1. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
Public Participation:
Obligations & Opportunities
MSFD, MSP & ICZM
DG ENVIRONMENT
Unit C2- Marine Environment and Water Industry

2. What is Public Participation?
DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
What is Public Participation?
"Allowing people to influence the outcome of plans and working processes".
Types: Oral & Written.
Levels of influence:
Information supply
Consultation
Active involvement
INFORMATION SUPPLY
CONSULTATION
ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) Guidance Document n°8: " Public Participation in relation to the Water Framework Directive" .

3. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
LEGISLATION
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Aarhus Convention 1998: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) provides for: * the right of access to environmental information * the right to participate in environmental decision-making * the right to access to justice, i.e. to review procedures & challenge public decisions made without respecting the two aforementioned rights or environmental law in general

4. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
EUROPEAN LEVEL
Decision 2005/370/EC: makes the EU a party to the Aarhus Convention
Directive 2003/4/EC: allows public access to environmental information and repeals Council Directive 90/313/EEC
Directive 2003/35/EC: provides for public participation when drawing up certain plans and programmes relating to the environment; also amends Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC with regard to public participation and access to justice.
Other EU Directives: include provisions for public participation in environmental decision-making

5. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
MSFD- Art. 19
Public consultation and information
1. In accordance with relevant existing Community legislation, Member States shall ensure that all interested parties are given early and effective opportunities to participate in the implementation of this Directive, involving, where possible, existing management bodies or structures, including Regional Sea Conventions, Scientific Advisory Bodies and Regional Advisory Councils.
2. Member States shall publish, and make available to the public for comment, summaries of the following elements of their marine strategies, or the related updates, as follows:
(a) the initial assessment and the determination of good environmental status, as provided for in Articles 8(1) and 9(1) respectively;
(b) the environmental targets established pursuant to Article 10(1);
(c) the monitoring programmes established pursuant to Article 11(1);
(d) the programmes of measures established pursuant to Article 13(2).
3. With regard to access to environmental information, Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information (1) shall apply.

6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SO FAR
DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SO FAR
Articles 8,9 & 10:
15 countries had websites & dates of public consultation
3 MS gave dates of consultation but no other details
4 returned no information
Article 11:
4 MS provided links to websites and details of timing
19 provided no information on consultation on monitoring
NONE gave indications of the methods used or the results
NGOs experience: Mixed: good, poor & "could do better"
Article 12 consultations:
4 MS had public consultation periods of up to 1 calendar month. Shortest was only 23 days.
6 MS had public consultation periods of between 1-2 calendar months: most of these came in around 62 days
3 MS had consultations of longer than 3 calendar months. Longest gave 193 days for the process.
Article 11 consultations:
Of information given, the consultations lasted 1 month, 6 weeks, 7 weeks and just under 3 calendar months.

7. Public Consultation Process on the Monitoring Programme (Art 11).
DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
Public Consultation Process on the Monitoring Programme (Art 11).
Member State
Public Consultation Timing
National Website
N° days for public consultation
Belgium
15 April until 15 June 2014
ntalrigh/Environmentalrights/PublicConsultations/monitoringma rinewater/index.htm#.U05n0FV_vCI
 60
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
France
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands
7/3/ /4/2014
Website 42
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
4/3/ /4/2014
Website Reactions on the document can be submitted to 54 UK
8/1/ /4/2014 87

8. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
Opportunities
Water Framework Directive:
non-legally binding, practical Guidance Document on Public Participation, showcasing best practices in River Basin Management Planning in the context of a Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD.
ICZM Recommendation: useful Principles
(f) involving all the parties concerned (economic and social partners, the organisations representing coastal zone residents, non-governmental organisations and the business sector) in the management process, for example by means of agreements and based on shared responsibility;
(h) use of a combination of instruments designed to facilitate coherence between sectoral policy objectives and coherence between planning and management

9. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
MSP Directive
Article 9
Public participation
Member States shall establish means of public participation by informing all interested parties and by consulting the relevant stakeholders and authorities and the public concerned at an early stage in the development of maritime spatial plans, in accordance with relevant provisions established in Union legislation.
Member States shall also ensure that the relevant stakeholders and authorities, and the public concerned, have access to the plans once they are finalised.

10. DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
(2015)
GES & GEcS by 2020/1
2021
MSFD
WFD
MSP
2014

11. Questions for discussion
DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
Questions for discussion
What does "early and effective" mean?
Could/should MS do PP processes together for MSFD & WFD?
Do we need guidance for PP under MSFD?
To explore these questions in more detail, could a workshop be organised in late 2014?

12. Maritime Spatial Planning Directive
Inter-institutional agreement – March
Political support from European Parliament - April
Awaiting confirmation from Council of Ministers
More efficient management of maritime areas
Land/sea interactions to be taken into account
Underpinned by the ecosystem approach
Requirement for sound data in decision-making process
Engagement of stakeholders
MSFD refers to MSP – opportunity for MSP to deliver for MSFD