MarBEF outreach

Knowledge of marine biodiversity

Stakeholders of the coastal zone range from the very young to the very old and, as a result, constitute very different audiences. Knowledge levels of marine biodiversity vary enormously, even within a single audience. Although more than 50% of the European population lives within the coastal zone, some people rarely visit the seashore.

Surveys of university undergraduate students and coastal tourists by MarBEF projects (BIOFUSE and ArctEco, respectively) showed a wide variation in how biodiversity loss and conservation in Europe were perceived and also in how willing those surveyed would be to '''pay to preserve biodiversity'''.

These target groups were also used to obtain an understanding of the level of awareness of environmental issues within the community and this, in turn, helped to refine MarBEF’s communication strategies.

Awareness and understanding of marine biodiversity issues should not be confined to the scientific community. Promoting and developing interest and awareness of marine biodiversity should also be focused on the non-scientist. Marine biodiversity issues are appreciated by a much wider audience than the scientific community, though unfortunately the information conveyed through the media is frequently limited to pollution incidents (e.g., the Prestige disaster) or to specific habitats (e.g., coral reefs). Although more recently the debate on climate change and its potential impacts has focused the public’s attention on broader international issues.

In order to try and bridge this information gap MarBEF developed an outreach strategy to provide a structured approach to disseminating information aimed at all ages, from the very young to the very old, and all levels of knowledge.