Two researchers from the CIM contribute their knowledge to the report on sustainable coastal zone management for the Spanish Congress of Deputies

“The Science and Technology Office of the Congress of Deputies (Oficina C) is an initiative that aims to connect the scientific community with members of Parliament, facilitating access to scientific knowledge and its inclusion in Congressional decision-making, all with the support of FECYT.” This is how Gonzalo Méndez, professor and researcher at the Marine Research Center (CIM), which is part of the CIGUS Network, explains the mission of Oficina C. The CIGUS Network is an initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia that brings together centers in the system that have accredited their scientific excellence. Méndez along with Juan de la Cierva researcher Nerea Piñeiro at CIM contributed, alongside national and international scientists, to a report on sustainable coastal zone management.

The report, titled ‘Informe C: Gestión sostenible de zonas costeras’, was recently presented alongside other studies on topics such as active suicide prevention, artificial intelligence, and critical materials in the energy transition during a roundtable held at the Congress of Deputies. CIM-UVigo researcher Gonzalo Méndez participated in the presentation alongside other authors of the report. “It is a great opportunity to engage in an experience of clear knowledge transfer, collaborative work with experts from diverse professional fields, and proximity to decision-making at the highest level,” said Méndez, who also expressed professional satisfaction at being selected for the expert panel that authored the report.

The report was developed with contributions from a dozen researchers from Oficina C itself and twenty scientific experts from various universities and research centers, primarily Spanish but also from Singapore, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The project was led by Rüdiger Ortiz-Álvarez from Oficina C. “The only institution that participated with two experts was the University of Vigo,” Méndez noted.

The Informe C reports follow a methodology established by Oficina C. Once the Congress Bureau selects the topics, a team is formed, led by an Oficina C member, to conduct a comprehensive literature review and personalized interviews with all selected experts. A draft report is then produced, which undergoes multiple reviews before reaching its final version. At UVigo, Nerea Piñeiro joined the project in February, while Gonzalo Méndez started contributing in early June.