Holistic approach to oceans and seas in the EU to reach clean, healthy and productive seas for current and future generations – implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

The MSFD has provided a push towards a better understanding of the pressures and impacts of human activities on the sea, and their implications for marine biodiversity, their habitats, and the ecosystems they sustain. The knowledge gained from implementing this Directive was, for example, a driving force leading to the adoption of the Single Use Plastics Directive. It has led to increased cooperation among littoral Member States of the four European sea regions, as well as across marine regions. As a result non-EU Member States also aim to achieve good environmental status or its equivalent. Considerable thought was given to applying the Ecosystem Approach at a regional scale in the context of developing the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) The MSFD includes: • The initial assessment of the current environmental status of national marine waters and the environmental impact and socio-economic analysis of human activities in these waters; • The determination of what GES means for national marine waters; • The establishment of environmental targets and associated indicators to achieve GES; • The establishment of a monitoring programme for the ongoing assessment and the regular update of targets; • The development of a programme of measures designed to achieve or maintain GES; The process is cyclical, as this is an adaptive management policy, which is crucial to address the regular and emerging challenges in its implementation. The North-East Atlantic (OSPAR), Baltic (HELCOM) and Mediterranean (UNEP/MAP) have developed an Ecosystem Approach that is comparable and in line with the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). This includes the definition of Ecological Objectives, targets and indicators for monitoring. The indicators agreed within these monitoring and assessment programmes are closely linked to SDG14 targets and indicators. Available Regional Seas Monitoring and Assessment Programmes: Regional Sea : Black Sea Monitoring and Assessment Program: Black Sea Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (BSIMAP) – 2017- 2022 Link to documents: http://www.blacksea-commission.org/_bsimap.asp https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ebsaws-2017-01/other/ebsaws-2017-0… Regional Sea : Mediterranean Monitoring and Assessment Program: Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast and Related Assessment Criteria (IMAP) - 2017 Link to documents: http://web.unep.org/unepmap/who-we-are/ecosystem-approach https://wedocs.unep.org/rest/bitstreams/45233/retrieve Regional Sea : Baltic Sea Monitoring and Assessment Program: HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Strategy – 2013 (with updates in 2015, 2016, 2017) Link to documents: http://helcom.fi/baltic-sea-trends/ http://helcom.fi/Documents/Action%20areas/Monitoring%20and%20assessment… Regional Sea: North-East Atlantic Monitoring and Assessment Program: OSPAR Joint Assessment & Monitoring Programme (JAMP) - 2006 Link to documents: https://www.ospar.org/work-areas/cross-cutting-issues/jamp https://qsr2010.ospar.org/media/assessments/Basic_documents/EN_03-22e_J…