Prof. Alan Deidun delivering his inaugural speech at the Harmony project kick-off meeting
The HARMONY project, funded under the framework of Interreg V-A Italia-Malta Operational Programme (2014-2020), held its kick-off meeting in Palermo between 12 and 14 March. The 30-month-long project brings together a total of seven partners, four from Sicily (University of Palermo, ISPRA, CNRS-IAMC and the Regional Fishing Directorate) and three from Malta (University of Malta, ERA and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture), under the aegis of the University of Palermo.
The main objective of the project is to identify common stressors operating on a number of priority marine habitats within selected Marine Protected Areas in Malta and Sicily, and to streamline and to harmonise as much possible ongoing monitoring efforts conducted in Sicily and in Malta in related to Descriptor 2 and Descriptor 5 of the MSFD. Within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Descriptor 2 refers to Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) whilst Descriptor 5 refers to Seafloor Integrity.
The University of Malta is represented in the project by and by Dr Adam Gauci, both from the Department of Geosciences, which has been awarded a total of four projects within the same Priority Axis as the HARMONY project. The University of Malta heads Workpackage 2 within the HARMONY project and will thus be responsible for designing the managing the project website, besides contributing to field sampling and analyses efforts being conducted over the next few months. The next HARMONY project meeting is scheduled to take place in Malta in September 2018.
