List of Documents

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU) 2017/845 of 17 May 2017 amending Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the indicative lists of elements to be taken into account for the preparation of marine strategies

COMMISSION DECISION (EU) 2017/848 of 17 May 2017 laying down criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters and specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment, and repealing Decision 2010/477/EU

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) workshop on non-indigenous species (NIS, MSFD D2), held in Ispra JRC (10th-11th of September 2015) aimed to provide clear proposals and conclusions on some of the outstanding issues identified in the D2 review process and included in the related manual (D2 review manual, May 2015: https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/cd4bbd6a-454a-40db-b805-52fb195d4e56/COMDEC_Review_D2_V6.pdf) in support to the review of Commission Decision 2010/477/EU. This report is complementing the Commission Decision 2010/477/EU review manual (JRC96884) and presents the final result of the scientific and technical review concluding phase 1 of the review of the Commission Decision 2010/477/EU in relation to Descriptor 2. The review has been carried out by the EC JRC together with experts nominated by EU Member States, and has considered contributions from the GES Working Group in accordance with the roadmap set out in the MSFD implementation strategy (agreed on at the 11th CIS MSCG meeting).

This report is the result of a scientific and technical review of Commission Decision 2010/477/EU in relation to Descriptor 2. The review has been carried out by the EC JRC together with experts nominated by EU Member States, and has considered contributions from the GES Working Group in accordance with the roadmap set out in the MSFD implementation strategy.

This Regulation sets out rules to prevent, minimise and mitigate the adverse impact on biodiversity of the introduction and spread within the Union, both intentional and unintentional, of invasive alien species.

This new report on the environment and sustainable development in the Mediterranean is the result of collective efforts by Mediterranean Action Plan components, led by Plan Bleu during the 2008-2009 biennium. In five main chapters, it shows the major impacts that climate change will have in the Mediterranean, describes the region's resources and natural environment together with the challenges posed by their conservation, explains the dynamics of the various areas, calls into question the sustainability of the main economic activities and, lastly, evaluates the effects of the measures taken by Mediterranean countries to protect the environment

The report is a collaborative effort comprising UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention components, parties and partners.

The European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) seeks to achieve, for all European seas 'Good Environmental Status' (GEnS, Borjia et al., 2011) by 2020; on the other hand ecological models are currently one of the strongest approaches used to predicting and understanding the consequences of anthropogenic and climate-driven changes in the natural environment. This presentation will highlight the results of a review conducted under an FP7 project called DEVOTES showing 1. current capabilities of the modelling community to inform on indicators outlined in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), with a special focus on the following three descriptors: biodiversity (D1), food webs (D4), non-indigenous species (D2) and seafloor integrity (D6); 2. which models are able to demonstrate the linkages between indicators and ecosystem structure/function and the impact of pressures on state and thus indicators; 3. gaps in model capability and needs for development. In addition, in order to facilitate the implementation of management policies like the MSFD and explore future plausible scenarios, some preliminary results will be presented on spatial and temporal evolution of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem from 1950 to 2010 and structural and functional changes of the basin using specific model derived indicators.

The report summarises the main lessons learned from two years of applied research and aims supporting the second cycle of the implementation of the MSFD Directive (including the review of the Decision 2010/477/EU, the review of MSFD Annex III and material that can be included in future guidance documents) and define Good Environmental Status. The report covers overarching issues and provides specific comments and recommendations on some of the MSFD biodiversity descriptors: D1 – Biological diversity, D2 – Non-indigenous species, D4 – Food webs and D6 – Sea-floor integrity.

Workshop aimed to: identify a common set of indicators for each Descriptor under the remit of EIHA, both indicators presented with targets by the CP in their MSFD reports as well as indicators to be further developed; To discuss practical monitoring needs for these possible indicators; To consider gaps in indicators and where new indicators might need to be developed