The FORCOAST project addresses the topic “DT-SPACE-01-EO-2018-2020 COPERNICUS MARKET UPTAKE” which seeks to foster market development exploiting the value of Copernicus Earth Observation Products. FORCOAST aims to provide information services that offer high resolution water quality and met-ocean indicators in coastal and nearshore areas, to improve operation, planning and management of different marine activities in the sectors of wild fisheries, oystergrounds restoration, and bivalve mariculture. FORCOAST information products and services will be co-designed with stakeholders, thereby ensuring that these products and services are tailored to meet their needs. FORCOAST is developing, testing and demonstrating, in operational mode, novel Copernicus-based downstream information services that will incorporate Copernicus Marine, Land and Climate Services Products, local monitoring data and advanced modelling in the service. The services will integrate Copernicus Earth Observation Products with local models and other diverse data sources (local, regional or global) with ICT (enhancing new frontiers opened by web, and use of cloud) across the different market segments. FORCOAST will provide consistent coastal data products, based on a standardized data processing scheme. FORCOAST is supporting the concept of developing an advanced platform and cloud computing for Copernicus-based downstream services utilizing one of the DIAS systems. The availability and accessibility of data and derived products generated will stimulate their exploitation by a wide range of user communities in the targeted sectors. FORCOAST will provide those services in eight pilot service uptake sites covering five different regional waters (North Sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the coastal Atlantic Ocean).

The UNITED (multi-Use platforms and co-locatioN pilots boosting cost-effecTive, and Eco-friendly and sustainable production in marine environments) project provides evidence by means of pilot demonstrators that the development of multi-use platforms or co-location of different activities in a marine and ocean space is a viable approach (economically, socially and environmentally) for European maritime industry and local ecosystems. The main activities centre around 5 pillars defined through the BG-05 call (i.e. Technology, Economy, Legal/Governance/Policy, Society, and Environment). The technological pillar comprises the need for synchronization of multiple operation and maintenance systems, local market stakeholders impact, support in management and planning decisions for new developments, as well as improvements in current design, safety and infrastructure set-ups for multi-use extensions. The economic pillar will investigate insurance issues, profitability/threshold to finance/investment pay off of multi-use developments while also paying consideration to risk/health impact on business, zoning and offshore, and economic sustainability. The Legal/Policy/Governance pillar focuses on the lack of dialogue between public institutions which issue permits; the lack of health and safety regulation and standards for multi-use, zoning and offshore as well as the absence of a framework for legal responsibility in multi-use. The societal pillar includes societal debates and concerns, societal perception of multi-use social preference of multi-use versus single use, societal ownership and acceptance issues, trust issues between sectors, required improvements in professional skills and competences. The environmental pillar includes determining the impacts of the various structure designs and the overall environmental feasibility of the pilot site developments and implementation regimes.