ECOAMARE supports the development of strategic policies regarding the upscaling of offshore wind energy. A priority is to understand how upscaling of offshore wind energy affects the North Sea ecosystem and can be balanced with other offshore activities. Firstly, this requires an improved overview of knowledge of the environmental impact of offshore wind energy. ECOAMARE provides an overview of known ecological impacts, risks, and uncertainties. Another priority is to better assess combined impact of all offshore wind energy farms and other human activities offshore, for which ECOAMARE improves decision-support tools. In addition, it is also important to ensure ecological knowledge is used by different stakeholders and policymakers and to understand when and if legal, societal and ecological barriers are exceeded. ECOAMARE studies stakeholder needs, legal barriers and how knowledge may help decision making. After improving the ecological knowledge base for developing strategic policies, ECOAMARE addresses possible conflicts and synergies between offshore activities. With the use of specifically designed decision-support tools, different activities are mapped through spatial analysis and places where they overlap are identified. Possible strategies for solving or reducing conflict and where activities can benefit from each other are identified. Where conflicts cannot be solved, ECOAMARE shows and analyzes the trade-offs between activities. Finally, ECOAMARE analyzes legal frameworks and processes of policymaking. This helps identify barriers and opportunities for balancing interests and developing strategic policies, within the boundaries of the North Sea ecosystem. ECOAMARE suggests improvements to legal and governance frameworks and practices. Stakeholder inclusion is central to ECOAMARE for identifying knowledge needs, designing decision support tools with stakeholders and discuss and assess important constraints and ambitions for strategic policies with stakeholders. Central to ECOAMARE is also an interdisciplinary approach, as pursuing inclusive strategic policies will require a good understanding of how knowledge and values of different stakeholders.
