Olga Ameixa and Heliana Teixeira, researchers at CESAM/DBIO, are co-authors of the Crete Declaration, published in the open-access scientific journal Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO) under the title “The Crete Declaration: Uniting Science for One Health”.
The document highlights that current global challenges — such as epidemics, food security, biodiversity loss and pollution — are deeply interconnected, requiring integrated and coordinated responses.
The researchers are also members of the European research infrastructure LifeWatch ERIC, where they coordinate the Ecosystem Services Mapping working group, contributing to the development of scientific approaches that support the assessment and sustainable management of ecosystems.
The Director of CESAM, Amadeu Soares, is a signatory of the declaration and emphasizes its relevance: “This declaration can naturally be endorsed by the vast majority of CESAM members, as it is fully aligned with our mission, which is based on the ‘One Health’ approach. This approach recognizes the interdependence between human, animal and environmental health and guides CESAM’s transdisciplinary and transformative research towards ecosystem sustainability and societal well-being.”
This strategic document mobilizes large-scale European research networks, including LifeWatch ERIC, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and open science in support of sustainable and integrated solutions. Open science is regarded as a key instrument for knowledge sharing among the scientific community, society and industry, thereby enhancing the social and economic impact of science. Beyond open access to data and publications, the declaration values openness throughout the entire scientific process, reinforcing the concept of social responsibility in science.
The Crete Declaration identifies as a priority the promotion of multidisciplinary and cross-domain research to address urgent challenges within the One Health framework. It proposes uniting scientific infrastructures to provide robust evidence for public policies, fostering open innovation through shared resources, and adopting new methodologies, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Signatories commit to strengthening strategic collaboration, ensuring integration and equitable access to data in accordance with the FAIR principles, engaging public and private sectors as well as civil society through inclusive platforms, and contributing to evidence-informed public policymaking, while also promoting citizen participation.
The document was consolidated during an international assembly held on the island of Crete on 30 June 2025, within the framework of the LifeWatch ERIC Biodiversity and Ecosystem e-Science (BEeS) Conference, organized by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). The event brought together researchers, institutions and European scientific platforms, with the active involvement of LifeWatch ERIC, an infrastructure dedicated to the study of biodiversity and ecosystems, which has contributed to identifying data needs, developing digital services and fostering collaboration across scientific domains aligned with the One Health approach.
The Crete Declaration remains open for endorsement by researchers, institutions, governmental bodies, private organizations and citizens committed to collaborative science oriented towards sustainability and global well-being.
The LifeWatch European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) is a European research infrastructure that provides digital services, analytical tools and virtual laboratories for the study of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Operating in a distributed manner across several European countries, LifeWatch ERIC supports open science, data integration and reuse, and the development of evidence-based solutions for public policy — core principles of the Crete Declaration. In Portugal, LifeWatch ERIC is represented by the national node LifeWatch Portugal, coordinated by the PORBIOTA infrastructure, which brings together biodiversity research centres, universities, natural history museums and public entities. Its members include, among others, CIBIO-InBIO/BIOPOLIS, cE3c, LEAF and CEF (ISA/ULisboa), CESAM/UA, MARE, university natural history museums, ICNF, the Portuguese GBIF node and the Portuguese Ecological Society (SPECO).
Original news source: UA News, 21 January 2026