Zorro stands for ZOsteRa RestOration and is an interdisciplinary research team started in 2011 at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. It has the goal to improve the management of coastal ecosystems with focus on eelgrass meadows along the Swedish west coast. The research team constitutes the base for research collaboration between marine ecologist, environmental legal scholars, and environmental economists. We aim to improve management and restoration of eelgrass ecosystems working in close collaboration with the Country Administrative Board of Västra Götaland, and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water management. Today, more than 20 Swedish and international researchers and national and regional managers are collaborating in several different research projects.

The research within Zorro is focused on:

• Ecological causes of eelgrass loss and lack of recovery in NW Sweden.
• Legal causes and ecological consequences for eelgrass of small-scale coastal exploitation in NW Sweden.
• Economic valuation of eelgrass ecosystem services in NW Sweden.
• Deficiencies in the Swedish legal management system of eelgrass and other coastal ecosystems and how it could be improved.
• Developing methods and policies for compensatory mitigation to avoid net-losses of eelgrass affected by exploitation.
• Developing cost-effective methods and guidelines for large-scale restoration of eelgrass in Sweden.

The research has resulted in both scientific publications as well as reports, guidelines and suggestion of policies for management and restoration of eelgrass in Sweden (read more).

To see more about ZORRO activities visit the webpage.

Zorro team during a meeting in 2016. From left to right, (up) Lena Gipperth, Lars-Ove Loo, Marlene Jahnke, Louise Eriander, Kristjan Laas, Eduardo Infantes, Per Jonsson, (below) Per-Olav Moksnes, Berit Hasler and Scott Cole.