EU Marine Strategy Directive
The EU Marine Strategy, of which the Marine Strategy Directive is a part, is one of seven thematic strategies adopted by the European Commission as a result of the EU's 6th Environment Action Programme (6EAP). The strategy aims to "promote sustainable use of the seas and conserve marine ecosystems".
The Commission's original proposal for a Marine Strategy Directive was published after three years of consultation in October 2005. The draft was subsequently strengthened by the European Parliament. The "compromise" reached by the Council and Parliament in December 2007 was the product of a lengthy and difficult process.
The aim of this Directive – in its final stages of agreement in January 2008 - is to fit in to the overarching policy of the European Commission to integrate an ecosystems-based approach to management of human activities whilst enabling sustainable use of goods and services provided by the marine environment. The final text of the Directive will require member states to take measures to achieve and maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) in Europe’s marine environment by 2020. Under these measures, Marine Protected Areas will become obligatory in any programme of measures in order to maintain:
- Biological Diversity
- Food webs
- Checks on non-indigenous species
- Commercially exploited fish stocks in healthy states
- Checks on eutrophication
- Checks on contaminants, litter and pollutants
The Devon Maritime Forum welcomes the idea of addressing all sectoral marine environmental pressures in an integrated manner but has concerns about the strength of the Directive to provide the European marine environment with the protection that it requires. Does the Ecosystems Approach give a licence for continued unbridled development without sufficient referral and support for the protection and enhancement of marine habitats? To this end the Strategy requires the inclusion of the Third Sector and all stakeholders in policy development.