Preprint volume - SIBM

Pre-print Volume – Introductory lecture
Topic 1: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION SCIENCE: CONTRIBUTING TO MANAGEMENT
M. FROST
Marine Biological Association, The Laboratory, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
matfr@mba.ac.uk
ASSESSING THE STATUS OF SEAS AND OCEANS:
DETERMINING THE ROLES OF SCIENCE AND POLICY
VALUTARE LO STATO DI MARI E GLI OCEANI:
DETERMINARE I RUOLI DI SCIENZA E LA LINEA DI CONDOTTA
Abstract - There are numerous targets related to achieving a particular status for biodiversity, marine
ecosystem components, and the marine environment as a whole. The vision adopted at the European and
UK level is for “clean, safe, healthy, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas”. The UK
government is currently producing its 5 yearly State of Seas report “Charting Progress 2 2010” assessing
progress towards that vision. This report is the largest collation and analysis of marine data ever attempted
in the UK and is providing invaluable information on trends in various ecosystem components. However,
providing an assessment of state has produced the challenge of finding agreement on what we mean by
clean, safe, healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas. This issue involves a complex interplay of
scientific, political/societal considerations and any agreement will be crucial in informing future targets
such as achieving “Good Environmental Status” by 2020, which is the central aim of the European Marine
Strategy Framework Directive.
Key-words: marine assessment, marine strategy framework directive, baselines, charting progress,
assessment, conservation.
Setting goals for the marine environment - A number of targets and strategic
objectives exist relating to marine conservation at the international, European and UK
level. Examples include a series of agreements aimed at halting or reducing the rate of
biodiversity loss by 2010 (CBD, 2005; EC, 2001, 2004, 2006) and the Ecological
Quality Objectives set out by Ospar (1998) as part of the ecosystem approach. Legally
enforceable targets include achieving “Favourable Conservation Status” under the
Habitats Directive (EC, 1992) and “Good Ecological Status” and “Good Chemical
Status” under the Water Framework Directive (EC, 2000). All of these targets are able
to contribute to an overall vision, which in the UK is articulated in the aim of having
“clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas” (Defra,
2002). The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) has “the ultimate
aim of maintaining biodiversity and providing diverse and dynamic oceans and seas
which are clean, healthy and productive”, encapsulated in the target of achieving
“Good Environmental Status” (GES) by 2020 (EC, 2008). The conceptual and
philosophical underpinning of the biodiversity and ecological quality targets is that
scientists and policy makers accept that actions that contribute to an overall loss of
biodiversity are “bad” (Reed, 2007) and that the exploitation of our seas should be
undertaken in a sustainable way that does not compromise their ability to provide
resources and maintain their function in the future. However, in terms of the marine
environment being at the “status” as articulated in the overall vision, the difficulty
arises as to what that status should be i.e. what should our seas look like (and how will
GES be defined)? In order to provide an assessment of progress towards the vision the
UK government produced a report, Charting Progress: State of UK Seas (Defra, 2005)
measuring how different aspects of the marine environment compared with the vision.
Charting Progress 2 (CP2) 2010 provides an update on the first assessment and also
forms the basis for the initial UK assessment of current environmental status required
41 st S.I.B.M. CONGRESS Rapallo (GE), 7-11 June 2010
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