2026-04-14T07:52:00Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:10256/275252025-10-16T20:20:23Zcom_2072_452955com_2072_2054col_2072_453066

2025-10-16T20:20:23Z urn:hdl:10256/27525 Floating offshore wind farms in Mediterranean marine protected areas: a cautionary tale Lloret Romañach, Josep Wawrzynkowski, Paul Dominguez-Carrió, Carlos Sardá Borroy, Rafael Molins, Climent Gili, Josep Maria Sabatés, Ana Vila Subirós, Josep Amoros Garcia, Laura Solé Ollé, Jordi Berdalet, Elisa Turiel, Antonio Olivares Gallardo, Alberto Parcs eòlics marins -- Aspectes ambientals Offshore wind power plants -- Environmental aspects Energies renovables Renewable energy sources Energia eòlica -- Aspectes ambientals Wind power -- Environmental aspects Medi ambient -- Anàlisi d'impacte Environmental impact analysis As offshore wind energy expands in Europe, maritime planners increasingly need to consider the potential effects of these activities on the different types of marine protected areas (MPAs), including Natura 2000 sites. The aim of this article is to critically review the initial development of offshore wind energy inside and/or in the vicinity of Mediterranean Natura 2000 sites and other types of MPAs. The western Mediterranean Sea is taken as an example as this is where most of the offshore wind developments have been proposed. In order to open up discussion of offshore wind energy policy and guide ecological research that supports holistic decisions regarding offshore wind farm (OWF) installation in the region, we (i) outline the context of Natura 2000 and other MPA policy in the Mediterranean for OWF development, (ii) summarize the potential impacts of OWF on EU-protected habitats and species, (iii) assess the interactions of OWFs, the Natura 2000 sites, and other MPAs, and (iv) propose recommendations to approach OWF development in the Mediterranean in order to safeguard the Natura 2000 sites and other MPAs. After documenting the potential overlaps between OWFs and MPAs in the western Mediterranean, we recommend OWFs be placed outside Natura 2000 and other MPA sites, including their buffer zones. We also advocate for rigorous and independent Appropriate Assessments to be carried out for OWF proposals that could affect protected areas This research was carried out in the frame of the BIOPAIS project (www.oceanshealth.udg.edu/en/biopais.html), which has the support of the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by the European Union—NextGenerationEU 7 2025-10-16T20:20:23Z 2025-10-16T20:20:23Z 2025-03 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion peer-reviewed http://hdl.handle.net/10256/27525 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/icesjms/fsad131 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/1054-3139 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1095-9289 Attribution 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Oxford University Press (OUP) ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2025, vol. 82, núm. 3, p. fsad131 Articles publicats (D-G)