The spatial aspects of EU policies

1. The spatial aspects of EU policies Alessandro Annoni (*), Massimo Craglia (**) (*) European Commission – Joint Research Centre (**) University of Sheffield

2. Are you aware of these acronyms ? CAP: Common Agricultural Policy EAGGF: European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund EAP: Environmental Action Programme EDF: European Development Fund EFICS: European Forestry Information and Communication System ELISA: Environmental Indicators for Sustainable Agriculture in the EU ESDP: European Spatial Development Perspective ESF: European Social Fund ESPON: European Spatial Perspective Observatory Network ERDF: European Regional Development Fund FIFG: Financial Instruments for Fisheries Guidance GMES: Global Monitoring for Environment and Security IACS: Integrated Administration and Control System ICZM: Integrated Coastal Zone Management ISPA: pre-accession instrument for structural policies LPIS: Land Parcel Identification System MEDA: Financial and technical assistance to the Mediterranean non-member countries NATURA2000: ecological network of protected areas PHARE: financial instrument supporting institution building in the pre-accession countries SAPARD: Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development TACIS: Technical Assistance to the Countries Eastern Europe and Central Asia TETNs:Trans-European Transport Networks WFD: Water Framework Directive

3. Increasing interest for the spatial dimension GI-GIS needed to Assess needs Formulate the policy Monitor its implementation Evaluate its effectiveness, … GI-GIS explicitly required in EU directives/regulations Water Framework directive, Habitat, … IACS, LPIS, Olive Trees reginsters, … ICZM, ESDP, Urban, … What it’s new in EU policies

4. From sectoral to a more integrated approach Increased complexity Policy interaction (including cumulative impacts) Environmental aspects integrated in sectoral policies, … Increasing needs for data/systems/approaches/… harmonisation and/or co-ordination Natural disasters (ie flooding) Transports, Other trans-boundaries …, Increasing attention to EU citizens/individuals From top down approach to green papers (consensus based) Increasing transparency Europe on line, eGovernement, …. Significant shift in last decade

5. Emergence of spatial planning at regional scale for Analysis Co-ordination of intervention Evaluation of impacts Examples: ESDP, ICZM, Civil Protection, … Increasing recognition of the importance of local issues and local stakeholders To assess needs Target intervention Monitor effectiveness Examples: CAP, water management, … Direct consequences on new approaches

6. Increasing demand of better GI Quality, Certification, Authority, Consistency, Updating, Harmonisation, Interoperability, reference systems, data models, semantic,.,. Direct consequences on GI-GIS requirements

7. current deficiencies on data availability are requiring actions that can be characterized in 3 headings Where EU-wide data for a given administrative level is not available, such as urban level data at NUTS5, to support new policy concerns such as urban policy, although the data might exist locally Where new policies span geographically across different administrative units and require new data collection efforts, for example in the case of the new river basin districts Where the unit of analysis requires new data and methods for its characterization, such as the increasing use of landscape as a geographical entity. Direct consequences on GI requirements

8. Increasing need of tools for spatial analysis Indicators Environmental pressure, landscape diversity, strategic impact assessment,.. Integration of GI and statistics Population density, structural funds,.. Modeling Carbon sink, air quality, water quality and quantity, … Direct consequences on GIS requirements

9. Increasing recognition that not only betterinformation is needed but also betteraccess and betterdissemination To involve stakeholders Enhance participation in the democratic process Achieve key objectives ie environmental ones requiring changes in behavior and consumption patterns Specific directives/initiatives Revised directive on Access to Environmental Information Follow up of the Green Paper on PSI eEurope,… Cross cutting themes

10. All ??? Which policies have a spatial impact ? • At least these policies • Agriculture • Environment • Regional • Transport • Fishery, … • Other policies are to be more and more interested in • Health and Consumer Protection • Enlargement • Humanitarian Aid, …

11. Absolutely central in a number of respects: direct spatial impact of environmental policy on areas and localities, indirect influence that the pursuit of environmental objectives plays in other policies areas, because the analysis of cumulative environmental impacts requires a great deal of spatially disaggregated information This in turns demands the collection of new geographic information, greater access to information resources that already exist at national and local levels, better methodologies and systems to integrate and analyse the information thus gathered. Environmental policy

