The European Union (EU) is the world’s largest maritime
territory and marine resources make a significant contribution to
each Member State’s economic prosperity and social well-being. The
European marine environment must therefore be protected to ensure
that it is healthy, productive and safeguarded for the use of
future generations.
Many of the threats to Europe’s marine resources require
cooperation and collective action to be tackled effectively. It is
within this context that the Integrated European Maritime Policy,
which aims to provide a coherent framework for joined up governance
of the marine environment, is being developed.
The MSFD outlines a transparent, legislative framework for an
ecosystem-based approach to the management of
human activities which supports the sustainable use of marine goods
and services. The overarching goal of the Directive is to achieve
‘Good Environmental Status’ (GES) by 2020 across Europe’s marine
environment.
In order to achieve GES in a coherent and strategic manner,
the MSFD establishes four European Marine Regions, based on
geographical and environmental criteria. The North East Atlantic
Marine Region is divided into four subregions, with UK waters lying
in two of these (the Greater North Sea and the Celtic Seas). Each
Member State is required to develop a marine strategy for their
waters, in coordination with other countries within the same marine
region or subregion. This coordination is to be achieved through
the Regional Seas Conventions, which for the UK is the
OSPAR Convention.
Marine strategies will be implemented to protect and conserve
the marine environment, prevent its deterioration, and, where
practicable, restore marine ecosystems in areas where they have
been adversely affected.
The marine strategies to be developed by each Member State
must contain:
- An initial assessment of the current environmental status of
that Member State’s marine waters;
- A determination of what Good Environmental Status means for
those waters;
- Targets and indicators designed to show whether a Member State
is achieving GES;
- A monitoring programme to measure progress towards GES;
- A programme of measures designed to achieve or maintain
GES.
The MSFD does not state a specific programme of measures that
Member States should adopt to achieve GES, except for the
establishment of
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The MSFD does
however outline 11 high level descriptors of GES in Annex I of the
Directive. These are as follows:
- Biological diversity is maintained. The quality and occurrence
of habitats and the distribution and abundance of species are in
line with prevailing physiographic, geographic and climatic
conditions.
- Non-indigenous species introduced by human activities are at
levels that do not adversely alter the ecosystems.
- Populations of commercially exploited fish and shellfish are
within safe biological limits, exhibiting a population age and size
distribution that is indicative of a healthy stock.
- All elements of the marine food webs, to the extent that they
are known, occur at normal abundance and diversity and levels
capable of ensuring the long-term abundance of the species and the
retention of their full reproductive capacity.
- Human-induced eutrophication is minimised, especially adverse
effects thereof, such as losses in biodiversity, ecosystem
degradation, harmful algal blooms and oxygen deficiency in bottom
waters.
- Sea-floor integrity is at a level that ensures that the
structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded and
benthic ecosystems, in particular, are not adversely affected.
- Permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions does not
adversely affect marine ecosystems.
- Concentrations of contaminants are at levels not giving rise to
pollution effects.
- Contaminants in fish and other seafood for human consumption do
not exceed levels established by Community legislation or other
relevant standards.
- Properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm to
the coastal and marine environment.
- Introduction of energy, including underwater noise, is at
levels that do not adversely affect the marine environment.
With respect to the UK, key requirements of the Directive and
associated timeframes are provided in the table below:
|
Date
|
Activity |
Expected UK response
|
|
July 2010
|
The Directive must be transposed into Member State regulations
to provide a legal framework for national implementation
|
|
|
July 2012
|
An Initial Assessment of the current environmental status of
each Member State’s marine waters and the environmental impact of
human activities, based on the environmental characteristics and
pressures from human activities given in Annex III of the Directive
and an economic and social analysis of the use of the sea and of
the cost of degradation of the marine environment
|
The Charting Progress 2: State of the UK Seas Report
2010 is expected to form the basis of the Initial Assessment. The
OSPAR Quality Status Report 2010 will provide a basis for a
regional level assessment. |
|
July 2012
|
A determination of GES, based on the descriptors in Annex I
and the characteristics and pressures in Annex III, and associated
environmental targets and indicators
|
Establish what GES means for UK waters, within the Greater
North Sea and Celtic Seas subregions, including setting targets and
identifying an appropriate set of indicators
|
|
July 2014
|
Establishment and implementation of a coordinated monitoring
programme for ongoing assessment and regular updating of targets,
to measure progress towards achieving GES
|
The UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy coordinates
marine monitoring across the UK and will provide information
required to measure progress towards GES
|
|
July 2015
|
Development of a programme of measures designed to achieve or
maintain GES, taking into account relevant existing measures under
other Directives and international agreements
|
|
|
July 2016
|
Entry into operation of the programme of measures to achieve
or maintain GES
|
Implementation of the programme of measures is expected to be
coordinated, for waters in England, by the Marine Management
Organisation, and through equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland
|
|
July 2018
|
Review and updating of the marine strategies, including
the initial assessment, the targets, the monitoring programmes and
the programmes of measures |
This is the first of the six-yearly reporting cycle on
progress in delivery of the MSFD
|
|
2020
|
Achievement of GES
|
|
The MSFD will be complementary to, and provide the overarching
framework for, a number of other key Directives and legislation at
the European and UK level. Examples include the
EC Habitats
Directive, the
EC Birds Directive, the
EU Water
Framework Directive, the Common Fisheries Policy and the UK
Marine and Coastal Access Act. It will also help fulfil
international commitments undertaken at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development and under the Convention on Biological
Diversity and the OSPAR Convention.
JNCC’s role in the MSFD
As statutory advisor to Government, JNCC has a role in
advising on aspects of the MSFD which relate to biodiversity and
ecosystem protection. This includes in relation to both monitoring
and assessment of the state of the marine environment, and the
programmes of measures needed to achieve or maintain GES. At
present this advice is focused on how the Directive might be
delivered at UK and Regional levels. At the UK level, JNCC
contributes to the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy,
which is expected to play a key role in the monitoring and
assessment aspects of the Directive. At the Regional level, JNCC
works closely with Government to advise on the regional cooperation
requirements of the Directive which will by delivered via the OSPAR
Convention.
Additional information can be found at:
February 2010