Originally published on the website of the Netherlands Space Agency: https://www.nlsa.nl/en/events/cmems-coastal-monitoring/
How can the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) better support coastal monitoring in the Netherlands and Belgium and what do practitioners, researchers and data providers actually need to make that happen?
On Thursday, 2 July 2026, a joint national meeting on the Copernicus Marine Service will take place with a special focus on coastal monitoring.
This is the first time the Netherlands and Belgium are co-organising an event of this kind, bringing together knowledge institutes, market parties and end users around a shared agenda. The day is designed around meeting and dialogue: not a one-way programme, but a space to exchange, explore and connect.
The meeting will focus on what CMEMS currently offers for coastal monitoring, how digital twin developments such as EDITO are shaping the future of marine data services, and what national and international developments are relevant for practitioners in both countries. We will also look ahead: what data, tools and services will be needed in the coming years, and how can the right parties find each other to make that happen?
CMEMS is relevant for a broad range of users from water and coastal managers to port authorities, nature managers, safety services and policymakers.
The programme will reflect that diversity, with room for matchmaking between knowledge holders, data providers and end users, including in the context of upcoming calls. The day will also include an exploration of a potential marine working group under GEO Netherlands.
Preliminary programme:
09:30 – 10:00 | Reception and registration
10:00 – 10:30 | Welcome and setting the scene
10:30 – 11:30 | Copernicus Marine Service: Present and Future
Speakers: Tina Silovic (Mercator Océan International), Lorinc Meszaros (Deltares), Dimitry van der Zande (RBINS)
11:30 – 12:30 | End User Session
Panel discussion with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management among others.
12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch, Demo trail and Poster Visits
14:00 – 15:00 | Plenary Pitches: Research & Market
Panel discussion with participants from Deltares, RBINS, VITO and Fugro/EOmap
15:00– 16:00 | Break-out session
User Needs, Adoption & Operations – How do end users need to work with coastal data and services, and what do they need for actual uptake? Focus: minimum requirements, SLAs, response times, reliability, long-term archives, training, support, governance, integration into working processes.
Innovation & Integration – How can we combine AI, data fusion, citizen science, in-situ data, drones and other Copernicus services? Focus: a.o. AI, data fusion, innovation pathways, cal/val, in-situ, drones, interoperability, cross-service integration.
Governance & Cross-Border Collaboration – How do we organize cooperation, roles and responsibilities across borders and policy frameworks? Focus: a.o. NL-BE cooperation, European policy alignment, Water Framework Directive, flood risk, governance, roles and responsibilities
BES Islands: coastal monitoring in a Caribbean context – What does coastal monitoring need to look like for the BES islands? Focus: a.o. (CMEMS) data availability, Caribbean context, stakeholder needs, local applications.
16:00 – 16:15 | Plenary closing session
16:15 – 17:30 | Drinks
Confirmed speakers from Mercator Océan, the Dutch ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, RBINS, Deltares, VITO, Fugro and Rijkswaterstaat
We look forward to welcoming you for a day of exchange, inspiration and new connections.