Project - Valuing Marine Ecosystem Services
Partner - The EU VALMER Project and Devon Maritime Forum

The VALMER project is focused on six case study sites at which the techniques and methods of ecosystem services assessment and its application will be tested with a variety of local stakeholders.

One of the six case study areas is off the north Devon coast in the Biosphere

The project worked with stakeholders to put some economic values on the seabed for various ecosystem services. The focus of the study was the area’s extensive seabed muds, sands and gravels, and the role they play in storing carbon, processing waste, and providing nursery grounds for commercial fish and shellfish. Using this data it has created a tool to support decision making on seabed changes including Marine Conservation Zones and renewable energy developments.

The VALMER project, co-funded by the INTERREG IV A Channel programme through the European Regional Development Fund

See the results and background to the North Devon part of the project on the VALMER website.