1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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