Living Lab Salgados, an opportunity to develop and enhance ecosystems
On April 12, 25 organizations gathered at the Mar & Indústria Business Incubator in Figueira da Foz to discuss the theme of the Salgados Nacionais, the subject of study by PhD student Cátia Marques. The aim of her research is to assess the potential for developing a Living Lab focused on Sustainable Development under the value of the Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services concept.
The session was attended by Figueira da Foz City Council, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, I.P., the Portuguese Environment Agency, the University of Coimbra and the University of Aveiro, as well as companies from the tourism sector, aquaculture producers, salt producers and halophyte plants (terrestrial plants adapted to living in coastal areas) from all over the country.
The National Salt Pans are recognized as ecosystems of valuable importance in terms of maintaining and recovering services such as food supply, regulation against urban flooding, CO2 absorption, but also as a habitat for many species of flora and fauna, and for conserving knowledge and traditions. For this reason, it is necessary to value and conserve these ecosystems, and also to value and develop the economic activities associated with them in a balanced way and based on scientific knowledge: tourism, aquaculture, salt production and halophytic plants. It is considered that only with the human contribution will it be possible to maintain and recover these ecosystems and their services.
During her PhD, supervised by MARE researchers Zara Teixeira and Lia Vasconcelos, doctoral student Cátia Marques investigated cases of international innovations centered on Ecosystem Services, and consulted 65 public and private entities directly related to these ecosystems, including the DGRM - General Directorate for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services, Municipalities such as Castro Marim, Universities, other Research Centers and Collaborative Laboratories (IPMA and S2AQUAcoLAB), Associations, Cooperatives, and numerous entrepreneurs who carry out their economic activities in these ecosystems.
This contact with the various entities made it possible to understand their competencies and relationships with the National Salt Pans, to identify how they have developed their activities (using partnerships and/or financial support) and also to identify what challenges remain to be solved in order to be able to value and develop the activities created in these ecosystems.
The CAE (Classification of Economic Activities), which is unsuited to the production of salt and halophytes, and the lack of infrastructure and working conditions (access, sanitation and electricity) were some of the challenges identified as complex, but with enormous benefits if they were resolved. Among them, challenges such as the financial difficulty of collaborations between research and the private sector, and the lack of human resources for monitoring in the territory were identified by the Living Lab as priorities for resolution.
A Living Lab is expected to provide an opportunity for the development of activities in these ecosystems through the establishment of contact between all those involved in the Salgados, their collaboration to co-create ideas and solutions, and the construction of businesses based on knowledge, applied research, licensing adjusted to production needs and realities, and involvement in local, regional and national development.
The creation of a Living Lab will thus be an opportunity to develop and enhance not only these ecosystems - Salgados - but also the activities carried out here.