A joint R&I project will be implemented, thereby facilitating CMMI in developing capacities to perform baseline assessments of:

1. Physicochemical parameters collected from coastal sediments and waters (surface and column) which are likely to be affected by Climate Change and Ocean Acidification.
2. Marine pollution levels in key sites around Cyprus which are likely to disrupt ecosystem services.
3. The health status of key shallow water benthic and planktonic habitats that are highly ecologically diverse and are important for ecosystem functioning and carbon capture and therefore highly significant as Blue Carbon ecosystems (e.g., shallow rocky reefs and seagrass). The collected data will then be analysed and interpreted by CMMI and the Advanced Partners to be used for designing and implementing in-situ benthic incubation experiments to investigate and determine the habitat provisioning and metabolic functioning of native and alien bioengineering species under normal conditions, as well as benthic mesocosm experiments to assess the risk effects of stressors (e.g., increased temperature, pollutants) under different scenarios, on key littoral biota. The results will be used to propose management plans for monitoring, conservation & restoration, and policy adjustments.