Many Member States around the Baltic have just started on the road to implementation of the two-year old EU directive, an NGO meeting in Lithuania was told.
On Monday 10 May, NGOs around the Baltic Sea gathered to learn more about Marine Strategy Framework Directive and its implementation in the region. They also discussed the role that NGOs can play over the coming years in strengthening the national application of the Directive.
The purpose of the NGO meeting, held in Palanga, Lithuania, in connection with the annual meeting and 20-year Jubilee of the Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), was to update Baltic stakeholders on the content and state of play regarding the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), to build capacity in the region to support and strengthen the implementation of the Directive, and to discuss links to other areas of work including the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Participants were provided with a general overview of the Directive, as well as presentations from the Lithuanian and Swedish administrations on national implementation. Poul Degnbol from the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) contributed with a presentation focused on how to set, measure and evaluate the objectives and targets set out in the Directive. There were also examples from Germany and the United Kingdom on how NGOs have engaged in the process so far and been able to play a role.
It was clear from the presentations and the discussions that followed that many Member States have only just started to prepare for the implementation phase, and that the way it is structured varies greatly between countries.
The Directive has a strong regional component, specifically requiring Member States to work together on a regional basis to ensure ”Good Environmental Status” by 2020 – one of the key concepts in the overarching legislation. OSPAR and the Member States in the North Sea region seem to have taken this collaboration further than the Baltic equivalent HELCOM. Even though Member States such as Sweden considers HELCOM to have a key role in the process, to date there is a stronger focus on implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Some of the target set in the BSAP may be sufficient to use for regional targets under the MSFD as well, while in other areas new targets will need to be added to current HELCOM work.
On the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Member State representatives would meet with DG Environment staff in Brussels to agree on the definitions and criteria for Good Environmental Status (GES). The outcome of this meeting was crucial, as it would set the level of ambition for management of human activities affecting EC waters until 2020.
The meeting was organised by the Fisheries Secretariat (FISH) together with our Polish partners Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczne Eko-Unia and Fundacja Nasza Ziemia.