Eutrophication and acidification in the North Sea: Advancing on SDGs indicators monitoring, reporting and accounting

The SDGs-EYES webinar “Eutrophication and acidification in the North Sea: Advancing on SDGs indicators monitoring, reporting and accounting” will provide an in-depth exploration of critical environmental challenges and solutions. This webinar highlights the innovative Copernicus-based tool delivering advanced mapping of SDG indicators for the North Sea, supporting local and European policy-making processes in sustainable marine resource management.

Participants will gain insights into the pilot‘s advanced tools and datasets, designed to enhance stakeholders’ understanding and response strategies to sustainable management of marine resources and ecosystems. The webinar will foster discussions on potential applications, align solutions with user needs, and encourage the adoption of the pilot’s outcomes to address real-world challenges.

Key Highlights

• Enhancing coastal monitoring remains a priority. The panel underscored significant data gaps, especially in coastal areas, where monitoring is either insufficient or fragmented. Although Copernicus Marine Service provides global to regional data, along with in situ observations and satellite surveys, more local scale data are needed to better capture punctual variations in eutrophication and acidification.
• Data integration and validation remain major challenges. A key barrier to wider adoption of EO-based marine monitoring is the complexity of integrating different data sources (satellite, in situ, and model-based) into a single, validated framework. Scientific validation processes take time, and ensuring the accuracy and consistency of EO-derived indicators for policy use remains a challenge.
• Automation and cloud-based tools play a key role in simplifying marine data processing. Advancements in automated workflows, cloud computing, and AI-driven tools were highlighted as key enablers in making marine monitoring more efficient, scalable, and accessible. User-friendly platforms that integrate EO data lower the barrier to entry for policymakers and non-expert users, but greater awareness and training are still needed for widespread adoption.
• Bridging the gap between scientific indicators and policy frameworks. A major challenge discussed was harmonising research-grade indicators with policy-driven frameworks, such as SDG reporting. Institutions like HELCOM and GEO Blue Planet are working to align regional monitoring methodologies with global standards, ensuring that EO-based indicators are both scientifically robust and policy-compatible.
• Capacity-building is key to increasing adoption of EO-driven marine monitoring. Panelists stressed the importance of training programmes and institutional support to help stakeholders understand and apply EO data in marine management. Long-term sustainability requires accessible tools, continuous knowledge transfer, and integration of training within national statistical offices, academia, and policy institutions.
• The future of marine monitoring towards a Digital Twin of the Ocean. The European Digital Twin of the Ocean was identified as a major opportunity for centralising and improving access to marine environmental data. By creating an interoperable, high-resolution digital representation of the ocean, the initiative aims to enhance forecasting, facilitate policy making, and support environmental conservation efforts on a broader scale.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

The webinar underscored the importance of collaboration, awareness, and innovation in enhancing EO-based marine monitoring and supporting SDG reporting. Discussions highlighted the need for stronger partnerships between governments, research institutions, and the private sector to ensure that EO tools are not only accessible but also effectively harmonised and integrated into decision-making. A key challenge identified was the lack of awareness and technical capacity among some end-users, reinforcing the need for tailored capacity-building initiatives.

The session further highlighted the critical role of interoperability between EU marine data platforms, facilitating improved access to harmonised environmental data. While the Copernicus Marine Service provides extensive datasets, gaps remain in high-resolution coastal monitoring and in situ observations, necessitating further refinement of marine indicators to better capture local variations in eutrophication and acidification. The increasing role of automation and cloud-based tools was also highlighted as a means to streamline marine data processing and improve scalability.

Looking ahead, the project will prioritise user engagement and further uptake of the pilot’s service, with several participants already showing interest in applying the methodology within their own monitoring frameworks. Continued feedback and collaboration will be essential to refining and integrating these tools into broader environmental monitoring efforts.