The next 57th EMBS will be organized in Naples, from 16 to 20 September 2024. The Symposium theme is motivated by the conviction that, despite the unprecedented changes of marine habitats and biodiversity driven by multiple interacting stressors throughout the global ocean, to find solutions capable of containing the biodiversity loss is still possible. The need to prioritize research efforts to effectively decrease gaps of knowledge using coordinated collaborations, transdisciplinary research and cutting-edge technology to face present and future challenges will be discussed. EU representatives dealing with the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), a new regulation that should become a cornerstone of EU’s objectives to protect and restore biodiversity and associated ecosystem services for the next decades, will be invited. Are we ready to fill the gap between targets and effective implementation?

Finally, the Symposium will also be an opportunity to bring the leaders of Horizon Europe projects in marine biological sciences (including Marine Protected Areas, Maritime Spatial Planning) together to brief the community on their progress and plans. This might become a regular annual event helping long-term planning of between-project collaboration, build personal relationships, and engage the wider research community, particularly early career scientists who dominate the EMBS in numbers.