Why this matters
Healthy marine habitats sustain biodiversity, climate regulation and food security. Europe’s seas are under pressure, and the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 all require Member States to map, assess and restore degraded marine ecosystems — but the underlying knowledge is fragmented across institutions and projects.
What LIFE MAPPER does
LIFE MAPPER consolidates knowledge, methodologies and best practices in marine restoration across the European Union, turning scattered evidence into a coordinated, open and operational resource for practitioners. The project works along the full restoration chain: habitat mapping, condition assessment, restoration measures and spatial prioritisation, supported by capacity building across Member States.
The Knowledge Platform
The project’s open Knowledge Platform organises the evidence into curated chapters, video tutorials and a searchable catalogue of resources, so that researchers, marine managers and policymakers can find what they need and apply it.
At a glance
- Programme: Co-funded by the European Union — LIFE Programme
- Coordinator: CNR-ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council, Italy)
- Consortium: seven partners across three EU countries
- Focus: habitat mapping, ecological condition assessment, restoration, marine spatial planning
- Output: open Knowledge Platform + methodologies aligned with EU directives
This factsheet is project communication material. For the full searchable evidence base, see the Knowledge Platform.