On November 16 and 17, an international conference was held in Vilnius to conclude and summarise the LIFE project „Algae − Economy Based Ecological Service of Aquatic Ecosystems/ Glony − Gospodarka ekologiczna”, whose partner was the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, represented by Beata Messyasz, Ph.D.
More than 100 participants from various European countries took part, including representatives from science, business, administration and politics. The Institute of Nature Conservation was one of the project partners – a team consisting of Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak, Associated Professor, Edward Walusiak, PhD, Martyna Budziak, MSc, and Małgorzata Łaciak, PhD, took part in the conference.
More than 100 participants from various European countries took part, including representatives from science, business, administration and politics. The Institute of Nature Conservation was one of the project partners – a team consisting of Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak, Associated Professor, Edward Walusiak, PhD, Martyna Budziak, MSc, and Małgorzata Łaciak, PhD, took part in the conference.
The welcoming speech was given by the EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries – Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius, who emphasized the importance of projects such as the ‘AlgaeService for LIFE’ for solving urgent environmental problems. He also pointed out the potential for similar initiatives with the support of the LIFE and European Horizons programs.
Mr. Maris Stulgis – EU Policy Officer for the Blue Economy, Algae and Marine Aquaculture, Directorate General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (Brussels, Belgium) then gave a presentation on EU support for the algae sector.
The rest of the conference was dedicated to discussing the results of the project. The leaders of the different tasks presented the results of the scientific research of the project and their importance for the improvement of sustainable production and innovative approaches for the use of algae and algae-based products. These tasks are part of the European Commission’s strategy to create a strong and sustainable algae sector in Europe. The conference also highlighted how the results presented will contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The conference was also an opportunity to present the project’s prototypes for the extraction of algae biomass and the different types of innovative bioproducts that will be made from it, such as cosmetics, dyes, biogas or fertilizers. In this way, the conference participants were able to familiarize themselves with a concrete offer aimed directly at the business sector.
The following day, the project partners discussed the tasks completed and the challenges for the future.
The Algae for LIFE project will be implemented from 2018 to 2023 by teams from Lithuania and Poland with financial support from the European Commission and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. And although the conference was the official culmination and conclusion of the project, it is certain that thanks to the results achieved, the project will set new directions for the introduction of innovative solutions for the growing, sustainable algae sector and for environmentally friendly activities in this sector.