CleanSea
Towards a Clean, Litter-Free European Marine Environment through Scientific Evidence, Innovative Tools and Good Governance
Marine litter is widely recognized as a threat to Europe's marine ecosystems. It is a major
societal challenge because it impacts the vast natural marine capital that supports
economies, societies and individual well-being. Political and public awareness about
marine litter has been increasing over the last few years. Marine litter is identified as
a descriptor for determining Good Environmental Status (GES) under the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive (MSFD). Europe aims to achieve GES by 2020 and CleanSea - the
first ever framework program research project dedicated to marine litter - will provide key
scientific knowledge and tools for marine litter action plans. |
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The CleanSea project will i) provide a comprehensive
characterization and analysis of the
marine litter problem (biological, chemical,
social, economic, legislative and policy-oriented)
in the EU's four marine regions, ii) propose
innovative monitoring tools and standard protocols
to facilitate monitoring marine litter in
a harmonized way, and iii) present management
measures and policy options to meet MSFD and
other international objectives regarding marine
litter. Outreach activities (e.g. documentary film)
are designed to maximize the project's impact, | transparency and relevance in addressing the
marine litter issue. The project's unique combination
of disciplines will provide key input into
a European roadmap for marine litter reduction.
Results will be made available to Member
States in order to be applied in their MSFD
implementation planning and goals. Project outcomes
will benefit the MSFD, but important links
also exist with the Thematic Strategy on the
Prevention and Recycling of Waste, the Waste
Framework Directive, the Common Fisheries
Policy, the Water Framework Directive and the |
EU-funded Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/
Mediterranean Environment Programme.
Management measures and strategies highlighted
in CleanSea may also contribute to the
'Europe 2020' related Flagship initiative on
'Resource Efficiency'. Measures and policies that
promote upstream sustainable production and
use of plastics or recycling of waste that will be
highlighted in the Road map are also relevant in
this context. In that sense, CleanSea is complementary
to the BIOCLEAN project funded under
'The Ocean of Tomorrow 2012' coordinated initiative.
The promising tools being developed by
SMEs in CleanSea can be available for MSFD
monitoring and future research. |
With a Consortium diverse in expertise and
experience, CleanSea aims to break down interdisciplinary
barriers by synthesizing data and
knowledge generated across its 5 RTD work
packages. Advanced techniques in the fields
of (eco)toxicology, analytical chemistry, satellite
imaging, engineering, oceanographic modelling
and materials biodegradation testing
will be used to assess the distribution, fate
and impacts of marine litter. The participatory
approach, policy analysis, ecosystem services
mapping and economic policy instruments evaluation
will be applied to identify financial, social
and governance barriers to GES - and to recommend
effective policy options and management
measures to remove these barriers. Researchers
interact via the CleanSea Stakeholder Platform
and are well-represented at marine litter and
waste conferences worldwide as well in the
European Commission's Technical Subgroup on
Marine Litter. |
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