In-Depth Assessment of the EU Member States' Submissions for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive under Articles 8, 9 and 10 on Hydrographical Conditions Descriptor 7


	Daniel Gonzalez, Clare Coughlan, Adolf Stips, Georg Hanke, Andreas Palialexis
	According to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), in 2012 Member States had to report on the initial assessment of their marine waters (art. 8), on the determination of good environmental status (art. 9) and on the establishment of environmental targets and associated indicators (art. 10). At the request of DG Environment, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has carried out an in-depth assessment (IDA) of the reporting done by Member States. This document presents the result of this IDA for MSFD Descriptor 7 (Permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions does not adversely affect marine ecosystems), carried out on the basis of reporting from the following Member States (MS): Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. The aims of the IDA were: i) to evaluate comparability and coherence of methods and in particular their relation to the assessments under other European and international frames and the latest scientific evidence, ii) to provide recommendations for improved implementation of the MSFD in the second cycle (2018) and iii) to support the review and the possible revision of the Commission Decision (2010/477/EU). In this IDA document, relevant issues are addressed, followed by suggestions and potential actors regarding the MSFD Descriptor 7.

Keywords: MSFD, hydrographical conditions, Descriptor 7, assessment

Type	Report
Published	2014
Source	JRC Science and Policy Reports
Ref.	EUR 26800 EN
Level	DE
Language	EN

Inv. nb:	201409161418 Download: 1,166.95 Ko