The Regional Director for Science and Technology defended in Ponta Delgada that scientific knowledge is "an essential tool for political decision making, especially when it comes to natural areas and the economic exploitation of resources."
 
Bruno Pacheco stated that islands are "a special case" as they have "limited areas and resources, specific ecosystems and increased vulnerability to climate and economic changes." In this context, he pointed out that scientific knowledge as "fundamental" in supporting decision making and defining strategies related to natural resources.
 
The Regional Director spoke at the opening session of the international conference on "Marine Research and Knowledge in support of Policy Making and Society. Deep Sea Research as a Case Study" under the Annual General Meeting of the EurOcean Association. The event is organised in partnership with the Government of the Azores.
 
Bruno Pacheco assured that the Regional Government, through several departments, "has granted financial support, being actively involved in several research projects that resulted or are expected to result from the collection of scientific knowledge to support the management of our natural resources."
 
In the case of the Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology, which supervises the Regional Directorates for Sea Affairs, Fisheries and Science and Technology as well as the Regional Fund for Science and Technology, "the vast majority of financial resources is channelled to research projects on coastal resources, the ocean and the deep sea," said the government official.
 
The Regional Director pointed out the European projects aligned with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, "Mistic Seas I and II," "MapGES" or "INDICIT,"; the projects promoting scientific research on maritime spatial planning, "MarSP" and "GPS Azores"; the projects on the sustainable management of marine resources, "SIMSEA" and "EcoDiveAz"; the projects on fishing resources and fishing activities, "POPA," "COSTA" and "ARCDAÇO"; the project developed in aquaculture, "AquaLab."
 
"Through these research projects, the Regional Government has gathered the scientific knowledge that has been used as a tool to support the political decision making and will continue to do so," said Bruno Pacheco.
 
The conference on "Marine Research and Knowledge in support of Policy Making and Society. Deep Sea Research as a Case Study" aims to discuss the importance of scientific knowledge in supporting political decision-making with impact on civil society. Moreover, the event will also disseminate the most recent scientific and technological developments as a case study.
 
The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology, is a full member of the EurOcean Association, an entity that intends to collect, produce, organise and provide information on topics related to marine science and technology in Europe.