ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving Future Ecosystem Benefits through Earth Observations

Sediment core samples are extracted from the tidal flats of the coastal area in the Dutch Delta, to analyse the diversity of animals living on and in the sediment.

3.1.2 Frameworks and directives relevant to ECOPOTENTIAL A number of frameworks with relevance to the ECOPOTENTIAL project exist, as described below. It was determined from the questionnaire results that their use was more limited than might have been expected. Coastal and Marine Two main directives have been developed and implemented for the protection of the natural aquatic environment (fresh water, brackish water and marine water): the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). No mention of fisheries policies was made; this can be followed up with the Protected Area managers in upcoming meetings to ensure there was no oversight in the questionnaire responses. The Water Framework Directive was implemented in 2000 (EC, 2000) and is aimed at the protection of the ecological quality of complete river basins, from source to the outer deltas they create. For ECOPOTENTIAL, its applications in so-called transitional waters and coastal waters are of most importance: lagoons and estuaries are part of the protection regime under the Water Framework Directive. All transitional and coastal waters up to 12 nautical miles from the territorial baseline are assigned as either a Transitional Water body, or a Coastal Water body. The Water Framework Directive itself does

not mention ecosystem services explicitly, but there is considerable literature linking the Water Framework Directive legislation to the use of ecosystem services. The main policy document in the marine waters of the EU is the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which aims to achieve Good Environmental Status of the EU’s marine waters by 2020. Good Environmental Status is defined as “the environmental status of marine waters where these provide ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive” (Article 3, EU, 2008). This directive promotes sustainable use of the seas and conserves marine ecosystems under the ecosystem-based approach. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive has divided the relevant characteristics of the marine environment to achieve Good Environmental Status into eleven descriptors, including, for example, biodiversity, eutrophication and marine litter. It is the first legislative piece that explicitly mentions ecosystemservices (preamble 8), in the context of the ecosystem-based approach. The EEA has recently published it State of Europe’s Sea report in which it shows a methodology to derive ecosystem services state based on information from assessment reporting under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Mountains No overarching EU directive for ecosystem services exists specifically for mountainous areas. The EEA released a

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