Open Call for Blue Economy: Economic Activities & Healthy Ecosystems in Oceans (Netherlands and Indonesia)

Oceans have multiple roles: they serve as habitats for biodiversity, for energy, fisheries, aquaculture, transport, tourism and various other industries. These different roles can lead to conflicting interests in the marine and maritime space. The research should focus on reconciling economic activities with the conservation of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. Research should combine both technical and social aspects of marine spatial planning and lead to perspectives for action. The research should be carried out in both the Netherlands and Indonesia.

This call is open to research that focuses on how to prioritise and balance economic activities in the marine, maritime and offshore space with the conservation of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. In addition, research should explore how to create synergies between maritime economic activities and marine systems. Joint research should contribute to scientific knowledge and innovative solutions in the field of sustainable blue economies.

Objectives

• The objectives of this call are:
  • To further develop the scientific and societal agenda for sustainable blue economies;
  • To create appropriate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research partnerships between the Netherlands and Indonesia;
  • Contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thematic Focus

• The blue economy is a topic of importance for both Indonesia and the Netherlands. It represents the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health. For both countries, oceans fulfil multiple uses: as habitats for biodiversity, for provision of energy, fishing, aquaculture, transport, tourism, and various other industries. These multiple uses often result in conflicting interest related to space and resources. In the Netherlands, questions arise around balancing biodiversity with economic activities such as the fishing industry, offshore wind farms, and coastal tourism. In the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, multiple uses of the ocean and sustainability questions are furthermore compounded with challenges specific to Small Island States. In Indonesia, the Blue Economy Roadmap emphasises the need for biodiversity preservation, while at the same time promoting maritime industries for economic development.
• Conflicting interests related to different uses can cause tensions related to space and resources, resulting in unsustainable uses of the oceans and causing degradation of biodiversity, overfishing, and pollution. Both countries face the necessity of balance; i.e., enabling economic activity and at the same time limiting detrimental effects of human actions.
• These multi-faceted issues involve many different actors, such as local and national governments, coastal communities, and fishing, energy and shipping industries. Knowledge gaps about how to involve different actors and stakeholders, management options for biodiversity, and how to include other social and economic aspects such as changes in behaviour and mind-set, governance aspects, human capital, and public-private partnerships make the governance and management of maritime environments difficult.
• This Call for proposals is open to research that focusses on finding prioritization of and balance in activities in the marine, maritime and offshore space. How can synergies between maritime economic activities and marine systems be fostered, creating new opportunities for balancing economic activities while at the same time conserving biodiversity and healthy sea ecosystems.
  • research should combine technical and social aspects of marine spatial planning;
  • research should lead to perspectives for action;
  • research must include sites in both Indonesia and The Netherlands.

Funding Information

• The total budget for this call is €1,400,000 on the Dutch side, and maximum ten work packages on the Indonesian side. With the available total budget, NWO and KemendikbudRistek aim to fund up to two projects together. A project can have a maximum duration of three years on the Indonesian side and four years on the Dutch side.
• On the Dutch side, projects can apply for a maximum of €700,000 at NWO. On the Indonesian side, projects can apply for a maximum of 2,000,000,000 Ruppiah per year from KemendikbudRistek. The budget applied for on the Indonesian side is subject to a review by KemendikbudRistek.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications can be submitted by consortia consisting of the following:
  • A main applicant at a Dutch knowledge institute, who will submit the application to NWO;
  • A co-applicant from a different eligible Dutch organisation than the Dutch main applicant;
  • An Indonesian main applicant from an Indonesian university eligible for receiving funding from KemendikbudRistek;
  • A co-applicant from a different eligible Indonesian organization than the Indonesian main applicant;
  • A co-applicant from a local university where the research is conducted;
  • A partner from a public, semi-public and/or private practitioner organisation from either The Netherlands or Indonesia.
• Your consortium may include additional applicants. However, it must include the above applicants in order to be eligible.

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