DEVOTES stands for "DEVelopment Of innovative Tools for
understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good
Environmental Status". DEVOTES is a four year project, which has
a total budget of € 12 million, of which €9 million are funded
by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. DEVOTES is
coordinated by Ángel Borja, from AZTI-Tecnalia, a Spanish
technological centre, specialized in marine and food research.
More than 250 scientists, from 23 research centres of 12
European Union countries, as well as Ukraine, Turkey, Saudi
Arabia and USA, will work in DEVOTES to improve the knowledge of
human activities and global change impacts on marine
biodiversity. The experts will analyze the existing indicators,
and will develop new ones, to assess biodiversity in a
harmonized way, within the four European Regional Seas (Baltic
Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea). The first
meeting will be held, from 6th to 9th November, on the island of
Mallorca (Spain). The scientists will develop and vali