LIFE: sustaining the ocean that sustains us

Launched in June 2025, the European Ocean Pact brings EU ocean and marine policies together under one single framework to address some of the biggest threats to our oceans, coastal communities and islands.

The oceans are vital for Europeans - they support 5 million jobs, contribute €250 billion each year to the EU economy and carry 74% of all export trade. That's why the LIFE programme funds projects ranging from restoring coastal habitats to tackling marine pollution. As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, 'Ocean is water, water is life.'

In Italy and Greece for example, the 4-year, €2.3 million REEForest LIFE project is restoring underwater macroalgal seaweed forests which help tackle climate impacts by capturing and storing large amounts of carbon. New seaweed is grown in purpose-built university laboratories before being transplanted by divers using special frames across 4 marine protected areas. By the close of the project in 2026, nearly 7 000 specimens will have been grown and replanted, with a predicted survival rate of up to 99%.

"With REEForest, we are not only restoring macroalgal forests but also developing innovative and scientifically robust protocols that can be transferred and scaled up across both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic," explains Professor Annalisa Falace from the University of Trieste, coordinator of the project. "Our work represents a crucial step towards reconnecting fragmented populations and ensuring the long-term resilience of these habitats in the face of climate change."

Also in Italy and also supporting the European Ocean Pact is LIFE DELFI which closed at the end of 2024. Faced with more than 200 annual dolphin by-catch fatalities, the €4.9 million LIFE project provided 500 local fishers with nearly 600 acoustic and visual deterrent devices, and 900 alternative fish traps. The devices were tested on more than 200 vessels over 1 000 days, with spectacular results - the acoustic pingers saw a 50% drop in dolphin interactions, while the alternative traps eliminated dolphin deaths completely. 90 fishers were also trained to operate in 8 rescue teams to help dolphins in distress.

"With REEForest, we are not only restoring macroalgal forests but also developing innovative and scientifically robust protocols that can be transferred and scaled up across both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic," explains Professor Annalisa Falace from the University of Trieste, coordinator of the project. "Our work represents a crucial step towards reconnecting fragmented populations and ensuring the long-term resilience of these habitats in the face of climate change."

LIFE DELFI and REEForest LIFE are just 2 of the dozens of LIFE projects whose work supports the aims of the European Ocean Pact, the Marine Strategy Framework, the Common Fisheries Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy.