Abstract Summary
The Mediterranean sea is one of the most threatened areas of the world. The rapid transformations that all the planet is witnessing are multiplied in this small but crowded sea, where the rapid decline of ecosystems and resources is a fact. Alien species spreading, overfishing, local urbanistic pressures, pollution and climate change (especially water warming and acidification) are deeply transforming coastal areas at an accelerating path. The loss of complexity and biodiversity is an unquestionable fact that has an uneasy resolution. On the one hand, one of the main problems is the lack of empathy with the marine ecosystems, because we don’t see them and we think that the oceans can absorb the multiple impacts to which they are exposed. On the other hand, a serious restoration plan for the benthic communities, a “reforestation” approach, does not exists in the Mediterranean sea. We need to introduce the “gardening” concept. What we need is making a mix between Ocean Literacy and direct citizen action to make an ambitious restoration plan. The present project presents an applied solution for marine restoration in which the protagonist is the citizen. Families, individuals, leisure collectives, children and teenagers, everybody is directly involved, with the aid of a professional team, to restore damaged coastal ecosystems. The program adapts to the local needs; for example, in the Spanish Northern areas, red coral (Corallium rubrum) sanctuaries are promoted (this precious coral is an endangered species), whilst in the Southern areas the mollusk Pinna nobilis (a long lived bivalve devastated by a parasite) is one of the main restoration targets. Sociology and economic features of the restoration areas are part of our bottom-up plan, being fishermen, tourist operators, SCUBA divers, etc. involved from the beginning, attending their needs in front of such drastic changes.
