The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme is awarding US$25 million in grants to seven large-scale projects, marking an ambitious step forward in the restoration of Europe’s marine and coastal environments. Spanning nearly 3 million hectares—an area the size of Belgium—these projects will focus on reversing habitat loss, improving ecological connectivity, and strengthening protections across some of the region’s most ecologically important seascapes.

“It’s exciting to be supporting a number of projects looking to surface and solve marine restoration challenges,” says Berry Mulligan, Seascapes Programme Manager at the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme. “These places are often out of sight and out of mind to most of us landlubbers, yet our culture and communities in Europe are tightly bound with the sea, and a stable future depends on a healthy ocean.”

European seas play a crucial role in supporting marine life, coastal economies, and climate resilience. From oyster and mussel beds to estuaries and salt marshes, these habitats help sustain fisheries, buffer shorelines, and capture carbon. However, decades of pollution, overfishing, and habitat loss have taken a heavy toll, leaving many areas in need of urgent intervention, both to remove threats and return key species to the ecosystem.

The newly funded projects span a diverse range of environments, from the Dogger Bank in the North Sea to the Neptune grass meadows of the Mediterranean. They will focus on restoring ecological processes, improving habitat conditions for marine species, and ensuring long-term sustainability through collaborative restoration efforts.

Here’s how these seven projects will help shape the future of Europe’s seas.

Rewilding the Dogger Bank (North Sea – UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark)

Lead organisation: Doggerland Foundation

Once a thriving marine ecosystem, the Dogger Bank is a vast sandbank in the North Sea, stretching across 2.5 million hectares of UK, Dutch, German, and Danish waters. Over centuries, relentless trawling, dredging, and resource extraction have stripped away much of its biodiversity, leaving degraded habitats where flourishing marine life once thrived. Now, the Doggerland Foundation is leading an ambitious effort to reverse this decline. Their project takes a multi-pronged approach—building a transboundary restoration coalition, pushing for stronger legal protections, and working to bring back the horse mussel reefs that once supported an array of marine species. Restoring these reefs will help stabilise the seabed, provide vital shelter and spawning grounds, and set the stage for a broader recovery of this crucial marine ecosystem.

Reviving Lemnos (Greece)

Lead organisation: BirdLife Europe & Central Asia

Surrounded by the North Aegean Sea, Lemnos Island and its waters support a wealth of marine life. Covering 20,000 hectares, this seascape holds the largest Neptune grass meadow in the eastern Mediterranean, a habitat that helps stabilise the seabed, capture carbon, and sustain a diverse range of species. Among them are angel sharks, Mediterranean monk seals, Audouin’s gulls, and Yelkouan shearwaters, many of which are increasingly at risk due to habitat loss. Coastal development, overfishing, and invasive species are accelerating the decline of these ecosystems, threatening the delicate balance that has long supported wildlife in the region. In response, BirdLife Europe & Central Asia, in collaboration with the Hellenic Ornithological Society, iSea and the Municipality of Lemnos, is leading a restoration project to improve habitat conditions and strengthen conservation efforts. By addressing these pressures and enhancing ecosystem resilience, the initiative will help ensure that Lemnos remains a stronghold for marine biodiversity while also supporting climate adaptation.

Transforming the Thames (UK)

Lead organisation: Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

Flowing from the UK’s capital, the Greater Thames Estuary is more than just a busy waterway—it is also home to an expansive coastal landscape that stretches across 250,000 hectares. Its intertidal and freshwater habitats provide crucial nursery and foraging grounds for species such as sea bass, flounder, and the Critically Endangered European eel, while also supporting internationally important bird populations and rare invertebrates. Despite its ecological significance, habitat fragmentation and human pressures have taken a toll on the region’s biodiversity. Led by the ZSL, this project aims to restore and reconnect these fragmented habitats, reducing pressures and strengthening protections to help wildlife recover. By improving conditions for fish, birds, and other marine species, the initiative seeks to revive the natural richness of the Thames and restore its role as a thriving coastal ecosystem for people and wildlife.

