OSPAR: Potential EMODNET contributor and user

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OSPAR Potential EMODNET contributor and user
Audrey Baconnais-RosezOSPAR Commission
SecretariatEMODNET Kick-off meeting Brussels, 4
June 2009

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Plan

• OSPAR Convention
• Who are we?
• OSPAR strategies
• JAMP
• Collection and storage of the data
• Outstanding issues
• Contact

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OSPAR Convention for the protection of the marine
environment of the North-East Atlantic

• Main Objectives
• to prevent and eliminate pollution
• to protect the sea from adverse effects of human
  activities
• to safeguard human health
• to conserve marine ecosystems and,
• to restore affected marine areas
• In doing so
• to apply an ecosystem approach
• to apply the precautionary principle, the
  polluter pays principle, and BAT and BEP
• to adopt and implement programmes and measures
• periodic general assessments of the quality
  status of the North-East Atlantic and its
  sub-regions (Quality Status Reports)

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Who are we?

• 16 Contracting Parties (12 EU Member States), 13
  million km2 maritime area
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Luxembourg
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• The United Kingdom
• European Community
• Involvement of IGOs and NGOs

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OSPAR Strategies

• 5 Thematic Strategies
• Biodiversity and Ecosystems
• Offshore industries
• Hazardous Substances
• Eutrophication
• Radioactive Substances
• 6th Strategy
• Joint monitoring and assessment programme to
  assess quality status and progress in
  implementing the Strategies

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JAMP

• For each strategy, the JAMP provides
• Issues to be addressed
• Tools (existing and to be developed)
• Information collection
• Assessments to produce

• Use of data collected under the JAMP
• Periodic assessments
• Quality status reports (next to be published in
  2010)
• gt Basis for management measures

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Collection and storage of the data

• Collection
• Agreed reporting formats and procedures
• Quality assurance
• Location / frequency
• Several tools (ex models, guidelines,
  trend-detection techniques, Environmental quality
  criteria )
• External general sources of information
• Storage
• OSPAR secretariat
• External data centres for OSPAR (ex ICES, NILU,
  governmental agencies)
• Data on OSPAR maritime area environment have been
  collected for nearly 3 decades

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OSPAR, potential contributor/user?

• Contributor
• Long term data set on regional scale
• Well-established network of experts
• Wide scope of data
• Wide geographical extent
• Quality assurance
• Collection tools
• User
• Access to data not collected by OSPAR
• Identification of gaps

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Outstanding issues

• To ensure consistency between reporting
  requirements
• Crucial to ensure that Member States report once,
  to avoid duplication
• Essential to use existing structures, procedures,
  formats and expert networks
• To take into account the Regional Seas
  Conventions work on the implementation of the
  MSFD, to ensure consistency with this work
• Some OSPAR Contracting Parties are not EU members
• Technical issues standards / formats / physical
  infrastructures. Who will develop and maintain
  them?
• To ensure interoperability
• Clarification of the term Regional Sea Nodes
  Who? What function? Where?
• Level of details/interpretation of data in
  EMODNET?
• What future for EMODNET after 2014?

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Contact

• OSPAR CommissionNew Court48 Carey StreetLondon
  WC2A 2JQ / UKTel 44 (0) 20 7430 5200Fax 44
  (0) 20 7430 5225Email address
  secretariat_at_ospar.org Website
  www.ospar.org
• Photography Audrey Baconnais-Rosez, Jennifer
  Labédie, John Dunn, David Johnson, Colin Moffat