STAGES: Connecting Science to Policy for Healthy Seas
14 February 2013
Austria
STAGES (Science and Technology Advancing Governance on Good Environmental Status) is an EC FP7-funded project that is directly responding to a request from DG Environment to put a support action in place to facilitate the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
The total maritime area under the jurisdiction of European Union Member States is larger than the total land area of the EU itself. Almost half of Europe’s population live within 50 kilometres of the sea and only five of the 27 Member States do not have coastlines. Under the MSFD, EU Member States are expected to assess the overall status of their respective marine environments and to put in place the necessary measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020, using the ecosystem approach.
However, Member States face a significant challenge in achieving this goal. There is a critical lack of a necessary scientific knowledge base of the environmental descriptors that define the state of the marine environment. Moreover, bridges should be established between MSFD relevant marine science and maritime policy and stakeholders. Acknowledging this issue, the EU has prioritised the increase and efficient transfer of scientific knowledge of the marine environment and its processes as a fundamental requirement to adequately achieve the Directive's goal.
The STAGES project will directly address this scientific knowledge gap and channel science, technology and expertise to best inform policy-making. “Member States are facing an important challenge in the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. There are a number of technical and scientific gaps that may jeopardise the full implementation of the MSFD and the achievement of GES. Given this challenging scenario, there is a strong need to develop a knowledge base for assessing GES in a coherent and holistic manner. Moreover, relevant research results should be translated and transferred to policy makers to bridge the science-policy gap. It is this need that will be directly addressed by the STAGES project,” explains Marisa Fernández, STAGES coordinator.
The STAGES project will develop an inventory of relevant EU and national research projects and results relating to the MSFD, and make this information widely accessible to policy-makers and MSFD stakeholders through the Marine Knowledge Gate, a dynamic, searchable online portal. The STAGES consortium are in the process of surveying researchers of EU and national projects with relevance to MSFD for any new knowledge that can support the achievement of GES. Areas with a need for further research will be identified in consultation with stakeholders. STAGES will also consult with MSFD Stakeholders to put forward a proposal for a long-term European science-policy platform to bridge the MSFD science-policy gap.
A dedicated website for STAGES will go live in February. It will provide detailed information on the objectives of the project, its methodologies and expected results. It will also be a source of project news and progress updates.
For further information about STAGES, please contact Marisa Fernández Cañamero, STAGES Coordinator (mfernandez@cetmar.org) or Raquel Diez Arenas (rdiez@cetmar.org), Centro Tecnológico del Mar - Fundación (CETMAR) www.cetmar.org
Notes for Editors
The STAGES project is being carried out by a consortium of eight national and international bodies and is being coordinated by the Centro Tecnológico del Mar (CETMAR) in Spain. STAGES has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 308473.
Glossary
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD): The MSFD was the first legislative instrument in relation to marine policy in the EU. The MSFD lists 11 descriptors to guide evaluation of GES.
Good Environmental Status (GES): GES means that the overall state of the environment in marine waters provides ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive. The use of the marine environment must be kept at a sustainable level that safeguards potential uses and activities by current and future generations. This means the structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems have to be fully considered, marine species and habitats must be protected and human-induced decline of biodiversity prevented.
11 qualitative descriptors for determining GES:
• Biological diversity
• Non-indigenous species
• Population of commercial fish/shellfish
• Elements of marine food webs
• Eutrophication
• Sea floor integrity
• Alteration of hydrographical conditions
• Contaminants
• Contaminants in fish and seafood for human consumption
• Marine litter, and
• Introduction of energy, including underwater noise
The Ecosystem Approach: The ecosystem approach is a way of making decisions in order to manage our activities sustainably. It recognises that humans are part of the ecosystem and that our activities both affect the ecosystem and depend on it. Any decisions in managing the marine environment must take into consideration all ecosystem functions and services.
The total maritime area under the jurisdiction of European Union Member States is larger than the total land area of the EU itself. Almost half of Europe’s population live within 50 kilometres of the sea and only five of the 27 Member States do not have coastlines. Under the MSFD, EU Member States are expected to assess the overall status of their respective marine environments and to put in place the necessary measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020, using the ecosystem approach.
However, Member States face a significant challenge in achieving this goal. There is a critical lack of a necessary scientific knowledge base of the environmental descriptors that define the state of the marine environment. Moreover, bridges should be established between MSFD relevant marine science and maritime policy and stakeholders. Acknowledging this issue, the EU has prioritised the increase and efficient transfer of scientific knowledge of the marine environment and its processes as a fundamental requirement to adequately achieve the Directive's goal.
The STAGES project will directly address this scientific knowledge gap and channel science, technology and expertise to best inform policy-making. “Member States are facing an important challenge in the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. There are a number of technical and scientific gaps that may jeopardise the full implementation of the MSFD and the achievement of GES. Given this challenging scenario, there is a strong need to develop a knowledge base for assessing GES in a coherent and holistic manner. Moreover, relevant research results should be translated and transferred to policy makers to bridge the science-policy gap. It is this need that will be directly addressed by the STAGES project,” explains Marisa Fernández, STAGES coordinator.
The STAGES project will develop an inventory of relevant EU and national research projects and results relating to the MSFD, and make this information widely accessible to policy-makers and MSFD stakeholders through the Marine Knowledge Gate, a dynamic, searchable online portal. The STAGES consortium are in the process of surveying researchers of EU and national projects with relevance to MSFD for any new knowledge that can support the achievement of GES. Areas with a need for further research will be identified in consultation with stakeholders. STAGES will also consult with MSFD Stakeholders to put forward a proposal for a long-term European science-policy platform to bridge the MSFD science-policy gap.
A dedicated website for STAGES will go live in February. It will provide detailed information on the objectives of the project, its methodologies and expected results. It will also be a source of project news and progress updates.
For further information about STAGES, please contact Marisa Fernández Cañamero, STAGES Coordinator (mfernandez@cetmar.org) or Raquel Diez Arenas (rdiez@cetmar.org), Centro Tecnológico del Mar - Fundación (CETMAR) www.cetmar.org
Notes for Editors
The STAGES project is being carried out by a consortium of eight national and international bodies and is being coordinated by the Centro Tecnológico del Mar (CETMAR) in Spain. STAGES has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 308473.
Glossary
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD): The MSFD was the first legislative instrument in relation to marine policy in the EU. The MSFD lists 11 descriptors to guide evaluation of GES.
Good Environmental Status (GES): GES means that the overall state of the environment in marine waters provides ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive. The use of the marine environment must be kept at a sustainable level that safeguards potential uses and activities by current and future generations. This means the structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems have to be fully considered, marine species and habitats must be protected and human-induced decline of biodiversity prevented.
11 qualitative descriptors for determining GES:
• Biological diversity
• Non-indigenous species
• Population of commercial fish/shellfish
• Elements of marine food webs
• Eutrophication
• Sea floor integrity
• Alteration of hydrographical conditions
• Contaminants
• Contaminants in fish and seafood for human consumption
• Marine litter, and
• Introduction of energy, including underwater noise
The Ecosystem Approach: The ecosystem approach is a way of making decisions in order to manage our activities sustainably. It recognises that humans are part of the ecosystem and that our activities both affect the ecosystem and depend on it. Any decisions in managing the marine environment must take into consideration all ecosystem functions and services.