The aim of the workshop is to develop a shared framework for high-quality, measurable, and implementable restoration of Posidonia oceanica, one of the key Mediterranean marine ecosystems and an important form of blue natural capital of seas and oceans.

Posidonia oceanica is of particular importance also for the Slovenian marine environment and marine biology, as it represents a foundational Mediterranean habitat that supports biodiversity, contributes to carbon sequestration and storage, and helps stabilise coastlines by attenuating wave energy and reducing erosion.

The workshop is hosted and organised by UL SEB in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Slovenia, and is conceptually designed by As. Prof. Sandra Damijan (SEB UL), Prof. Carlos M. Duarte (KAUST), Jan Pachner (One Ocean Foundation), and Theresa Zabell (Ecomar Foundation).

The workshop content focuses on the link between marine ecosystems and economic decision-making: how Posidonia restoration can be designed through the integration of biological and economic sciences, how its impacts can be reliably measured and reported, and how these results can be translated into standards and mechanisms relevant for governance, public policy, and financing - including in the context of blue carbon and emerging nature credit mechanisms.

The workshop also builds on the broader debate on natural capital as a strategic economic issue, recently addressed by As. Prof. Sandra Damijan in an op-ed for The Slovenia Times. She emphasises that the key question is not whether natural capital exists, but whether we have economic models capable of valuing it, managing it, and treating it as long-term strategic capital. In this context, the workshop opens space for reflection on nature as living infrastructure, and increasingly also as a new asset class that is essential for climate resilience, fiscal stability, and long-term competitiveness.