Over the last century and more so in recent decades, the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region have warmed significantly faster than most other inhabited regions. In the marine environment, marine heatwaves are known to severely affect marine ecosystems. Simultaneously, the Eastern Mediterranean is a global hotspot of marine bioinvasions that rapidly transform the biodiversity of coastal regions.

Research in the last decade has shown evidence of dramatic loss of native species in several important groups such as molluscs and echinoderms, driven by ocean warming. Marine pollutants, like heavy metals and litter, are additional stressors which can be transported from sediment/water column and bio-accumulate in food webs with direct impact on aquatic organisms and humans. Marine litter, especially microplastics, can be ingested by marine organisms resulting in physical damage, transfer through the food webs or death to individuals.

Effective management and policy are therefore required for the conservation of regional biota and its ecological functioning and services. Hence, good knowledge of the environment and the levels of threats and risks is required, which is an area in which Cyprus currently lacks skills, capacities, and knowledge. It is also defined as an important horizontal sector in the recently updated Smart Specialisation Strategy for Cyprus.

In response to the above needs, PUREEF-Y is proposed as a transformational Coordination and Support action capable of enhancing the science and innovation capacity of CMMI, Cyprus and Europe in the sectors of chemical oceanography and marine ecology, focusing on Climate Change and other anthropogenic stressors. It will contribute to closing the gap between actors from the EU Widening Area and strong innovators of the EU through knowledge transfer and exchange of best practices between research institutions, thus transforming CMMI into a leading institution in marine ecology and oceanography at the international level.