Analysis of the implementation of the european marine strategy framework directive in the north-east atlantic region

Laburpena

The marine environment hosts some of the most productive ecosystems. People have historically depended on the ecosystem services it provides, including food, coastal protection, climate regulation, tourism and way to transport people and goods. However, the growing human population has led to an increase of the demand of these services and, as a consequence, the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems have deteriorated. This has included the loss of biodiversity, contamination and global warming, all of which caused loss of economic opportunities. At the global level, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was the first step to protect marine ecosystems and to enhance a sustainable management of economic activities. At the European level, several policies are in place to regulate sectoral maritime activities, but only recently the European Commission encompasses an integrated management with the adoption the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The main goal of this directive is to ensure that Member States achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status of their marine waters by the year 2020 at the latest. The present multidisciplinary thesis focuses on the implementation of this directive in the ten countries of the North-East Atlantic region, taking into consideration ecological, socio-economic and governance aspects. It investigates the level of coordination among countries and the level of coherence in the integration of related European and international environmental legislation. The North-East Atlantic region was selected as area of study because of its great variety of biological, ecological and climatic conditions as well as the presence of the most important economic sectors. The methodology used to carry out this research is a comparative analysis of national reports, associated to an extensive literature review and a dedicated survey. The results of the comparative analysis present the main differences among the initial assessment, definitions of Good Environmental Status and targets established by the ten countries of the region, especially for biodiversity related descriptors. Low levels of coherence are also observed at sub-regional level in the programmes of management measures developed by the three countries of the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast. In both cases, the differences regard the period of submission, type of information and the level of detail provided, type of pressure and the way obligations of existing legislation have been integrated, e.g. the list of regional threatened species and habitats as well as the list of contaminants. The survey has allowed the study to identify the reasons behind these differences among national strategies across the region and sub-regions. These indicate that regional coordination structures are, in general, well-developed but there is an apparent lack of political will to coordinate actions at the regional level. Member States representatives ask for more flexibility to implement the directive but putting their national interest before the benefits of a coherent approach within the regions. Differences in budget, economic sector predominance, lack of staff and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive short time-scale demonstrate to be major factors that can hamper cooperation. To move toward a more coherent implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the region in the next cycle, it is suggested to make a better use of the many coordination and social platforms that are aimed at supporting all the interested parties (including Member States, the European Commission and its Directorate-Generals, the Regional Seas Conventions, Stakeholders, NGOs and scientific community) to fill gaps in knowledge, identify best practices, exchange views and concerns, build trust between and among governments and stakeholders.