Atlantic & Arctic Lighthouse Weekly Hour with C-FAARER (S02E09)

Join us for the Atlantic & Arctic Lighthouse Weekly Hour on April 24, 2024, from 2 to 3 PM CET, featuring the C-FAARER project. C-FAARER is funded by EU Missions in Horizon Europe programme, and aims to address aspects of commercially-driven aquaculture in the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin that are unsustainable in the long-term and lack consideration of challenges for coastal communities. The presenters will introduce the project and share current efforts underway to identify and recommend strategies to address key issues concerning the technical, organisational, financial, environmental and socio-economic feasibility of new community-driven regenerative ocean farming initiatives.

The C-FAARER team will present how they are working with businesses of the Norwegian Seaweed Association (NSA), to better understand the potential of regenerative farming practices and how they are working with coastal communities. This covers investigating the environmental benefits and business viability of regenerative ocean farming, through a series of interconnected feasibility studies – evaluating farming practices, environmental benefits and risks, innovative business models, cultivation and process innovation, site-specific conditions, as well as downstream market potential.

Insights gained from the analysis in Norway will be shared in Ireland (fast follower) with the aim of demonstrating replication potential elsewhere in the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin region. With this in mind, the team is putting in place the building-blocks to create a new Irish Seaweed Association, with regenerative farming and community-led practices at its core. Insights include the results of early workshops with ocean farmers, listening to their concerns and excitement for this emerging Association.

The C-FAARER consortium is led by Trinity Centre for Social Innovation, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and brings together six organisations and enterprises from three European countries. Among the key partners involved are Sea Going Green, a sustainable tourism consultancy specialising in sustainability and carbon reduction strategies for the global tourism sector, the Norwegian Seaweed Association, a network organisation for Norwegian seaweed businesses, Nofima, a research institute specialising in fisheries and aquaculture, and Redrose Developments, a company that focuses on seaweed cultivation and processing to maximise the value of seaweed.

Register for the Zoom Webinar here.

Or watch in YouTube here.

Programme (CET):

14h00-14h05: Welcome and Introduction: Valerie de Liedekerke (BlueMissionAA / AIR Centre)

14h05-14h15: C-FAARER project overview, Dharm Kapletia (Trinity College Dublin)

14h15-14h30: Assessing the feasibility of community-driven regenerative aquaculture, Danielle Gallagher (Trinity College Dublin)

14h30-14h45: Creating a new viable Seaweed Association in Ireland, Dominique van Straaten (Sea Going Green)

14h35-15h00: Q&A, moderated by Valerie de Liedekerke (BlueMissionAA / AIR Centre)

Speakers:

Dharm Kapletia

Trinity College Dublin

Dr Dharm Kapletia is a senior innovation researcher, manager and consultant with a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Engineering Dept.), MSc from Sussex (SPRU – Science & Technology Policy Research Unit) and a track record of delivering programmes and projects related to innovation, technology and business transformation, with 15+ years’ experience at the nexus of academia, government and industry. He is also a Fellow of the Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems, UK.

Dr Kapletia’s research and interest focuses on transformative strategies to achieve goals that protect, restore and regenerate the natural world. His work at Trinity College Dublin covers research and innovation proposal development, project coordination and management, operating in leading-edge areas covering nature-based solutions, biodiversity, nature-positive strategy, and climate resilience. He is a senior member of the TCD Coordinating teams for two EC grants, C-FAARER (2022-2024) and Go Nature Positive (2024-2028).

Danielle Gallagher

Trinity College Dublin

Dr Danielle Gallagher is a postdoctoral researcher at Trinity College Dublin, working on the C-FAARER project in Prof Nessa O’ Connor’s group. She is interested in climate change mitigation and bioremediation strategies – from sustainable biofuel, low carbon feedstock production, to enteric methane mitigation as well as bioregional and community-driven strategies for climate resilience. On the C-FAARER project, she will be conducting a transdisciplinary gap analysis on the potential for regenerative seaweed farming in the Atlantic and Arctic sea basin region – focusing on ocean farming in Norway and Ireland. Her background is in plant science, industrial biotechnology and community-driven climate entrepreneurship. Previous to this she was working on an EPA funded project called ICCA (Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment), which will be published in 2024. She completed her PhD in Imperial College London, on microbial strain engineering strategies as alternative and low carbon fuel sources. After this she was founder/director of DúlaBio, a research-based start-up investigating seaweed as a tool for GHG and nutrient waste reduction in an Irish context.

Dominique van Straaten

Sea Going Green

Dominique van Straaten is a sustainability consultant and Impact Coach with 5 years of experience in supporting over 100 companies on their sustainability journey. With a wide range of experience in the for- and non-profit world and a background in Global Business & Sustainability, she has been able to engage, enthuse and motivate stakeholders to collaborate for a more regenerative world. On the C-FAARER project, she and her colleagues from Sea Going Green are responsible for the communication, dissemination and engagement including building skills capacity and supporting the creation of the Irish Seaweed Association.

Founded in 2017, Sea Going Green established itself as a key player in the sustainable tourism consultancy space, distinguishing our work through partnerships with high-profile clients and impactful projects. Our difference lies in our unique blend of expertise. With specialists in marine biology, international policy, environmental management, sustainable tourism, green branding and marketing, our team offers a comprehensive approach that sets us apart.