Policy brief: Advancing benthic monitoring for marine biodiversity policy implementation

To meet the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

(MSFD), the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), and the Habitats

Directive, Member States must strengthen their capacity to monitor marine ecosystems, particularly benthic

biodiversity and habitat condition. Current monitoring efforts are often insufficient to assess ecological status,

track restoration targets, or support coordinated reporting across regions.

Within the OBAMA-NEXT project, Deliverable 3.5 presents a policy brief that highlights how selected

Information Products (IPs) help fill these policy-relevant data gaps. The brief was developed under Task 3.5 –

Identify Gaps and Establish Best Practices and builds on technical outputs from Deliverables 6.1 (Data

Requirements for Key Policies) and 3.1 (Review of Existing and Emerging Techniques for Benthic Observations).

It was co-developed with project scientists involved in operational monitoring and through stakeholder

engagement.

The selected IPs address priority data needs by improving standardisation, spatial coverage, indicator

development, and technological integration. Contributions include high-resolution habitat mapping using drone

and satellite data, comparison of remote sensing and model-based mapping tools, biomass and carbon

assessments using green LiDAR, and harmonised guidance on eDNA applications. These outputs collectively

support improved assessments under MSFD, WFD, NRR habitat baselines, and Habitats Directive conservation

reporting, as well as the development of Essential Biodiversity and Ocean Variables (EOVs and EBVs).

The deliverable concludes with targeted recommendations to facilitate policy uptake of emerging tools and

workflows, promote standardisation, and enhance long-term capacity across Member States. These include

actions to integrate remote sensing and eDNA into regulatory frameworks, strengthen habitat condition

assessments, and scale up proven OBAMA-NEXT methodologies across European marine regions.