The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology, is a partner of the European project INDICIT for the definition and implementation of indicators related to the impact of marine debris on sea turtles and other creatures.
 
The project, which kicked off this month with the first meeting to be held in Brussels, is co-financed by DG ENVIRONMENT under the second cycle of actions for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). It will be developed by a consortium led by the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
 
The President of the Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT) stressed that the INDICIT consortium comprises ten institutions from countries that "are Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) and the Barcelona Convention in the Mediterranean. The government official added that "the Regional Government is one of the partners, being represented by a scientific team of the University of the Azores and the Regional Directorate of Sea Affairs, as member of the advisory board of the project."
 
Bruno Pacheco stressed that "the participation of FRCT in this project is one of the strategic initiatives announced for this year. It will allow the internationalisation of the teams of the Azores Scientific and Technological System through the interdepartmental cooperation of the Regional Government."
 
INDICIT has an overall budget of 1.3 million Euros, of which 116 thousand Euros will be allocated to the Azorean teams.