HORIZON SCAN OF PRIORITIES FOR EUROPEAN MARINE PILOT ACCOUNTS. Lauren Weatherdon

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1 HORIZON SCAN OF PRIORITIES FOR EUROPEAN MARINE PILOT ACCOUNTS Lauren Weatherdon 05/12/2017

2 Advancing the development and policy relevance of EUlevel marine pilot accounts (Focal Area 4, 1c) 1 Identify priorities regarding key marine pilot accounts in Europe, and how these could be established. 2 3 Examine the feasibility of establishing a marine pilot account for one of the identified priority ecosystem areas, highlighting potential methods and current gaps in knowledge. Contributing to strengthening the marine components of the CICES framework. EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTS 05/12/2017

3 Advancing the development and policy relevance of EUlevel marine pilot accounts (Focal Area 4, 1c) 1 Identify priorities regarding key marine pilot accounts in Europe, and how these could be established. 2 Examine the feasibility of establishing a marine pilot account for one of the identified priority ecosystem areas, highlighting potential methods and current gaps in knowledge. 3 Contributing to strengthening the marine components of the CICES framework. EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTS 05/12/2017

4 Approach The horizon scan Aim: To inform a high-level feasibility assessment of proposed parameters for pilot marine accounts. Challenges and opportunities were identified through: A review of the scientific, legislative and technical documents; Discussions with experts at the European Environment Agency and JNCC/EMODnet; Attendance at the Workshop for the delineation of subdivisions relevant for MSFD assessments/reporting in the Mediterranean Sea (21-22 June) with representatives from Mediterranean Member States, DG Environment, the EEA, ETC/ICM, and InfoRAC; Results of interviews with marine experts from the Directorate General (DG) of the Environment, conducted by The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTS 05/12/2017

5 State of knowledge: reports Recent outputs EEA Marine Road Map ; State of Europe s Seas report; Marine messages report; 2nd round of MSFD reporting between 2017 and 2018; Upcoming outputs Contaminant s in Europe s seas (2018) Pressures and impacts in Europe s seas (2018) EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

6 State of knowledge: data and information Source Examples of relevant data/indicators Coverage Biodiversity Links to entry points for reference data/information related to biodiversity in Europe-wide Information System for Europe (BISE) Europe (e.g. EEA s Biodiversity Data Centre, GBIF, Copernicus); does not host data directly. JRC STECF Non-spatial, country-level data on EU aquaculture, fleet economic performance, fisheries-dependent information, fish processing industry, etc. Europe-wide ICES-DOME OSPAR CEMP and HELCOM COMBINE data used for biological and chemical assessments (e.g. ocean acidification) Northeast Atlantic DATRAS Fisheries trawl surveys Northeast Atlantic EMODnet Broad-scale seabed habitat maps (EUSeaMap); biological datasets Europe-wide DCRF Fisheries-related data Mediterranean ODIMS OSPAR habitats in the North-east Atlantic Ocean; contaminants; bottom fishing intensity; underwater noise Northeast Atlantic EEA s Biodiversity Data Centre Copernicus Oxidised nitrogen concentrations; Article 17 data; dissolved inorganic nitrogen; Proportion of habitat assessments in each conservation status class per marine region; Waterbase (contains information on water quality in transitional, coastal and marine waters) CORINE Land Cover (e.g. saltmarshes); satellite-observations. Also hosts marine environmental data (e.g. sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, etc.). Europe-wide Europe-wide EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

7 State of knowledge: data and information Current data and information are/show heterogeneous and incomplete, found from different spatial scales and time frames; available largely in assessment format (difficult to disaggregate); a high amount of unknown, not reported and/or not assessed outcomes (e.g. 80% unknowns for marine biodiversity at the EU level) (MSFD, Article 8 Initial Assessments under Article 12). Advances include Status of fish stocks and condition of the seafloor (from fishing pressure), where other EU policy (Common Fisheries Policy) drives data collection; OSPAR and HELCOM (including monitoring programmes CEMP and account ), which have clearly defined reporting guidelines and cross-border cooperation. EEA and ETC/ICM development of pilot accounts: Pilot European fish accounts ; Pilot European seafloor integrity account ; long-term plan to develop biophysically-mapped assessment of seabed condition (using DEVOTES and HARMONY methods). EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

8 State of knowledge: relevant European projects/initiatives Current projects and initiatives helping to identify/leverage access to data include Support Mediterranean Member States towards coherent and Coordinated Implementation of the second phase of the MSFD (MEDCIS) project, which seeks to improve the management of and access to data/information used in MSFD assessments; MSFD CIS Working Group on Marine Data (TG DATA) has developed and is currently operationalising a long-term strategy for implementation of Article 19(3); European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) South and Operating a network of integrated observatory systems in the Mediterranean Sea (Horizon 2020 ODYSSEA) are collaborating with countries in the southern Mediterranean to increase spatial coverage of marine data of relevance to MSFD/IMAP. EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

9 EU policy utility of accounts Alignment with Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 (COM( )), which specifies that by 2020 ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced by establishing green infrastructure and restoring at least 15% of degraded ecosystems, and with multiple Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) criteria; Inform MSFD implementation through assessments of marine ecosystem degradation and, in turn, implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to marine spatial planning Integration of data across policy frameworks (e.g. MSFD, Common Fisheries Policy, Water Framework Directive, Habitats and Birds directives, and the Barcelona Convention through IMAP, in particular), with a focus on harmonisation; Natural capital accounting methodologies developed would ideally align with the criteria and indicators selected for assessing good environmental status, and with the guidance documents provided in the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) (Action 5, Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020). EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

10 Recommendations Opportunities through alignment with MSFD and other EU policy frameworks Despite limited access to spatial data, there was agreement that preliminary methodologies could be developed proactively based on a combination of existing information and expected improvements; Could use data/information from Regional Seas Convention at an advanced stage of implementation (e.g. HELCOM and OSPAR) to trial methods, and then populate these with new data to be obtained during next reporting cycles of MSFD, etc.; Data to be released through WISE-Marine in 2018 (from MSFD Articles 8, 9 and 10); Quick wins *: Dissolved oxygen and ph; keystone habitats (e.g. seagrasses, deep sea corals). (*Full feasibility assessment still needed.) EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

11 Recommendations Opportunities to develop marine accounts beyond using information from EU policy frameworks Balance between scientific integrity and pragmatism necessary to accommodate differences in technological, financial and human capacity across Member States; Opportunities to draw from expertise, data and methodologies applied elsewhere, including direct (e.g. condition metrics) and indirect (e.g. pressures; associated species) proxies and indicators; Examples: Wetland Extent Trends (WET) Index (not spatially explicit); Horizon 2020 Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas (reviewed state of knowledge on European habitat mapping and degraded habitats/pressures); Challenges associated with using non-governmental, project-based data/information include: longevity of data sources (i.e. often one-off studies); outputs may not align directly with legislative requirements; limited comparability between data due to differing methods. EXPERT WORKSHOP ON ADVANCING THE KIP-INCA: HORIZON SCAN 06/12/2017

12 UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre Lauren Weatherdon Programme Officer, Marine Programme