Knowledge, Assessment, and Management for AQUAtic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aCROSS EU policies (AQUACROSS) aims to support EU efforts to protect aquatic biodiversity and ensure the provision of aquatic ecosystem services. Funded by Europe’s Horizon 2020 research programme, AQUACROSS seeks to advance knowledge and application of ecosystem-based management (EBM) for aquatic ecosystems to support the timely achievement of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy targets. To do this, AQUACROSS considers the EU policy framework for aquatic ecosystems and builds on knowledge stemming from different sources to develop innovative management tools, concepts and business models for aquatic ecosystems.

The AQUACROSS approach is built around four pillars of work, eight topic areas and eight case studies.