Supporting Managing Authorities to Restore the Oceans and Waters on Islands

Project Overview and Objectives:
The Isla Bonita project aligns with the European Ocean Pact to support island managing authorities in driving systemic transitions toward climate resilience and ocean health across three lighthouse basins. Coordinated by PLOCAN, the initiative addresses Mission Ocean objectives through nine stakeholder-led Living Labs, a curated portfolio of nature-based solutions (NBS), and a permanent Mission Ocean Accelerator Hub to attract investment for sustainable roadmaps. By bringing together partners from related lighthouse projects, Isla Bonita aims to co-develop adaptable, bankable solutions that can be scaled beyond the initial demonstration islands to benefit wider EU island communities.

AIR Centre’s Role in Cross-Basin Task Force:
The AIR Centre plays a key strategic role in facilitating knowledge exchange, building cross-regional collaboration, and bridging the project's specific island demonstrations with broader Mission Ocean initiatives (e.g. BlueMissionAA2030). Working alongside the project's Cross-Basin Task Force, the AIR Centre helps ensure that lessons learned from individual Living Labs are effectively shared across all three lighthouse basins. By connecting island-specific outcomes with wider ocean communities and contributing to joint communication and dissemination efforts, the AIR Centre enhances the project's overall reach, consistency, and long-term replication potential.

AIR Centre’s Involvement in Demo 3 (Azores):
In Demo 3, focused on the Azores, the AIR Centre supports the transition toward an acoustically neutral ocean environment by advancing sustainable, technology-driven whale watching practices. The demonstration co-creates vessel compliance standards and evaluates an AI-powered, optimized journey planner for local tour operators using real-time sensors and data-driven insights. Specifically, the AIR Centre is responsible for the operational characterization of whale watching vessels and exploring the integration of Earth Observation (EO) data technology to improve monitoring and promote eco-friendly maritime tourism.