Designing the innovative eco-mooring zone BlueOasis that benefits the local economy

Implementation

Bordeaux, France

March 2023 – Today

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Project background

Designated mooring zones, remedies for the destruction of marine ecosystems, are difficult to fund

In the last 50 years, 34 per cent of Posidonia seagrass meadows – which serve as carbon sinks and biodiversity havens – have disappeared along the Mediterranean coast, due in part to anchor damage. In the tropics, coral reefs are similarly affected. For example, in parts of the British Virgin Islands that see high human traffic, reefs have lost 40 per cent of their coral because of anchoring.

Territories wishing to provide recreational boaters with security and comfort while avoiding the environmental challenges posed by wild anchoring can set up a designated mooring zone. However, the process of doing so presents many administrative and financial hurdles and these prevent municipalities and protected areas from going ahead.

The required mooring infrastructure is costly to install – particularly if it is eco-designed – and to run. Municipalities also struggle to plan for potential financial and technical problems, preventing them from properly assessing the project’s viability.

Given the current value of tCO2 on the voluntary market, it is very unlikely that financing eco-moorings could be done solely by generating carbon credits.

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Project background

An innovative concept for designated mooring zones

BlueSeeds thus pioneered a co-financing strategy to encourage the widespread adoption of eco-moorings across the Mediterranean.

We have been thinking carefully about the future of mooring zones. Socio-economics being hard-wired into BlueSeeds’ DNA, we took our conception of eco-moorings beyond that of a conservation tool to consider how we might optimise their potential by turning them into services that generate socio-economic benefits for the local area.

We devised BlueOasis, an innovative mooring zone concept that addresses both the environmental and economic challenges experienced in coastal areas affected by recreational boating. It is intended for use by coastal municipalities and MPAs who have installed, or plan to install, an official mooring zone.

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BlueOasis features

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Our achievements

Characteristics of a BlueOasis mooring area

Making mooring zones more attractive to recreational boaters

BlueOasis mooring zones will offer recreational boaters a unique set of services, sufficiently attractive to draw them away from wild anchoring.

Our online buoy reservation system, BlueMooring, enables boaters to book a buoy in a few clicks, either in advance or on arrival at the site, by scanning a QR code affixed to the buoy. The platform will also offer boaters the opportunity to buy various concierge services from the comfort of their boat to help them make the most of their stay: these might include rubbish collection, shipyard repairs, or electrically powered shuttle services to and from the shore. Moreover, BlueMooring’s online marketplace will allow them to book ecotourism activities and locally sourced food services quickly and easily

A natural haven, well looked after

Right from the start, tools, protocols and indicators will be on hand to evaluate the project’s environmental impact.

The eco-moorings will enable conservation of the seabed. Moreover, BlueSeeds will support the management in carrying out nature restoration work, such as replanting and the installation of biomimetic infrastructure to bring back biodiversity.

Adopting BlueOasis involves the monitoring of biodiversity, ecosystem health (seagrass meadows and coral reefs) and water quality, making use of technological aids such as artificial intelligence and sensors. By regularly measuring carbon capture, managers will also be able to sell carbon credits, representing an additional revenue stream

Economic gains for local businesses

A BlueOasis mooring zone is an asset to any municipality wishing to stimulate its entrepreneurial economy, or to any MPA looking for supplementary funding.

From the comfort of their vessel, a boater can use BlueMooring’s online marketplace to book activities and services provided by local businesses: ecotourism, cultural and sporting activities, catering services specialising in locally sourced ingredients, and more. Such services will make boaters’ stay more enjoyable and more environmentally responsible.

Easier moorings management

Managers of BlueOasis mooring zones will be supplied with BlueMooring. This tool saves them time on mooring administration: via the online dashboard, they can keep track of bookings as well as data on visitor numbers. Mooring fees are collected automatically.

Using BlueMooring’s interactive map, field workers can check which buoys are in use in real time, even from their patrol boat. This saves them time and enables them to act quickly when necessary.

Well-informed visitors

BlueOasis turns designated mooring zones into hotspots for public education, providing an opportunity to alert visitors to the threats confronting coastal environments.

Boaters who use BlueMooring’s online marketplace to book ecotourism activities to explore the area can be exposed to awareness-raising information at the same time.

During their stay, those visitors keen to support local environmental efforts can participate in on-site conservation activities, such as rubbish collection, or contribute to participatory science initiatives by publishing photos of anything unusual they spot at the site on the BlueMooring website

Our achievements

Implementing a BlueOasis mooring area

Backed by a range of technological and management solutions, a BlueOasis mooring zone can serve to protect ecosystems, raise recreational boaters’ awareness of environmental issues and promote local businesses.

BlueOasis allows mooring zones to be managed sustainably, thanks to a viable economic model based on revenue generation at multiple levels.

By providing advice and co-building support, BlueSeeds will accompany project leaders through the strategic and technical decision-making processes linked to establishing a BlueOasis zone, from the preparatory stages to putting the infrastructure in place. We tailor the model in line with the specifics of the site and the phase of development the mooring zone project has reached.

The holistic approach underpinning BlueOasis makes the most of mooring zones, transforming these conservation tools into valuable resources that generate broader socioeconomic benefits for the local area.

Our achievements

The economic and environmental benefits of a BlueOasis mooring area

A BlueOasis mooring zone will generate several income streams: mooring fees collected via he BlueMooring , redistributed proceeds generated by the marketplace, and carbon credit sales linked to ecological gains. Tapping into these income streams will require an initial outlay of funds to establish the BlueOasis zone. After that stage, provided management costs are optimised, BlueOasis will finance itself without the need for additional funding.

BlueOasis will improve conservation management at the site where it is used. It will bring about numerous environmental improvements: an increase in the surface area of seagrass meadows and coral reefs protected from anchor damage, restored biodiversity, and additional carbon capture.

The system also draws on the touristic appeal of the coastal area and establishes a link between the visitors and the local economy, notably by promoting interaction between boaters and local businesses via its online marketplace for local services.

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Designing the innovative eco-mooring zone BlueOasis that benefits the local economy

Implementation

Official project name

Affiliation project

Financing

Coordinator(s)

Partner(s)

Designated mooring zones, remedies for the destruction of marine ecosystems, are difficult to fund

Given the current value of tCO2 on the voluntary market, it is very unlikely that financing eco-moorings could be done solely by generating carbon credits.

An innovative concept for designated mooring zones

Characteristics of a BlueOasis mooring area

Making mooring zones more attractive to recreational boaters

A natural haven, well looked after

Economic gains for local businesses

Easier moorings management

Well-informed visitors

Implementing a BlueOasis mooring area

The holistic approach underpinning BlueOasis makes the most of mooring zones, transforming these conservation tools into valuable resources that generate broader socioeconomic benefits for the local area.

The economic and environmental benefits of a BlueOasis mooring area

Assessing the needs of Mediterranean mooring zone project managers

Developing a financing model for eco-mooring zones based on carbon stocks in Posidonia seagrass meadows

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