EASAC's Feedback on EU Calls for Evidence on R&I for Ocean and Water Resilience Strategies

The European Commission launched two calls for evidence in June 2026 as part of its initiative to shape the future European Ocean and Water Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategy, which is expected to be adopted by the end of the year. This strategy aims to strengthen the EU’s capacity in ocean and water R&I by addressing persistent challenges such as fragmented coordination across EU, national and regional levels, as well as barriers to bringing innovations to market. It also seeks to tackle increasing pressures linked to climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and water scarcity.

On the one hand, the Commission’s water resilience R&I strategy call for evidence addresses freshwater systems, water resilience and efficiency, and innovative solutions for sustainable water management. On the other hand, the European ocean R&I strategy call for evidence focuses on priorities such as marine ecosystems, ocean observation, marine knowledge and the sustainable blue economy.

Meanwhile, EASAC is preparing an independent, evidence-based report on Water Scarcity and Retention in European Landscapes drawing on expertise from its network of European (national) science academies, which assesses water availability trends, landscape retention loss, nature-based solutions (NbS), and the financing gaps constraining their deployment. This report is due for publication in 2027.

R&I for water resilience

In its feedback on the water resilience R&I strategy, EASAC highlights critical knowledge gaps and the role of R&I in enabling technical breakthroughs. For example, gaps remain in understanding how landscapes retain water and how the loss of this capacity disrupts the water cycle, increases pollution risks, and reduces the ability of soil and vegetation to absorb and release water effectively. EASAC recommends prioritizing standardised, catchment-scale monitoring and models that link soil, vegetation and groundwater dynamics. These tools could help improve early-warning systems and predictions for droughts and floods.

EASAC also addresses barriers to deploying nature-based solutions (NbS) such as wetlands, forests, and other natural systems that help manage water, noting that evidence on their hydrological performance remains fragmented and contested. This lack of clarity undermines investor and policymaker confidence in scaling up deployment. To overcome this, EASAC calls for long-term, quantitative evaluation frameworks at the catchment scale. Additionally, the fragmented policy landscape surrounding water retention requires a more coordinated EU approach. Shared indicators and monitoring frameworks could help align policy instruments and strengthen transboundary river-basin cooperation.

The feedback emphasizes the need to optimise support across the innovation cycle and investment journey. Existing instruments, such as the EIB Water Programme, LIFE+, ERDF/Cohesion Funds, and CAP eco-schemes, should be better sequenced and connected to move solutions from proof-of-concept to scale-up and replication. This is particularly important for small water retention measures and NbS, whose benefits emerge over years to decades. EASAC also highlights the importance of engaging farmers, land managers and citizens in landscape-scale water retention efforts. Training, advisory support, and participatory governance should accompany CAP eco-schemes and agri-environment-climate contracts. Citizen science, an underused resource, could play a key role in monitoring NbS effectiveness and building public ownership of water resilience measures.

To support water management, NbS, water-efficient technologies, sanitation, and testing sites, EASAC recommends establishing a European network of testing sites. These sites should cover all retention measures assessed in its report, including wetlands, floodplains, agroforestry, soil management, aquifer recharge, and sponge cities, to generate comparable data across biogeographic regions. Research and innovation should also evaluate existing instruments, such as the EU Water Framework Directive’s River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) and Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) national plans, to identify implementation gaps. Landscape water retention indicators could be embedded in national reporting ahead of the 2027 Water Framework Directive review and the post-2027 CAP.

EASAC further underscores the importance of sharing and pooling knowledge, data, and AI capabilities. Copernicus land, soil, and water services, along with emerging digital twins, offer untapped potential for harmonised, EU-wide data pooling. AI-based tools could accelerate the interpretation of remote-sensing and in-situ data to track retention capacity, but sustained investment in interoperable data standards and open-access infrastructure across Member States is essential. Finally, EASAC calls for integrating social sciences and humanities into R&I to understand the behavioural, cultural and institutional drivers of land- and water-management choices. Social science input is also needed to address equity dimensions, such as trade-offs between farmers and downstream water users, and to reduce local conflicts over water allocation.

This feedback was written by Thomas Elmqvist, director of the EASAC Environment Programme, and Fiona Regan, Co-Chair of the EASAC Environment Steering Panel.

European ocean research

In its feedback on the European Ocean Research and Innovation Strategy, EASAC highlights the opportunity to build a European integrated scientific system to monitor and reduce knowledge gaps on marine and coastal processes. This system could translate knowledge into action by creating synergies across the European ocean research infrastructure, including research organisations, funding agencies, science ministries and the private sector. However, EASAC stresses that innovation must be conceived comprehensively, moving beyond a narrow focus on technological advances to embrace social and governance innovation as equally essential dimensions. An interdisciplinary approach that integrates natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities is crucial to drive science-based policymaking.

EASAC also emphasizes the need to define the complementarity between existing sectoral, regional, and policy instruments, such as the Common Fisheries Policy, Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and European Ocean Pact. This is particularly relevant in the context of the future European Ocean Act. Adaptive strategies should account for distinct natural and societal environments across EU marine regions, including the Arctic Sea. Cooperation between the EU and its Arctic Member States is essential to address environmental challenges arising from resource exploitation, with implications for the European environment.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of terrestrial, coastal and marine environments through the source-to-sea approach is a significant advance. This framework provides a suitable basis for addressing complex policy challenges and ensures closer alignment with scientific evidence. Ocean governance requires innovation and effective implementation, transitioning from fragmented, sectoral approaches to integrated, coherent, and coordinated governance. Instruments such as Integrated Watershed Management, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, and Maritime Spatial Planning must function within a source-to-sea framework to address transboundary challenges.

Finally, EASAC highlights the role of coastal communities in ocean and coastal governance. These communities, with their small-scale fishery economies, play a vital role in decision-making, ecosystem preservation and restoration. Their contributions significantly support food security and the sustainable blue economy.

EASAC’s feedback underscores the importance of aligning research and innovation strategies with the best available scientific evidence to address pressing challenges in water and ocean resilience. By fostering interdisciplinary approaches, improving governance and engaging stakeholders, the EU can advance its goals for sustainable water and ocean management.

This feedback was written by Urbano Fra Paleo and Lars H. Smedsrud, members of the EASAC Environment Steering Panel.