Seabed mapping programmes will plug knowledge gaps for new European Marine Directive

1.Increasing pressures on the marine environment (for example, land-based pollution, over fishing, oil spills, shipping, oil and gas exploration) and threats to marine ecosystems (biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and the capacity of our seas to provide food).

 

2.Knowledge gaps, as assessment and monitoring programmes are not integrated or complete, and there are weak links between research needs and policy priorities.

 

3.Governance systems which lack co-ordination across Europe. The many regional and global strategies and environmental agreements, institutions and policies affecting the marine environment (for example, Common Fisheries Policy, Marine Transport Policy, Common Agricultural Policy,Water Policy) are poorly integrated and often not specifically designed to protect the marine environment.

 

The Strategy's vision is that "we and future generations can enjoy and benefit from biologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas that are safe, clean, healthy and productive". The proposed Directive aims to translate this vision into a legal objective to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2021. It is expected that the detailed application and implementation of the Directive will be through the regional sea conventions including the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment for the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR). It is expected to have the following elements:

 

 

The Marine Strategy is intended to deliver the environmental pillar of the future EU Maritime Policy Green Paper, scheduled for Spring 2006. Defra have established an interdepartmental group to co-ordinate input to the Marine Strategy and Green Paper. JNCC advice is being co-ordinated by the Head of Marine Advice  (tel: +44 (0) 1224 655701) and an International Officer  (+44 (0) 1733 866856).

 

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JNCC is leading on three mapping programmes which together aim to improve our knowledge of the distribution of marine habitats significantly both at a UK level and across adjacent European waters.The maps will contribute to a number of information needs within JNCC (such as protection of priority habitats, Marine Protected Areas, advice to industry) as well as provide a much needed source of information for external policy and management issues, such as marine spatial planning.

 

For the OSPAR habitat mapping programme, JNCC has co-ordinated the collation of data by twelve OSPAR Contracting Parties on 14 priority habitats across the north-east Atlantic. The data are available in a specially designed extension to the National Biodiversity Network Gateway (NBN) and can now be accessed at: www.searchnbn.net/hosted/ospar/ospar_text.html

 

Within the Interreg-funded Mapping European Seabed Habitats (MESH) project, which JNCC leads on behalf of 12 partners, and habitat mapping data across five countries are being collated and harmonised. The maps will be presented according to the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) classification, Habitats Directive Annex I types, OSPAR priority types and UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) types, and made available to key stakeholders in a web-mapping GIS application in early 2006; see : http://www.searchmesh.net

 

Head Marine Habitats Team

Tel: +44 (0) 1733 866837

Email: