Tropical coasts are among the world’s most productive ecosystems, assuring in manifold ways the livelihoods of millions of people. At the same time, the ecological, social, and economic effects of global transformations become particularly apparent at tropical coasts. Drivers such as climate change, overexploitation of resources, pollution, and urbanisation will continue to alter the social-ecological and socio-economic structures deeply and pose challenges with regard to a sustainable management of coastal ecosystems.
The Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) was founded in 1991 in Bremen with the aim to provide a scientific basis for the protection and sustainable use of tropical coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries, upwelling systems and shelf seas.
ZMT research addresses issues related to the structure and services of these ecosystems, to their resources and their reaction to human influences as well as to environmental changes. Research activities currently focus on ocean acidification, eutrophication and pollution, human use and the impact of climate change.
The institute strives for an integrated research approach that combines the natural and social sciences. Its research is structured in five programme areas:
- Coastal Resources
- Global Change
- Coastal Transformation
- Ecosystem Co-design
- Societal Impact
ZMT is unique among German research institutes in its interdisciplinarity and exclusive concentration on tropical coasts. Research projects focus regionally on Southeast Asia, Southwest and East Africa as well as South and Central America and the Caribbean.
High value is placed on close collaboration with partners in tropical countries, including the operation of joint field stations. Research activities are accompanied by a wide range of capacity development measures aimed at educating young scientists from all over the world in the field of tropical marine ecology. ZMT contributes to education via cooperation with the universities in Bremen, Oldenburg and Kiel. Special training courses, summer schools and on-the-job training are offered both in Bremen and at partner institutions in the tropics.
ZMT also acts as a centre for knowledge transfer to governmental and non-governmental institutions. Through its activities, the institute contributes to research and capacity development programmes conducted by international organisations such as the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of the UNESCO and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
