That is the starting point for Isla Bonita, a new Horizon Europe project that held its kick-off meeting on La Palma in the Canary Islands in [September 2026, confirm dates]. Over five years, it will help island authorities restore their ocean and waters, and turn the approaches that work into something other islands across Europe can adopt.
What is the Isla Bonita project?
Isla Bonita is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action under the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters that supports island authorities to restore marine and freshwater ecosystems. It runs from September 2026 to August 2031, is coordinated by the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN), and brings together close to 50 organisations with an EU contribution of just over €16 million.
The project is aligned with the European Ocean Pact. Its aim is for the ocean and waters to become allies of island communities by helping local authorities work towards the Mission’s three objectives: protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, preventing and eliminating pollution, and making the blue economy carbon-neutral and circular.
How the Isla Bonita Living Labs work
A Living Lab in Isla Bonita is a local partnership, led by the island authority, where researchers, businesses and communities co-develop and test restoration solutions alongside a roadmap for reaching the Mission’s goals. Nine islands across three sea basins take part:
- La Palma, with Ocean Sun
- Guadeloupe, with Seafields
- Azores, with blueOASIS
- Ischia, with the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
- Santorini, with Impact Hub Athens
- Malta, with Xjenza Malta
- Orkney, with Heriot-Watt University
- Bornholm, with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
- Gotland, with Region Gotland
Many of the solutions tested will be nature-based, meaning they work with natural processes, such as restoring habitats, rather than relying only on built infrastructure. The project will collect them into a shared portfolio, so that an approach proven on one island can be adapted for another.
Kick-off meeting took place on La Palma
The first day introduced the consortium through a partner exhibition and two-minute speed pitches, followed by a visit to the Port of Tazacorte and a walk across the Tajogaite lava flows.
On the second day, the European Commission shared where Mission Ocean policy is heading towards 2030, and sister projects ROWER and REMEDIES 5.0 presented their work. CNR introduced the Living Labs, Deltares the common methodology, and SUBMARINER Network the communication and dissemination plan, before each of the nine demonstration teams set out its plans.
The final day took partners to the Gran Telescopio Canarias, where the Starlight Foundation explained how protecting La Palma’s dark skies and building local skills made the island a centre for astronomy. Isla Bonita aims to build the same foundations for ocean restoration.
SUBMARINER Network’s role in Isla Bonita
SUBMARINER Network leads the project’s Cross-Basin Task Force, which keeps stakeholder engagement, demonstrations, upscaling and communication consistent across the three sea basins so that lessons from one island reach the others. The task force works with the Mission Ocean lighthouse projects in each basin, whose partners act as basin leads, and links Isla Bonita events with their wider activities. It also drives the replication strategy that will take results beyond the nine demonstration islands.
The project will also set up a permanent Mission Ocean Accelerator Hub, based at PLOCAN and hosted on BlueActionMatch (formerly BlueBioMatch). Supported by a team of finance experts, the hub will help islands fund their Mission roadmaps and make nature-based solutions more attractive to investors.
Follow the project on LinkedIn and stay tuned for the upcoming website.
