Only One Planet

1. Only One Planet Only One Planet Strengths and weaknesses of the European Community’s policies and programs for the protection of marine biodiversity . Jon Nevill, B.E.Mech; B.A.; M.Env.Sc. Only One Planet Australia

2. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au The discussion: • EU background marine conservation • performance benchmarks • three core marine conservation concepts • three policy portfolios • Member States fishing activities • current maritime policy initiative • summary

3. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Supporting information: • 30-page paper at www.onlyoneplanet.com.au

4. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU background: • The EU as well as European States acting individually have been instrumental in developing conservation instruments and concepts of global importance: • the precautionary principle; • UN Stockholm conference 1972; • FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries 1995; • Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries 2001. • The EU has ratified several major international instruments including the Law of the Sea 1982, and the Convention for Biological Diversity 1992.

5. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU background: • European marine environments, like the oceans of the world, face five major threats: • overfishing; • habitat damage; • impacts from atmospheric carbon dioxide; • pollution; and • alien organisms. • National programs aimed at protecting marine biodiversity must address these major threats.

6. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Best practice policy tools: Overfishing: restricted entry, restricted inputs, restricted outputs, area closures, subsidy reduction, flag state controls on high seas operations, market accreditation. Habitat damage:gear restrictions, area closures, coastal planning to protect rivers, estuaries and shorelines. Climate change:international protocols. Pollution: controls on: dumping of wastes, marine noise, industrial effluent, sewage, diffuse pollution of rivers and groundwaters especially by nutrients, litter from rivers and ships. Alien organisms:risk-based controls on ballast water discharge and hull fouling. Aquaculture controls. Infestation monitoring and removal programs.

7. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Policy tools as performance benchmarks: At this general level, all EU Member Stateshave programs matching this broad ‘best practice’ template of controls. Are these programs effective?

8. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Core management concepts: • Three core management concepts: • Precautionary approach: • Article 174 of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires Community environment policy be based on the precautionary principle. • Ecosystem-based fishery management • FAO Code of Conduct 1995 • CBD CoP decision V6 • Strategic development of protected area networks • Johannesburg WSSD 2002: “representative MPA networks by 2012”; • CBD Jakarta Mandate.

9. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Core policy portfolios: • These three concepts do NOT appear to feature with any prominence in three central policy portfolios: • biodiversity: EU biodiversity strategy; Natura 2000 • fisheries: EU common fisheries policy (reformed) • regional seas: Mediterranean, Black, Baltic, Adriatic

10. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU performance, core management concepts: Precaution / ecosystem-based management: Fishery stock quotas are determined by the Council on recommendation from the Commission. The Commission seeks scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). The Commission requests the ICES to apply a precautionary EBM approach in recommending quotas. The Council has consistently ignored Commission recommendations in setting unsustainable quotas in several major fisheries.

11. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU performance, core management concepts: Representative networks of protected areas: No EU Member State has embarked on a strategic program of MPA development. The Natura 2000 framework does not require protection of representative marine ecosystems. An example: Sweden, at the close of 2004 (three decades after the Stockholm Declaration) did not have a single marine no-take area.

12. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU fisheries management: Some EU Member States feature prominently in IUU high seas fisheries. Some EU Member States feature prominently in destructive deep seas bottom trawl fisheries. Some EU Member States appear to actively encourage illegal fishing operations by nationals. Non-compliance with EU regulations is a major issue.

13. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU fisheries management: Non-compliance with international agreements is a major issue. Gianni (2004): “Virtually all high seas bottom trawl fisheries are currently conducted in a manner which is wholly inconsistent with the conservation and management principles and provisions of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement and the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct”.

14. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU fisheries management: Non-compliance with international agreements is a major issue. Article 3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, requires signatory States to “ensure that activities within their … control do not cause damage to the environment … beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.” EU deep sea trawling is in flagrant violation of this requirement.

15. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Current developments, EU marine strategy: • Full title: Thematic strategy on the protection and conservation of the marine environment 2005. • Part of a larger EU maritime policy, expected early 2007. • Core objective: to achieve ‘good environmental status’ by 2021 • establish marine regions, map eco-regions, habitats • require Member States to develop marine strategies • require monitoring and reporting programs • Principles: adaptive management, continuous improvement

16. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au EU marine strategy: • Problems: • Certain issues excluded (eg: Common Fisheries Policy) • Long time frame: • Completion date of 2021 places the strategy outside existing international targets (eg: Johannesburg target of MPA networks by 2012).

17. www.onlyoneplanet.com.au Summary: Although the EU’s conservation rhetoric has been strong, implementation to date has been seriously compromised. The current efforts to develop a long-term EU marine strategy appear ambitious and encouraging; however there is no guarantee that the failures of previous conservation efforts will not be repeated.