The EcApRHA project

The EcApRHA project (Applying an Ecosystem Approach to (sub) Regional Habitat Assessment) co-financed by the EU DG Environment was a 15-month (December 2015 – February 2017) project, which focused on addressing gaps in the development of biodiversity (pelagic, benthic and food webs) indicators for the OSPAR Regions. In particular, the project aimed to overcome challenges in the development of indicators relating to the MSFD (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 56/2008/EU), such as Descriptor D1 (Biodiversity), D4 (Food webs) and D6 (Seafloor integrity). Our work mainly concerned Food Webs trying to develop holistic (all the ecosystem is considered) and functional (based on flows of organic matter) indicators. The work was realized by Georges Safi, with Nathalie Niquil’s supervision, in close connection with the COBAM group of OSPAR convention.