Overview of legislative and policy drivers for marine nature

conservation

Roger Covey

1967 Torrey Canyon

• Massive spill with massive consequences

• 62,000 lbs of bombs, 5,200 gallons of petrol, 11 rockets and large quantities of napalm dropped on the ship

• Mission called off when high spring tides put out the fire!

• Dispersant and actions made the spill far worse

NERC working party

• In 1971 NERC established a working party on Marine Wildlife Conservation

• Recommended further basic research and regular reviews to advise on the urgency of conserving threatened marine environments

1979 NCC & NERC Review

Recommended:• NCC become more involved in

marine wildlife conservation• NCC should collaborate with NERC

and other organisations already well established in marine scientific research

1979 Review

• In the interests of economy of effort, greater co-ordination should be encouraged between conservation-orientated and pollution-orientated research in the marine environment.

1981 W&C Act

• After much lobbying, included provision for designating Marine Nature Reserves

• Lundy was designated in 1986. Nearly twenty years later it remains England’s only designated MNR

Europe

Meanwhile, environmental improvements were being driven by Europe:

• 1976 bathing waters directive aimed to protect the public from faecal pollution at bathing waters.

Europe

• 1991 saw the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive

The Habitats Directive

• Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

• “Done at Brussels 21 May 1992”

Habitats Directive

• Maintain biodiversity by establishing a coherent European ecological network

• …an appropriate assessment must be made of any plan or programme likely to have a significant effect on the conservation objectives of a site which has been designated or is designated in future

Habitats Directive

• …a system should be set up for surveillance of the conservation status of the natural habitats and species covered by this Directive

So what Habitats?

Annex 1 lists a range – for marine it includes:

• Estuaries• Large shallow inlets & bays• Sandbanks which are slightly covered by

seawater all the time• Mudflats and sandflats not covered by

seawater at low tide• Lagoons• Reefs

European marine sites

39 sites

Over half a million hectares

Habitats Regulations

• The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994

Regulation 33As soon as possible after a site

becomes a European marine site, the appropriate nature conservation body shall advise other relevant authorities as to –

• The conservation objectives for that site

• Any operations which may cause deterioration of natural habitats….or disturbance of species for which the site has been designated

Features & subfeatures

• For clarity, English Nature has split Features into subfeatures – so:

• Fal & Helford subtidal sandbanks have been split to:

• Eelgrass communities• Maerl bed communities• Gravel & sand communities• Mixed sediment communities

Favourable condition table

Attribute Measure TargetExtent Area No decrease

Distribution of communities

Dist’n of communities

No significant deviation from baseline

Species composition

Presence & abundance of species

No significant deviation from baseline

Nutrient status Extent of green algal growth

No increase from baseline

Water Framework Directive

• Substantial & comprehensive piece of water legislation

• Requires inland & coastal waters to reach at least “good ecological status” by 2015

The holy grail?

• Both Habitats and Water Framework Directives require maintenance of ecological quality

• As yet we still have a limited understanding of the effect of water quality on ecology.

Uncertainty

• With uncertainty of effects of water quality, we have to be precautionary

• Better science may allow us to target improvements more efficiently

• Better science may allow us to be predictive in identifying problems

Meanwhile….

• Halt the decline in biodiversity by 2010 • No anthropogenic eutrophication by

2010• A network of representative marine

protected areas by 2012• Restore fish stocks to maximum

sustainable yields by 2015 ‘where possible’

Marine Stewardship Report

Best available scienceBetter integration of

monitoring & observation

Improved co-ordination and access to data

Marine Information Council

• Seeks improved co-ordination between industry and the Government

• Brings together government, institutional, academic and industry bodies

• The primary task is to seek improved funding for marine research and to foster the application of this research to customer needs

Where next?

• Better ways of monitoring• Improved understanding of water

quality effects on ecology• Better links between science and

management

If not?

• Loss of opportunities• Potential expensive declines in

environmental quality• Increased precaution in

management• Potential expensive constraints on

industry