1. views on Good Environmental Status
Defining Healthy Seas
views on Good Environmental Status
While I will present the views of Greenpeace on GES, it would be entirely inappropriate to suggest that this work has been taken forward in isolation or even in a particularly innovative or individual way.
Not only have I worked closely with BirdLife International and IFAW on a list of criteria, inspiration has come from numerous NGOs, the documents of the stakeholder consultation process and other initiatives and institutions.
How to present what is essentially a rather dry list of characteristics/conditions that describe a healthy marine environment.
Three ways….. I could have presented:
a full scientific review of the pressures, drivers, trends etc - I have done some of that - but not at length because I would have risked putting some of you to sleep, and also I am not sure we are really talking rocket science here
a full digest of the political agreements, legal instruments and guidelines that have already been drafted and adopted - and I have done some of that - but I was not sure whether relying on existing aspirations would be sufficient to achieve the task at hand, or
I could have gone back to the why and how, and you will see that this is what I have actually done…
BUILDING ON THE VISION - MY VISION - OF HEALTHY SEAS TO COME TO THE RIGHT WORDS TO DEFINE GES

2. North Sea Baltic Sea Mediterranean and Atlantic
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

3. 2006 Greenpeace European Unit

4. Towards building a vision for Europe’s seas…
to protect, allow recovery and, where practicable, restore the function and structure of marine biodiversity and ecosystems […]
to institute a change in fisheries management to reverse the decline in stocks and ensure sustainable fisheries and a healthy ecosystem, both in the EU and globally
to phase out pollution in the marine environment so as to ensure that there are no significant impacts or risk to human and on ecosystem health […]
to eliminate human-induced eutrophication by 2010
to reach concentrations near background values for naturally occurring radioactive substances and close to zero for artificial radioactive substances by 2020
to contain the use of marine services and goods […] to levels that are sustainable and that do not compromise uses and activities of future generations nor the capacity of marine ecosystem to respond to changes
4 years of consultation
some of the ‘wants’ are rather broad and aspirational
others set specific deadlines etc
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

5. Teeming
with
life
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

6. The Ocean presumably is more than the sum of its parts...
1) using relevant ‘trend’ information, the natural diversity of a Marine Region is maintained and restored, including ecosystems, habitats and species, paying particular attention to […] e.g. fragile, sensitive, slow growth, low fecundity, long-lived, […]
2) populations of all exploited fish and shellfish have been restored to and are maintained within safe biological limits exhibiting a population age and size distribution that is indicative of a healthy stock
3) the adverse impacts of fishing practices on the marine environment have been minimised, including impacts on the seabed and the level of bycatch of non-target species and juvenile fish
4) population levels of species of small ‘forage’ fish, low in the food chain, are sustainable, especially in recognition of their importance to dependent predators, including commercially valuable fish and to the sustainability of ecosystems and their resource base
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

7. In accordance with the European Environment Agency, the following definition of safe biological limits shall apply: a stock is considered to be outside safe biological limits (SBL) when the spawning stock biomass (SSB) (the mature part of a stock) is below a biomass precautionary approach reference point (Bpa), or when the fishing mortality (F) (an expression of the proportion of a stock that is removed by fishing activities in a year) exceeds a fishing mortality precautionary approach reference point (Fpa).
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

8. Repeating the obvious ...
For stocks outside safe biological limits, the adoption of multi-annual recovery plans is an absolute priority.
The CFP … shall apply the precautionary approach in taking measures designed to protect and conserve living aquatic resources, to provide for their sustainable exploitation and to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine eco-systems. It shall aim at a progressive implementation of an eco-system-based approach to fisheries management ...
by 2015 at the latest, to have maintained or restored [fish] stocks to levels that can produce the maximum
sustainable yield
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

9. Safe and sound
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

10. Limitless no longer ...
5) concentrations of synthetic substances are near zero
6) all other chemical inputs, including for example endocrine-disrupting chemicals, are contained at levels which ensure that they do not, directly or indirectly, cause harm to the environment or human health
7) the impact of organic pollutants from riverine or land-based sources, aquaculture, or effluents from sewers and other outflows has been minimised; no new outflows are added without full treatment
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

11. No need to reinvent the wheel ...
by 2020, to have achieved the cessation of inputs of hazardous substances into the Baltic, with the ultimate aim of achieving concentrations in the environment near background levels for naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made synthetic substances
to make every endeavour to move towards the target of the cessation of discharges, emissions and losses of hazardous substances by the year 2020
Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate measures to prevent, abate, combat and to the fullest possible extent eliminate pollution of the Mediterranean Sea Area
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

12. A sea of waves not waste
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

13. Out of sight is not out of the way ...
8) impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems, including habitats and species, resulting from the exploration or exploitation of the seabed, subsoil or sedentary species have been minimised and do not adversely affect the structural and ecological integrity of benthic and associated ecosystems
9) the quantity of litter in marine and coastal environments has been reduced to a minimum and contained at a level which ensures that it does not pose a threat to marine species and habitats, human health or to the safety and economy of coastal communities
10) the systematic/intentional disposal of any liquid or gas into the water column or seabed/subsoil has been prohibited and the disposal of solid materials is prohibited without prior impact assessment
11) noise from major sources, such as offshore activities, shipping, and underwater acoustic devices has been reduced to levels that no longer have a significant impact on biodiversity, especially marine mammals
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

14. Seascape not ‘ escape ’
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

15. Better safe than sorry ...
12) although shipping accidents cannot be prevented altogether, measures are in place to prevent and mitigate damage to sensitive habitats and species, and oil pollution from operational sources have been prohibited and negligence reduced to levels that no longer have a significant impact on biodiversity and health
13) the regulated release of oil from platforms and pipelines, and the use of harmful drilling muds, have been stopped and accidental releases of these substances have been minimised
14) the intentional release of non-native species into the marine and coastal environment is prohibited, accidental releases have been minimised, and ballast water has been eliminated as a possible source of introduction. Use of new or novel (including non-native and genetically modified) species in aquaculture is prohibited without prior impact assessment
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

16. Carrying capacity ...
15) impacts on marine and coastal habitats and species resulting from man-made constructions have been minimised and do not adversely affect the structural and ecological integrity of benthic and associated ecosystems, nor the ability of coastal and marine habitats and species to adapt their range and distribution in the face of climate change
2006 Greenpeace European Unit

17. http://eu.greenpeace.org Saskia.Richartz@diala.greenpeace.org
2006 Greenpeace European Unit