Achieving a good state of the marine environment is the next challenge

After fresh water, sea water. The environment of the European communities commission meets tomorrow to examine a draft directive on the protection of marine environments that will complement a device already in application for freshwater. To the many threats to the oceans and seas, everyone's efforts are sufficient. The draft directive, which the rapporteur is the French MEP Marie - Noëlle Lienemann, has the same architecture as the directive on fresh water, which requires each European State to achieve good status of the water by 2015.

Achieving a good state of the marine environment is the next challenge. To do this, the procedure is the same: each country should make a diagnosis shared with neighbours of the situation of the marine regions affecting, set goals and develop a program to achieve. Points of step and relevant indicators should be defined and transmitted to Brussels regularly. All scientific reports converge on the finding of a weakened marine environment: biodiversity depletion, contamination by dangerous substances, degradation or disruption including noise pollution of marine habitats, toxic algal blooms...

The marine environment is a valuable asset, a common heritage whose ecological, social and economic importance for the present and the future of humanity calls extreme attention. The draft directive intends to take into account the complexity of this ecosystem by a holistic approach, integrating scientific, environmental, health, industrial and commercial issues. It's to protect biodiversity by avoiding for example reduce the populations of tuna red in the Mediterranean or overexploiting the banks of cod in the Baltic Sea, while allowing sustainable economic development of fishing and its infrastructure. Brussels believes that the turnover of British fishing companies could drop to 30 in the absence of modernization and proper management of stocks.

The exception of special areas

The project schedule, still under discussion, may vary notably according to the ambition of the objectives set. The version currently presented provides a period of four years from the time when the text is published, to make the State of scientific and define the good ecological status for each marine region. Then, each country has a year to clarify the objectives to be achieved no later than on the horizon 2021 or 2025. In the meantime, regular stage points should allow the point on the data of monitoring plans to verify the reality of the implementation of the actions. European cities are already struggling to meet the objectives of the directive on the treatment of waste water but from 1991.

Debates should be alive, because text plans to allow States to define "special areas", where where they feel unable to achieve, at the set time, the good ecological status. Pragmatism and principle of reality for some, it will appear to others as a means of escape from the stress. Associations for the defence of the environment will follow with attention the definition and the place given to the development of protected areas and marine reserves. Grouped into coalition, major NGOs want finally that the text introduces a requirement to obtain the good ecological status and not only the development of a strategy.