Veiller à la qualité des écosystèmes benthiques en zone industrialo-portuaire avec le modèle de gestion préventive Enviro-Actions

Abstract

Nowadays, nearly 40% of the human population lives near the coast, where there are many recreational, traditional and industrial activities. These ecosystems are often home to an exceptional biodiversity, where vertebrates and invertebrates benefit from varied habitats for their life cycle. In particular, benthic species (linked to the seabed) support fundamental ecosystem services, such as food provisioning or reduction of coastal erosion, and their conservation thus appears essential for sustainable anthropogenic development. For these purposes, many tools have been developed to understand the distribution and variability of benthic communities, as well as their evolution in the face of anthropogenic or natural disturbances. This is particularly relevant in industrial harbour areas where multiple human activities can impact water and sediment quality, fundamental properties of benthic habitats. The Enviro-Actions project is a framework that responds to these issues by using advanced environmental monitoring technologies and in situ observation. Several sampling stations placed in the industrial harbour area make it possible to monitor the physico-chemical variables of the habitat in near real time as well as to collect sediment. The data from these observations are integrated into a system that monitors all the parameters monitored, directly connected to public and private stakeholders in the industrial harbour area and to associated research teams. This project thus increases the capacity for preventive and adaptive management of anthropized coastal environments, while promoting the resilience of populations and the protection of ecosystems in a context of environmental change.