ZMT contributed to launching two new EU All-Atlantic initiatives for coastal resilience and ocean collaboration
This text is currently only available in English: ZMT will be contributing to two major initiatives of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) that aim to strengthen coastal resilience and collaboration among early career ocean professionals (ECOPs). The new initiatives were launched by James Morrison, the Director of "Healthy Planet" of the European Commission (DG Research & Innovation), at the All-Atlantic Forum 2025, chaired by the European Union and held in Brussels on 25 and 26 September 2025.
Martin Zimmer and Véronique Helfer from ZMT’s Programme Area 4 “Ecosystem-Design” attended the forum on behalf of the institute and KDM (Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung) and will go on co-driving the All-Atlantic Network of Coastal Resilience Beacon Sites and participating to the Blue Intergenerational Programme. They also offered to host and lead the secretariat and project office of the Beacon Sites Network at ZMT.
Martin Zimmer comments: “Our work of the last 18 months paved the way to the official launch of the All-Atlantic Network of Coastal Resilience Beacon Sites. With our activities, we aim to realize the motto of this year's forum: ‘From Enlightenment to Action’. “
1) The All-Atlantic Network of Coastal Resilience Beacon Sites brings together locally managed coastal sites that pilot solutions, share best practices and scale up actions for strengthening the resilience of coastal communities.
ZMT, with Martin Zimmer serving as scientific lead of the network, will contribute scientific expertise in the research of tropical coastal ecosystems and capacity-sharing to support the implementation and exchange of experiences among participating sites.
Véronique Helfer says: “Knowledge- and capacity-sharing are key processes to achieve coastal resilience: The compilation and integrative analysis of scientific evidence and indigenous, traditional and local knowledge on the response of natural ecosystems and social communities to environmental changes can inform spatio-temporal models of vulnerabilities versus resilience. Identifying commonalities and specificities across geographical and political spaces will help select adequate actions to be implemented at the local scale. The All-Atlantic Network of coastal resilience Beacon Sites will unite scientists and local communities in addressing this challenging task. Exchange will be facilitated by the All-Atlantic Coastal Resilience Hub where (success and failure) stories, toolkits and knowledge are being shared, making progress readily available for the Atlantic community and beyond.”
2) The Blue Intergenerational Programme connects ocean experts and practitioners across generations and regions of the Atlantic to foster mentorship, knowledge sharing and collaboration between established scientists and Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs).
ZMT aims to engage in the programme through its strong ECOP network and training activities, supporting the next generation of ocean researchers.
Martin Zimmer adds: “In the medium term, the goal is to institutionalise intergenerational dialogue between our beacon sites via ECOP exchange. A series of preparatory activities are currently underway to this end.”
Impressions from the About the All-Atlantic Forum 2025:
Martin Zimmer opening a panel on coastal resilience by summarizing the outcomes of a workshop "From Vulnerability to Resiliency: Co-Designing Coastal Resilience Pathways", co-organized by the German Marine Research Consortium of OKEANO to the High-Level Board of AAORIA, that Véronique Helfer (ZMT) co-moderated with Alexandra-Sophie Roy (KDM). | Photo: Thomas Blairon, Pixelshake
About the All-Atlantic Forum 2025:
The All-Atlantic Forum 2025 gathered around 400 participants, including researchers, policymakers and ocean stakeholders from across the Atlantic region. The event, which also welcomed Ghana as the newest AAORIA Partner, builds on more than a decade of trans-Atlantic Ocean science cooperation, spanning pole-to-pole from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Aside from sessions on ocean observation and modelling, ocean literacy and polar science, the focus of the two-day meeting was set on the launch of the new initiatives.
About the All-Atlantic Ocean Research & Innovation Alliance (AAORIA):
The All-Atlantic Ocean Research & Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) is an ocean science diplomacy initiative that unites countries across the Atlantic to generate knowledge for sustainable ocean governance and management. Guided by the All-Atlantic Declaration (signed in 2022), “reinforcing the implementation of the Galway and Belem Statements initiatives”, its partners include Argentina, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, the European Union, Ghana, Iceland, Morocco, Norway, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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