discussions will highlight strengths and weaknesses of current frameworks, market dynamics, and the conditions needed to ensure environmental integrity and market uptake.

A Diverse Line-up of Speakers: the panel brings together prominent voices from research institutions, regional governments, EU bodies, and carbon-market organizations: Simone Bonamano (University of Tuscia & CMCC) – Marine researcher and co-architect of the SeaForest carbon accounting methodology; Matteo Bellotta (CMCC) – Expert in climate-resilient ecosystem services and member of the Italian COP29 delegation, contributing to AFOLU negotiations; Soledad Vivas (Regional Government of Andalusia) – Coordinator of marine conservation policies and leader in Blue Carbon initiatives under LIFE Blue Natura; Ignacio Hernández (University of Cádiz) – Head of the Blue Carbon Laboratory and advisor to the Andalusian Climate Change Office; Rodrigo Ataíde Dias (European Commission, DG MARE) – Policy coordinator shaping the EU’s Sustainable Blue Economy and Horizon Europe research priorities; Alberto Pierattini (University of Tuscia & CURSA) – Marine ecologist specializing in coastal dynamics and Mediterranean ecosystems; Aurora D’Aprile (International Emissions Trading Association, IETA) – EU policy officer with deep expertise in carbon markets, EU ETS, CBAM, and Article 6 mechanisms; Michele Rumiz (Carbonsink) – Senior regional manager leading carbon project sourcing and market intelligence across emerging climate technologies.

Building Europe’s Blue Carbon Future: LIFE SeaForest panel will serve as a key moment to synthesize scientific advances, regulatory challenges, and market insights. By fostering dialogue among those directly shaping the future of Blue Carbon, the conference aims to accelerate the integration of marine ecosystems, especially Posidonia oceanica meadows—into Europe’s climate mitigation strategies.

On 18 and 19 November 2025, the official monitoring visit of the SEAFOREST project took place on La Maddalena Island, organized by the project consortium in collaboration with the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena, with the participation of CINEA Project Advisor Hana Mandelikova and the external monitors appointed by CINEA, Carlo Ponzio (technical) and Veronika Soproska (financial). The visit was structured over two days: the first day, held at the Park Centre, focused on technical and administrative meetings, during which project progress, achieved results, issues raised during the previous visit, and financial matters were discussed, with the aim of planning the project closure and preparing the Final Report; the second day was entirely field-based, visiting the project intervention areas in the archipelago, with a particular focus on Porto Madonna, where the restoration of Posidonia oceanica habitats and the installation of an eco-friendly mooring system designed to reduce anchoring impacts on the seabed were presented. The visit allowed CINEA to directly assess the effectiveness of the techniques applied, the status of the installations, and the results achieved, while discussing the working methodologies, monitoring criteria, and prospects for maintaining and replicating the interventions in other marine protected areas. This monitoring visit represented a crucial step in the SEAFOREST project, enabling the team to address the remaining technical and administrative aspects and prepare for the project closure with full awareness of the objectives achieved and the challenges ahead.

FINAL CONFERENCE SEAFOREST LIFE – “THE FORESTS OF THE SEA”

On 28 November 2025, at the ISPRA headquarters in Rome, the final conference of the LIFE SeaForest project will take place.

The event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by a lunch offered to participants.

It will also be possible to attend the conference online, with simultaneous Italian-English translation available.

The conference represents an important occasion for international exchange and dissemination of the project results, highlighting LIFE SeaForest’s tangible contribution to the protection of the Mediterranean’s natural capital and the enhancement of the priority marine habitat 1120*.

The meeting will be structured in three thematic sessions:

I) Tools for the Conservation of Habitat H1120*: presentation of the experiences carried out in the three Italian National Parks involved in the project, and an in-depth look at the PNRR Marine Ecosystem Restoration initiative, which includes actions for the restoration and protection of marine habitats, strengthening the national monitoring system, and mapping coastal and marine habitats of conservation interest in Italian waters.

II) Conservation and Restoration: focus on the health status of seagrass meadows, with a presentation of the reforestation techniques tested by LIFE SeaForest and the experiences of the BlueForest project.

III) Blue Carbon in Europe: roundtable discussion with experts and institutional representatives from Italy, Spain, Belgium, and France, dedicated to European perspectives on enhancing blue carbon. The discussion will be introduced by the presentation of the LIFE SeaForest experience on estimating carbon sinks for the priority habitat 1120* (SeaForest Standard), followed by an overview of the results and methodologies developed within the LIFE Blue Nature project, dedicated to enhancing ecosystem services and certifying blue carbon.

To register for the conference, please fill out the dedicated form.

Download the event program.

Useful information (in ITA).

Milan, May 23, 2025 – At the evocative One Ocean Dome in Piazza XXIV Maggio, the event "Blue Carbon Projects in the Mediterranean – From Pilot Initiatives to Large-Scale Climate Action" brought together experts, researchers, and institutional stakeholders committed to the conservation of Posidonia oceanica meadows—one of the most strategic marine ecosystems in the fight against climate change.

Posidonia oceanica: a natural ally under threat: the Mediterranean Sea, a semi-enclosed basin highly vulnerable to climate change, is warming at twice the global average rate. In this context, Posidonia oceanica meadows represent an essential ecological and climate asset: they can absorb up to 1,500 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per hectare and host around 20% of Mediterranean marine species. Yet over the past 50 years, the region has lost 29% of these meadows, making coordinated action more urgent than ever.

From pilot projects to the challenge of scale: projects like SeaForest LIFE, active in the National Parks of La Maddalena, Asinara, and Cilento, and Blue Forest, carried out in Cala di Volpe (Sardinia), stand as successful examples of marine restoration and conservation. However, the field still lacks the "critical mass" needed to generate large-scale impact.

A key to scaling up lies in the certification of carbon credits linked to Posidonia meadows. Scientific methodologies now exist to credibly quantify avoided and removed emissions through meadow restoration—such as the method developed by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) and the University of Tuscia—but none have yet been officially recognized by leading international or national standards.

A strategic dialogue between research, institutions, and standards: the event featured a roundtable moderated by Jan Pachner (One Ocean Foundation) and Andrea Maggiani (Carbonsink), with contributions from prominent voices including Ian Short (Social Carbon), Saverio Maluccio (CREA), and representatives from research institutions such as CMCC and the Universities of Genoa, Sassari, and Tuscia.

Key topics of discussion included: the official recognition of avoidance/removal methodologies; current scientific and operational gaps; the identification of reliable monitoring metrics for credibility and replicability; the need for common guidelines to integrate Posidonia into voluntary carbon and biodiversity markets.

A collaborative ecosystem for marine conservation: speakers from D.R.E.Am. Italia and the Asinara National Park shared insights from the SeaForest project, while Oceancy presented its “Save the Wave” initiative in the Tremiti Islands. The One Ocean Foundation highlighted progress on its Blue Forest project in partnership with academic institutions, including researchers from the Universities of Genoa and Sassari. The event underscored the urgency of building an operational alliance between science, climate finance, and institutions, capable of turning underwater meadows into recognized and remunerated tools for climate mitigation.