Proposed approaches for indicator integration - EcApRHA Deliverable WP 4.1

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) within European Commission waters through an ecosystem-based approach. The MSFD requires Member States sharing a marine region or sub-region to cooperate to ensure that the Directive’s objectives are achieved and to coordinate their actions through Regional Seas Conventions e.g. the OSPAR Commission for the North-East Atlantic. As part of the ‘applying an Ecosystem Approach to (sub) Regional Habitat Assessments’ (EcApRHA) project, integration of indicators under Descriptor 1 (biodiversity), 4 (food webs) and 6 (seafloor integrity), relating to pelagic and benthic habitats and food webs have been forwarded to work towards an ecosystem’s approach in assessing habitats regionally. The content of this report covers different approaches developed to integrate indicators forwarded within the project. Five methods are described, four of which were developed to integrate indicators developed under the EcApRHA project. The fifth, OSPAR’s cumulative effect approach has also been summarised as an additional approach to integrate indicators. For each method, management implications; the advantages and disadvantages in relation to being able to work toward assessment of GES; and the confidence in the assessments, are highlighted. The time it would take for the approach to become fully operational, its feasibility and costs are also discussed. From the five methods described, three main approaches are discussed: I. A quantitative method to draw links between indicators to assess pressures that have effects on the different aspects of the marine ecosystem (Chapters 3-4). II. Use of the Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool (NEAT) to integrate different indicators to provide an overall assessment (Chapters 5 and 6). III. Use of an industry led risk assessment tool (Bow-Ties) to assess cumulative effects (Chapter 7). The integration approaches outlined within this document demonstrate the developments made within the EcApRHA project to ensure the various indicators under the different descriptors are not only operational, but also integrated in a way which permits a more holistic assessment of the marine environment. Using such a two-tiered approach of individual indicator and integrated analysis, will enable an understanding of why certain aspects of the marine environment may not be in good condition, and thereby recommend specific management measures to ameliorate them. Although the approaches forwarded have been initially trialled in the North-East Atlantic, they are able to be applied to other MSFD Regional seas areas. Each method addresses different levels of integration (indicator, habitat or ecosystem) and requires further development and testing. They should be thus considered as complementary and gaps should be progressed in parallel to ensure coherent progress towards an overall ecosystem approach. In addition, with some further comparative testing between the different methods outlined within this document, options to continue forwarding integrated assessment of OSPAR indicators could be proposed. The methods outlined within this document are a first step in applying an ecosystem’s approach to assessing the state of our seas.