Ria de Aveiro

Ria de Aveiro is a LTsER - Long Term Socio-economic & Ecosystem Research platform and part of Natura 2000 Network. Natural capital, ecosystem services and biodiversity, are essential for socio-economic sustainable development (regional & national level), and has enabled many economic, cultural and recreational activities (e.g., maritime traffic, agriculture, aquaculture, tourism). Nature-based solutions are being used to actively restore intertidal seagrass meadows due to invasive alien species (IAS) and fragmentation.

Challenges

  • Sea wall erosion and SLR threats – small towns
  • Water quality and water temperatures
  • Non-native and new species
  • Memory of 1953, the  “myth of protection"

Main objectives

  1. 1

    Mitigate the effects of saline intrusion and increased flooding frequency (at BVL)

  2. 2
    Restore habitats to foster C sequestration/climate adaptation, increase  biodiversity and ecosystem services in vulnerable or degraded areas
  3. 3
    Integrate natural capital value and perception with socio-economic needs from the stakeholders.

Key Opportunities

  • Several past and ongoing restoration projects (seagrasses) at Ria, facilitate the upscaling
  • Synergies with projects ongoing targetting climate mitigation and adaptation and ecosystem-based management
  • Stakeholders from different sectors engaged; Authorities engagement in REWRITE & other ongoing projects: e.g. Intermunicipality Comunity of Aveiro Region (11 municipalities), National Institute for Nature and Forests Conservation (ICNF)

Current and future restoration actions

Contact Person

Main contact
Ana Sousa