COBRA Webinar – March 2025

Conservation and restoration at nodule fields and hydrothermal vents

Dr. Sabine Gollner (NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)

DEEP REST is a project under the BiodivRestore COFUND Action, carried out by a European Consortium with 15 partners from 8 countries, that develops approaches to improve conservation and restoration capacities in two deep-ocean ecosystems threatened by mining: nodule fields and hydrothermal vents. The project partners study through different work packages (1) the connectivity and diversity of species and functions, (2) their recovery potential and resilience, (3) the effectiveness of active and passive restoration actions, as well as (4) ecosystem services, governance and geopolitical dimensions. A further focus lies on (5) capacity building, stakeholder engagement and policy.

In this webinar, an update is given on some of the recent progresses, including for example the co-development of a DEEP REST/DOSI information sheet on the mitigation hierarchy in the context of deep-sea mining that has been shared with delegates at the International Seabed Authority.

Sabine Gollner is a deep-sea benthic ecologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and work package lead within the DEEP REST project. The DEEP REST project is coordinated by Jozee Sarrazin from IFREMER, France.