12. Decision 2179/98/EC reviews the 1992 programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development “Towards sustainability”. The development of comprehensive approaches to rural development (Art 2.1 e), and the generation of comparable data on the pressures and effects on the environment, including data on water quality and land use (Art 2.1b) Promoting a more integrated transport policy and integration of land-use and transport (Art 2.2 b), and developing potential methods of analysis with a view to strategic evaluation of the environmental impact of the trans-European transport network as well as potential methods of corridor analysis covering all relevant transport modes (Art 2.2 c). Assisting on the development of a European Spatial Development Perspective as a basis for creating consensus among policy-makersinter alia in relation to the environmental impact of sectoral development policies (Art 10 a) Developing a comprehensive approach to urban issues with special emphasis on assistance required to implement Local Agenda 21 (Art 10 b) Developing a demonstration programme on integrated coastal zone management(Art 10 d). Environmental policy- sustainability

13. COM (2001) 31 Community 'Environment 2010: Our future, Our choice' Article 9 - Environment policy making based on participation and sound knowledge Priority actions: Mechanisms within which stakeholders, especially those directly affected by proposals and other initiatives, are widely and extensively consulted at all stages so as to facilitate the most effective choices and to ensure better a satisfactory result for the environment in regard to the measures to be proposed. Continuing financial support to environmental NGOs to facilitate participation in the dialogue process. Ensuring that environment remains a major priority for Community research programmes. Ensuring better co-ordination of research related to the environment conducted in Member States. Ensuring regular information to the public on the environment and related issues by the production of annual headline environmental indicator reports and integration indicators, which show the value of environmental damage where possible. Reviewing information and reporting systems with a view to the introduction of a more coherent and effective system to ensure reporting of high quality, comparable environmental data and information. Reinforcing the development of geographical information systems and the use of space monitoring applications in support of policy-making and implementation. 6th Environment action programme

14. Other important directives/regulations Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (23rd October 2000) Nitrate Directive 91/676/EEC of the 12 December 1991 Com. on Integrated territorial approach to Coastal Management COM(2000)547 and COM(2000)545 Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC). Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) (including Regulation 1257/1999 above) Council Regulation no. 1593/2000 “Land parcel identification system “ Olive Oil regulation 1638/98 Olive Tree register COM(2000)855 Council Decision 1445/2000/EC 22nd May 200. “need for information on land use and on the condition of crops” European Forestry Information and Communication System (EFICS) established in 1989 (EEC 1615/89) and extended in 1998 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC 1100/98). information system on forest fires established through Art. 5 of EEC 2158/92. Agri-Environmental Indicators COM(1999)22 Indicators for the Integration of Environmental Concerns into the CAP COM(2000)20 COM 2001(144) builds on the COM 2000(20) outlined above, focus on the data needed to compile the indicators there defined. COM/98/605 “Sustainable Urban Development in the European Union: a Framework for Action”, COM(2000)1100 sustainable urban development (URBAN II). ESDP - European Spatial Development Perspective Decision (1692/96/EC) Community guidelines for the development of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TETNs). COM (98)806 Cohesion and Transport, …

15. What’s European Commission is doing ? Increasing presence: GI-GIS explicit in various directives/regulations Increasing co-ordination: GISCO User Committee to assess EC needs COGI High Level Interservices Group to Co-ordinate Endorse technical solutions and recommendations Prepare a EC data policy / increase awareness on top management EESDI Environmental European Spatial Data Infrastructure Increasing funding (although still scattered): CPA3 in IST, eContent,… LPIS, Olive Tree reginster,… WFD, Natura2000,… Structural Funds, ICZM, ..

16. First conclusions geographic information is crucial in two respects: significant increase of detailed GI across the EU as a result of the policy requirements identified above. This thematic information needs to be managed, analysed, and made public. The need to integrate policy means that information also needs to be integrated across policy domains, and areas of intervention. GI is increasingly important therefore not just for its thematic attribute content but also as the framework to integrate data from these different domains, and areas.

17. Final emerging requirements and needs to increase the flow of disaggregated data from the local level to the European in all the policy domains. This may also require new legislation (EESDI). to develop new datasets and indicators for new policy domains. to share knowledge of who has what data, and how it can be accessed, (i.e. develop and implement a GI policy) This is increasingly crucial as there is a real danger of multiple duplication of data collection to respond to different policies, to implement the agreed framework for GI in Europe, including common reference system, projections, homogeneous territorial and statistical units. to increase data comparability and interoperability, including web-based visualization and data exploration, and integration from different sources to agree methodologies to characterize and analyse territorial units such as landscape to agreed methodologies on how to aggregate data to different flexible geographies, such as river basins, coastal zone management areas, and nature protection areas,