Rewild Cyprus Seas (Northern Cyprus – Turkish Cypriot Community)

Lead organisation: Society for Protection of Turtles (SPOT)

Heavy fishing, coastal industries, and tourism have caused significant biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean and along the coasts of the island of Cyprus. While a ban on industrial fishing and slow economic growth have curbed this decline in northern Cyprus, small-scale fisheries continue to deplete marine vertebrate populations, threatening their ecological roles. Led by SPOT), this project will build on recent efforts to address overfishing and bycatch in a 17,596 ha area by using new small-scale fisheries co-management regulations as a roadmap. The initiative will reduce threats, monitor progress, and promote collaboration among stakeholders to establish No Take Zones and Fishery Restricted Areas. Additionally, it will restore key seabird nesting sites and develop ‘pescatourism’ to protect culturally rich communities in the Karpaz Peninsula.

Sejerø Seascape (Denmark)

Lead organisation: WWF-DK

Encompassing 81,500 ha, Sejerø Bay’s marine biodiversity has severely declined due to historical habitat degradation. Between the 1960s and 1980s, 14.4 million tons of pebble stones were extracted from reefs for use in construction, causing significant damage to the ecosystem. Seagrass meadows vanished, and cod populations collapsed from overfishing and habitat loss. This project, led by WWF-DK, aims to restore the bay’s ecosystem, focusing on reef restoration, recovery of eelgrass (a type of seagrass), cod population support, and mussel bed creation.

Revitalising Greece’s Largest Wetland – The Amvrakikos Gulf (Greece)

Lead organisation: Blue Marine Foundation

The Amvrakikos Gulf is a unique ecological sanctuary teeming with marine life. Spanning 40,000 ha, this seascape is home to one of the Mediterranean’s densest subpopulations of Critically Endangered bottlenose dolphins and provides essential habitat for over 300 bird species. It supports eight species of sharks and rays and is crucial for the breeding and foraging of at-risk species such as the Dalmatian pelican and green and loggerhead turtles. The Gulf also serves as the last viable sanctuary in Greece for the nearly extinct Mediterranean fan mussel (Pinna nobilis), offering a lifeline for its recovery across the Mediterranean. Led by Blue Marine Foundation, who are working alongside the Amvrakikos Alliance and other partners, this project will protect, restore and connect the seascape to improve its health and resilience, revitalising the entire ecosystem for the benefit of the marine environment and the people who depend on it.

Recovering the Southern Apulia Seascape (Italy)

Lead organisation: WWF Mediterranean

Extending 190 km along the Adriatic coast, the Southern Apulia Seascape is one of the last strongholds for seagrass in the region. These underwater meadows play a crucial role in supporting marine biodiversity, storing carbon, and protecting coastlines, yet they are increasingly at risk from habitat degradation, overfishing, and unsustainable tourism. To address these challenges, WWF Mediterranean and WWF Italy are leading a project to restore seagrass meadows, reefs, and coastal dunes, while co-developing a network of no-take zones and eco-mooring parks with local communities. By combining conservation with sustainable tourism and fisheries management, the initiative aims to rebuild marine ecosystems while ensuring that coastal communities continue to benefit from the natural resources that sustain them.

A Step Forward for Europe’s Seascapes

These seven projects mark a major investment in restoring Europe’s degraded marine ecosystems thanks to the foresight and generosity of Arcadia who in 2023 announced a new injection of funding dedicated to ocean recovery. By focusing on habitat restoration, biodiversity recovery, and collaboration with local communities, these projects offer a pathway to healthier, more resilient seascapes. Marine ecosystems provide vital services, from supporting fisheries to mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration. Protecting and restoring them is critical for both people and wildlife.

“Marine species and habitats have a remarkable capacity to rebound if given the opportunity,” says Dr Tundi Spring Agardy from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme’s Oversight and Selection Panel. “These seven projects will accelerate marine restoration across Europe, helping nature to flourish once again.”