Acronym: MESMA
Period: November 2009 till October 2013
Status: Completed
Thesaurus term Sustainable development
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| Institutes (18) |
Top | Publications |
- Wageningen University and Research Centre; Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), more, co-ordinator
- University College London (UCL), more
- Senckenberg Nature Research Society (SGN), more
- Universiteit Gent (UGent), more
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), more
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Oceanology (IO-Bas), more
- Fiskeridirektoratet/Havforskningsinstituttet (Directorate of Fisheries/Institute of Marine Research) (IMR), more
- University College Cork (UCC), more
- Italian National Research Council (CNR), more
- AZTI Foundation, more
- Technical University of Denmark; National Institute of Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua), more
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), more
- Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, more
- Deltares, more
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), more
- TNO, more, partner
- Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO), more
- Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA), more
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| Abstract |
THE CHALLENGE
The seas around Europe are home to an exceptionally wide range of marine habitats which must also support a variety of marine industries. ‘Multiple use’ can cause problems between various user groups, between economic interests and conservation requirements, and there is also a greater potential for degradation of the marine ecosystems themselves. This all increases future challenges for marine environmental managers
The increasing pressures upon the European seas and coastal areas call for a well planned approach for their continued spatial development. The challenge for marine spatial management is to find an optimal balance between the competing demands of economic use, ecological development, and nature conservation while at the same time maintaining a sensitivity towards traditional practices.
Marine spatial management is place‐ or area‐based and can provide a practical approach to long‐term ecosystem‐based management. The planning efforts should be comprehensive, adaptive, and participatory, and resolve conflicts among the relevant multiple users and the ecosystem. This can only be done via a sound scientific knowledge base pertaining to the ecology and resilience of species and marine habitats, the impacts of human activity and the variability in time and space of ecological, natural and historical values.
The major challenge is to combine an optimized economic use of the European seas and coastal areas, with a sustained marine ecosystem of high quality.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The MESMA project focuses on marine spatial planning and aims to produce integrated management tools (concepts, models and guidelines) for monitoring, evaluation and implementation of Spatially Managed Areas (SMAs). The project results will support integrated management plans for designated or proposed sites with assessment methods based on European collaboration.
METHODOLOGY
The main tasks in the project are information analysis, the development of a generic framework, the testing and evaluation of this framework through case‐studies and the development of a toolbox. A significant proportion of the effort will be centred on the case studies within five geographical regions: the North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Black Sea. This approach makes it possible to compare pressures on an inter‐regional level (e.g. Offshore wind farms in the North Sea, Black Sea and Baltic), or a multi‐pressure level for a specific region (e.g. SMA in Fishing, Wind‐energy, Geo‐hazards and Tourism in the Black Sea).
The project contributes to the design and implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy, the Thematic Strategy for Marine Protection and the recently endorsed Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The Directive aims to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2021 and to protect the resource base upon which marine‐related economic and social activities depend.
MESMA will provide a firm basis for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Directive and related policies. |
| Publications (7) |
Top | Institutes |
- van der Meulen, M.; Lieberknect, L.; Voege, S.; Pipitone, C. (2013). An inventory of management questions to be addressed with the tools. D4.1. MESMA: [s.l.]. , more
- Vanaverbeke, J.; Vincx, M. (Ed.) (2013). Comparison paper: paper on the comparison of case studies, building on the overlap of human pressures and/or priority habitats. D3.5. [S.n.]: [s.l.]. 19 pp., more
- Degraer, S.; Vanaverbeke, J.; van Hoof, L. (Ed.) (2013). Position paper on lessons‐learned for the improvement of the generic concept and the necessary tools. D3.4. [S.n.]: [s.l.]. ii, 24 pp., more
- Jones, P.; Qiu, W.; Lieberknecht, L. (2013). Typology of conflicts in MESMA case studies. D6.1. [S.n.]: [s.l.]. 73 pp., more
- Vanaverbeke, J.; Vincx, M. (Ed.) (2012). Zoning plan of case studies: evaluation of spatial management options for the case studies. D3.6. IMARES: IJmuiden. 32 pp., more
- Vanaverbeke, J.; Vincx, M. (Ed.) (2012). Zoning plan of case studies: evaluation of spatial management options for the case studies. Annex 1. D3.6. IMARES: IJmuiden. 88 pp., more
- Vanaverbeke, J.; Vincx, M. (Ed.) (2012). Zoning plan of case studies: evaluation of spatial management options for the case studies. Annex 2: second framework run, Belgian part of the North Sea. D3.6. IMARES: IJmuiden. 79 pp., more
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