21 Feb 2014 - Many of
Europe's marine species, habitats and ecosystems
have been threatened for decades. As maritime
economic activities are predicted to increase
in coming years, a new briefing from the
European Environment Agency (EEA) argues
that the cumulative impact of human activity
should be better managed to avoid irreversible
damage to ecosystems.
We must ensure that
this asset is used in a sustainable way,
without surpassing the limits of what the
ecosystems can provide. The current way
we use the sea risks irreversibly degrading
many of these ecosystems.
Hans Bruyninckx, EEA
Executive Director
Many European industries
have growing cumulative impacts on the sea,
including transport, fishing, offshore energy
and tourism. 'Marine messages' highlights
the vulnerable nature of Europe's marine
ecosystems, which may be irreversibly damaged
if they continue to be exploited beyond
sustainable limits. European countries need
better information to help them understand
the nature of these limits, the briefing
says.
The publication is being
launched to support the HOPE marine conference
on 3-4 March, 2014.
Hans Bruyninckx, EEA
Executive Director said: "The rich
life in Europe's seas is an incredible asset.
But we must ensure that this asset is used
in a sustainable way, without surpassing
the limits of what the ecosystems can provide.
The current way we use the sea risks irreversibly
degrading many of these ecosystems."
Approximately two fifths
of the EU's population –206 million people
– live in a coastal area, and 23 of 28 Member
States have a coastline. According to analysis
from the European Commission, also published
today, Member States must make urgent efforts
and improve cooperation for the marine environment
to reach good status by 2020, a target under
the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
(MSFD).
Europe's marine ecosystems
threatened by multiple pressures
Marine ecosystems are
in a poor state of health in many areas,
the EEA briefing says. There are more than
36 000 known animal and plant species in
the European seas. Species surveys have
found that 'good environmental status' can
be applied to less than a fifth of species
and a similar proportion of habitats.
Different seas face
different problems. Eutrophication is leading
to oxygen-free 'dead zones' in the Baltic
and Black Seas, while trawling has been
most destructive of the seabed in the North
Sea. The Mediterranean is under pressure
from a range of factors, many of them related
to fishing and tourism.
In the last 25 years,
sea surface temperatures have increased
approximately 10 times faster than in other
similar periods during the previous century
or beyond. These climatic changes are pushing
many organisms northwards – for example
some types of plankton appear to have moved
1 100km.
However, it is not a
single issue but the cumulative effect of
different pressures which is most important,
the briefing notes. And many of these pressures
are connected. For example, higher temperatures
also increase oxygen depletion, affecting
marine life, while increasing CO2 levels
in the atmosphere are acidifying the oceans,
making it difficult for some animals to
form shells. Together these changes may
be disrupting whole ecosystems.
Nonetheless, there are
also some encouraging signs. For instance,
the available data shows some fish stocks
climbing back to safe biological limits,
and nutrient loads have been reduced in
the Baltic and North East Atlantic. Europe
is also making progress in designating marine
protected area networks, which currently
cover 6 % of European seas.
Looking ahead
To see real improvement
in our marine environment, the briefing
recommends a two-fold approach. Firstly,
Member States need to implement the MSFD
in a more consistent and coherent manner
that allows progress towards good environmental
status to be monitored across regions. But
seen over the longer perspective, reducing
environmental pressures will require us
to shift our economies and our values to
a more sustainable ways of living, producing
and consuming, the briefing notes.
Such a transition is
an ambitious goal, but it is necessary to
fulfil the vision of 'living well within
the limits of our planet' contained in the
7th Environmental Action Programme which
sets out Europe's environmental policy priorities.
