Initial Assessment: reflections on structure and contents Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment The Netherlands Initial Assessment: reflections on structure and contents Lisette Enserink Rijkswaterstaat/Centre for Water Management MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
public consultation (6 wk) IA analysis and ground work GES and indicators ground work policy cover paper final product Contractor starts in Spring 2010 1st draft of IA background doc delivered in December 2010, 2nd draft 1 May 2011, deadline 30 September Ground work GES detremination and indicators & targets 1st draft 1 May 2011, deadline 30 September Marine Strategy policy cover note = IA+GES+indicators/targets: Started early 2011, deadline september 2011 Policy consultation: October 2011 Public consultation: 1 December 2011 Finalisation cover paper until mid July 2012 public consultation (6 wk) 2010 2011 2012 MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
Marine Strategy – policy cover paper Consists of General introduction Initial assessment (Art. 8) Definition of GES (Art. 9) Definition of indicators and targets (Art. 10) Economic and social analysis (Art. XX) Geographic coverage: Dutch continental shelf, landward limit = baseline defined by mean low tide Approx. <100 pages Supported by background documents on IA, GES and indicators and targets MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
IA scope IA explains priorities for delivering GES IA is based on existing assessments, no assessment of GES Geographic coverage: Dutch continental shelf, landward limit = baseline defined by mean low tide Consistency checks with neighbouring Member States in OSPAR MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
IA structure Annex I is leading. Argumentation: IA serves as general baseline for GES determination Background document: per Descriptor: current status/impacts, historic trends, main pressures human activities in separate chapter for easy reference consistency check with Annex III Policy cover paper: Per Descriptor: summary of background info Per pressure: relation with activities; future trends; socio-economic analysis reference Table to Annex III. MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
Scope and status of IA background document Based on existing assessment frameworks and reports/publications, incl. OSPAR QSR 2010, WFD Art. 5 reporting No additional data analyses, no EIA/licensing information Expert knowledge from two Dutch applied research institutes (contractors) Used as reference material for policy cover paper Contents: Executive summary Introduction Description of Dutch part of the North Sea (incl CC) Human activities and (related) pressures on the ecosystem Current environmental status – per Descriptor References MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
Economic and social analysis Iteration between national and international development of understanding Current elements (contractors): Description of uses and their economic importance Assessment of costs of (preventing) degradation Assessment of costs and benefits of measures to achieve GES Drafting stage MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011
Current issues Scenarios to define overall ambition – political involvement Linking IA – GES – indicators & targets Determination of indicators on the basis of IA is difficult >> COM DEC Being pragmatic: short term products and medium term needs MSCG Workshop on Initial Assessment, Brussels, 10 May 2011