ELDORADO
ELDORADO : Sustainable Management and Restoration of Marine Resources in Brest Harbor: The Contribution of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to the Resilience of an Over-exploited Socio-Ecosystem
Scientific supervisor: Aline BLANCHET-AURIGNY
Host institution: Ifremer
Context
The Brest harbor is a marine socio-ecosystem that, since the 18th century, has experienced a series of collapses in its exploited resources – particularly bivalve populations – as well as degradation of its benthic habitats. Among these, native oyster beds and maërl beds- habitats remarkably rich in biodiversity – have been severely affected, triggering cascading effects on associated species and undermining the resilience of the entire system. Previous management approaches, which were sectoral and compartmentalized, failed to stem these crises because they did not take into account the ecological and socio-economic interactions that shape the overall functioning of the bay. Against a backdrop of climate change, biodiversity loss, exacerbated biotic imbalances, multiple anthropogenic pressures, and regulatory changes, a transition is imperative.
The project
The ELDORADO project aims to co-develop Nature-based Solutions (NbS) with local stakeholders to restore and sustainably manage the bay’s marine resources. It is based on three pilot sites that will serve as living labs to test innovative practices: sustainable fishing, active restoration, and bio-inspired ecological engineering aimed at restocking bivalves of interest.
ELDORADO’s approach is multidisciplinary and integrative, drawing on ecology, socioeconomics, and modeling. It will combine monitoring of ecological connectivity, assessment of the passive restoration potential of maërl beds, quantification of the ecosystem services provided by this habitat, analysis of the role of predators in bivalve dynamics and their response to stress, active restoration experiments using acoustic restoration and bio-inspired, bio-based eco-engineering, the deployment of innovative and non-invasive monitoring methods, modeling of socio-ecological feedback loops to identify levers for action and simulate different scenarios for sustainable exploitation, as well as a participatory approach mobilizing citizen science and local stakeholders to co-evaluate the costs and benefits of NbS.
The project aims to break the cycle of degradation, restore key habitats and their associated ecological functions, and lay the groundwork for a replicable model of sustainable governance based on stakeholder engagement and locally tested solutions.