Proposed Marine Strategy
The European Commission has proposed a strategy to protect more effectively the marine environment across Europe. The Thematic Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment aims to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2021 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend. The Marine Strategy is also the environmental pillar of an overall maritime approach and policies.
A Marine Strategy Directive will establish European Marine Regions on the basis of geographical and environmental criteria. Each Member State, in close cooperation with the relevant other Member States and third countries within a Marine Region, will be required to develop Marine Strategies for its marine waters.
The Marine Strategies will contain a detailed assessment of the state of the environment, a definition of "good environmental status" at regional level and the establishment of clear environmental targets and monitoring programmes. Each Member State will draw up a programme of cost-effective measures. Impact assessments, including detailed cost-benefit analysis of the measures proposed, will be required prior to the introduction of any new measure. Where it would be impossible for a Member State to achieve the level of ambition of the environmental targets set, special areas and situations will be identified in order to devise specific measures tailored to their particular contexts.
The Marine Strategy is consistent with the Water Framework Directive from 2000 which requires that surface freshwater and ground water bodies (i.e., lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, coastal water) achieve a good ecological status by 2015 and that the first review of the River Basin Management Plan should take place in 2021.
References
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