1. Eva Royo Gelabert Project Manager Marine assessments
EEA contribution to the EMMA process to support European marine assessments
Eva Royo Gelabert
Project Manager
Marine assessments

2. Content
About the EEA
EEA integrated European marine assessments: Present
Other (pan) European marine assessments
EEA integrated European marine assessments: Future
Europe’s Environmental Information System
EMMA roadmap and current EEA activities to fulfil it
How can this support work by Member States and Conventions?

3. EEA integrated European thematic assessments
Originate in the EEA mandate:
“The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe's environment through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents and the public.”

4. 32 Member Countries
300 National agencies
900 Experts
EEA main tasks:
Networking - Development of a European Environmental Information and Observation Network (EIONET)
Reporting on the state and trends of Europe’s environment
Providing access to environmental information
Therefore the EEA is not a regulatory body, it has not been created to control the implementation of environmental policies in Europe, these roles being the responsibility of the European Commission. Given all that, the EEA main tasks are:
to report on the state and trends of the environment
to establish, develop and make use of the European Environmental Information and Observation Network (EIONET)
to facilitate access to data and information supplied to, maintained and emanating from EEA and EIONET, together with access to other relevant environmental information developed by other national and international sources (one stop shop)

5. EEA integrated European marine assessments: Data
EEA collects existing data (does not monitor!)
Directly from its Member Countries through EIONET  Data from a ”reporting” information system since 1995, which is used for the production of the (core set) indicators
Other information for EEA assessments:
International data from ICES, FAO, Eurostat, etc.
Regional assessments from Conventions, ICES and international programmes (from e.g. UNEP Global International Water Assessments)
Modelled data and research data (from e.g. JRC)

6. EEA integrated European marine assessments: Indicators
A total of 23 could be considered. HOWEVER…
Core set:
Best quality assurance, policy relevance and data coverage/“completion”
Only 6 indicators are directly relevant and used for EEA marine and fisheries assessments at the moment
Others:
“Candidates” to core set (e.g. hazardous substances)
Non "core set": Potential useful indicators if data was there

7. EEA integrated European marine assessments: Assessments
(mostly) Included in the State of the Environment and trends (SoE) Reports on all the themes on which the EEA works every 5 years
Last in Next in 2010
Marine component of the EEA Ecosystem Assessment in 2012
Currently updating the SoE 2005 with an EECCA focus: “Belgrade” (Environment for Europe) Report 2007  Not comprehensive, but overall picture is of growing pressures on the marine environment

8. Other (pan) European marine assessments
Proposed Marine Strategy Directive (MSD)  Building blocks towards pan-European marine assessments, e.g. Member States “initial assessments” in a regional context (Article 7, Annex II)
MSD  EC with EEA, Conventions and others will have to do pan-European marine assessments (Article 19)
Pan-European marine assessments are also important in the context of the EU Maritime Policy and global processes (e.g. Convention on Biological Diversity)

9. Future EEA integrated European marine assessments
SoER 2010  It will not establish the MSD’s GES baseline for the European region by try to work synergistically with regional sea assessments and draw from them
Needs to improve on existing EEA assessments by e.g.:
Improving the existing “marine” core set (e.g. coverage)
Adding indicators (e.g. EEA core set candidates, from int. processes)
More use of operational oceanography products
Better link to DPSIR and ecosystem services
Policy relevance  Better link to MSD/EMMA
Requiring better data gathering, which also has to fit with the EU’s ”Shared” European Environmental Information System development

10. Evolution of Europe’s Environmental Information System: 2005 – 2010+
“Data centre” concept
”Shared” European Environmental Information
System (SEIS)  Distributed system
4 EU bodies to be the gateways to environmental information in Europe
Node
EEA
JRC, Eurostat, DG ENV and EEA

11. EEA data centre architecture & tools
Air
Data centres
Climate
Change
Land use
Nature and
Biodiversity
Water
EIONET system connections
Reportnet data flow tools
Spatial data infrastructure
Services and analytical tools
SEIS elements
WISE

12. WISE - Water data centre (1/2)
WISE = Water Information System for Europe
Water information from EU-level mandatory and voluntary reporting
Driven by the Water Framework Directive implementation process and the EC’s DG ENV
EEA involved as water data centre and supported the development of the architecture
Exchange of information – shared access to European water data
Cover data needs for pan-European reports and assessments, including the EEA’s
Launched 22 March 2007 (

13. WISE - Water data centre (2/2)
To be noted!
This is independent
from the MSD
development
at the
moment (timing!)
Need to consider
how to make it
possible
Voluntary
agreements
could be a way of
meeting this deadline

14. EMMA last meeting and roadmap
Main aim April 2006 meeting: Developing EMMA roadmap to facilitate, in particular, arriving at the “initial assessment” under the MSD
Common understanding  Beneficial to “converge” towards a common set of indicators to support (pan) European marine assessments, including those required by MSD
EEA sees a lot of scope of making the most of what exists, and assisting others in doing the same in terms of marine monitoring and assessment in the context of the EMMA process

15. EEA main activities to fulfil “active” EMMA roadmap objectives (1/3)
EEA-led EMMA workshops 2006/7
Looking at increasing efficiency of monitoring
 Aiming at simplifying, streamlining and making comparable existing coastal/marine monitoring data at the pan-European level (i.e. better use of what is out there)
Contribution to several EMMA roadmap objectives, e.g. “Inventory of monitoring”  Linked to (EMMA-led WS3/6)
Report to EMMA Plenary May 2007 to be advised on “next steps”

16. EEA main activities to fulfil “active” EMMA roadmap objectives (2/3)
Three workshops to foster networking towards streamlined monitoring and data collection
Operational oceanography: October 2006 (to increase dialogue between “users” and “producers” of operational oceanography products)
Ecological processes/biological elements: November 2006 (we have great “needs”, what can we use already?)
Chemical loads and burdens: April 2007 (we have been doing this for some time now, how to take it a step further?)

17. EEA main activities to fulfil “active” EMMA roadmap objectives (3/3)
“Convergence” of assessments (i.e. moving in the same direction to support the MSD “initial assessment”)
Compiling information of existing indicators:
Gradual process starting with what already exists or is being developed now
Compilation made with support from Conventions/countries
Preliminary analysis to be used in workshops (EMMA-led WS3/3, 4 & 5)
Further investigation of suitable indicators, refinement of those in compilation and/or addition to compilation
Contribution to several EMMA roadmap objectives e.g. “Inventory of indicators”  Linked to (EMMA-led WS3/3 & 4)
Report to EMMA Plenary May 2007 to be advised on “next steps”  How to continue in order to develop a common set of pan-European indicators to be complemented regionally by +/- 2008?
Outcomes probably revised after MSD enters into force

18. How can this work eventually support Member States and Conventions
Exchange of experiences and information  Learning from others and together
Realising possibilities for:
Simplification/streamlining of monitoring
Preventing overlapping with other EU and global processes
Simplification/streamlining of reporting (WISE)
“Importing” indicators developed by others
Joint development of new indicators – if needed
Refining existing indicators for areas/issues/topics where there might be gaps, or for “new” topics

19. How can this work eventually support Member States and Conventions
Improving use of tools other than in-situ monitoring (e.g. operational oceanography, models)
Coherent assessments with those of MSD & EEA:
Help for “initial assessment” to be carried out by Member States in a regional context (Art 7, Annex II)
More accurate representation of regional sea status in any (pan)European marine assessments
(Eventually?) Inspiration for indicators associated with targets towards good environmental status to be developed nationally (Art 9, Annex III)

20. Thank you very much for your attention!