One step from the deep ocean: Linking research and governance for the Tagus river estuary and the Lisbon canyon system – A conference report

Abstract

Ministry of the Sea promoted an expert conference to discuss the current state of the Tagus river estuary and adjacent oceanic areas and to promote future action. The Tagus river estuary shapes the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, bordering 11 water-facing municipalities across 320 km2 (among the largest in Europe and critically positioned along the North- South bird migration corridor of the East Atlantic [1]). It communicates with the deep North Atlantic through the Tagus submarine prodelta and the Lisbon/Cascais/Setúbal canyon system (Fig. 1). This proximity allows interaction of water masses and biological communities between the estuary and the deep ocean and deserves scientific attention. The conference integrated perspectives on current threats, after millennia of human occupation and decades of local efforts to improve environmental status and contributed towards an action plan to maintain or improve ecosystem services for this densely populated area, following an ecosystem stewardship framework [2].