The University of Cyprus (Department of Biological Sciences and Oceanographic Centre), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFA), has undertaken the creation of an electronic database on the marine biodiversity of Cyprus.
The aim of the collaboration is to provide a detailed and dynamic record of Cyprus’ marine biodiversity in an electronic database, so that the data can be used by any interested party, expert or not. The recording of marine biodiversity is a prerequisite for fulfilling the obligation to manage and protect marine ecosystems and to ensure their good environmental status, as derived from the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). At the same time, the detailed recording of biodiversity is essential for the monitoring of alien species and commercial fisheries.
In addition, monitoring and recording of Cyprus’ marine biodiversity is of great scientific importance and is one of the main objectives of the team involved in the agreement, the Department of Biological Sciences and the Oceanographic Centre of the University of Cyprus.
The involvement of the University in the project ensures that a solid scientific basis will be put in this electronic database and that, in addition to meeting national obligations, it will be an important tool and reference point, not only for scientific purposes, but also as a means of information for the wider public interested in biodiversity and environmental issues. The completion of the project will be a very useful tool for research and information, as it will be open access and will be able to select and retrieve any data the user wishes. The database will be updated regularly to keep it up to date with new biodiversity data added to the marine environment of Cyprus.
The project is being implemented under the EU co-funded “Marine, Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme 2021-2027” and will run until the end of 2028 with a total budget of €100,000.
The Scientific Officer for the project is Dr. Niki Hartosia (nchartos@ucy.ac.cy) of the Department of Biological Sciences and the Coordinator is the Director of the Oceanography Department, Professor George Georgiou (georgios@ucy.ac.cy)
Source: University of Cyprus| Latest news (https://shorturl.at/xNzV7)