MAES and its relation to marine environmental policies Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) in the marine environment - Brussels, 19 June 2013 - ENV.B.2 – Biodiversity ENV.B.3 – Nature ENV.C.2 – Marine environment

EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020: relevant targets and actions T1: Full implementation of Birds, Habitats Dir. A1: Complete Natura 2000 network A4: Improve, streamline monitoring, reporting T2: Maintain, enhance ecosystems + services A5: MAES A6: Restoration A7: No net loss T4: Sustainable use of fisheries resources

Mapping and assessment of ecosystems + services (MAES) “Member States, with the assistance of the Commission, will map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territory by 2014, assess the economic value of such services, and promote the integration of these values into accounting and reporting systems at EU and national level by 2020.”

MAES in the Biodiversity Strategy

Biodiversity Strategy: common implementation framework Overall guidance: BD/Nature Directors (MS + EC) Joint meeting with Water/Marine Directors (Lithuania, December 2013) Operational steering: Coordination Group for Biodiversity and Nature – CGBN Target-specific working groups Relying on existing structures where possible  WG GES for Target 4 New WGs where needed, incl. on MAES

WG MAES Assembling MS representatives, Commission, EEA, external experts, stakeholders Supported by MESEU contract 5 meetings to date (+ stakeholder workshop Nov. 2012) Overseeing development of analytical framework Launched 6 thematic pilots, incl. marine, to test analytical framework To take stock of preliminary pilot results in Sept. 2013

Overall conceptual framework Linking the state of European ecosystems to human well-being through the delivery of ecosystem services

Typology of ecosystems: 12 broad types Terrestrial & fresh water 1. Urban 2. Cropland 3. Grassland 4. Woodland & forest 5. Heathland & shrub 6. Sparsely vegetated land 7. Wetlands 8. Rivers and lakes Marine 9. Marine inlets & transitional waters 10. Coastal 11. Shelf 12. Open ocean

'MAES marine': challenges and opportunities Concepts Variety of ecosystem/habitat classifications, not fully adapted to marine specificities  EEA/ETC-BD cross-walks paper Data Current shortage of spatially explicit, three-dimensional information Important information expected from MS reporting under MSFD Need to tap also into other reporting streams, incl. under CFP, Art. 17 Habitats Dir.

MAES and the MSFD The Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to: achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020 through an ecosystem-based approach enabling sustainable use of marine goods and services MSFD can contribute to MAES: Provision of ecosystem state assessments and maps MSFD can benefit from MAES by: Linking assessments of ecosystem services to particular components of the marine ecosystems Demonstrating the benefits of achieving GES for these components/services Support need for measures to achieve GES through improved ecosystem services (links to costs of a degraded environment)

MAES and the MSFD – an example Achieving GES by 2020 includes: All commercial fish and shellfish stocks: Within safe biological limits Population age and size structure indicative of a healthy stock All stocks at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) Compatible goals for CFP and Target 4 of EU Biodiversity Strategy MAES can: Link ecosystem service (food provision) to component of the marine ecosystems (fish populations) Demonstrate benefits of achieving GES (MSY) for fish/food provision Support need for measures to achieve MSY – healthy stocks, improved food availability, increased efficiency of fishing industry

Marine Natura 2000 – background Habitats and Birds Directives cover some key components of coastal and marine ecosystems Apply to waters where MS exercise sovereign rights Designation and management of Natura 2000 sites across EU marine regions main tool for the protection/conservation of those features Link to MPAs under MSFD

Currently: 2.341 marine N2000 sites, 217.464 km² (= ~ 4 % of EU seas under national jurisdiction) Ongoing progress but still significant gaps offshore

Socio-economic benefits from MPAs under N2000 Marine Natura 2000 areas and the resources they support provide provide a wide range of valuable goods and services: Fisheries: fish spawning and feeding grounds, seafood Carbon sequestration, climate regulation Recreation and tourism Erosion control Genetic resources – pharmaceutics … and related income and employment generated A study on benefits of MPAs in Scottish waters estimated their goods and services at £6.3 billion - £10 billion over 20 years.

Marine features: conservation status

Main issues Conservation status of marine features very much 'unknown' (50-70% of assessments) Need for more inventories and implementation of appropriate monitoring schemes … and for more cooperation across borders on monitoring, favourable reference values, status assessment and conservation objectives

MAES and conservation status information EEA & ETC-BD work on grouping of habitats and species of EU interest towards the MAES eco-systems classification & how to work with these as indicators Challenges for using Art. 17 data: Scale of the assessment (national biogeographical region/regional sea) Lack of marine knowledge EU protected habitats and species are only a part of Europe's biodiversity, particularly in the marine!

Conclusions How MAES can support marine environmental policies … How MSFD, N2000 work can contribute to MAES