Exiting news: two more MSP4BIO deliverables have just been released exploring how the MPA managers can assess vulnerabilities and prioritize actions for resilient marine ecosystems and what are the barriers, levers, and integration challenges for biodiversity mainstreaming in Maritime Spatial Planning:
• Deliverable 3.3 Guidance for building climate change scenarios for protection strategies
The purpose of the guidance is to provide an original framework for MPA managers and modelers to assess the vulnerability of marine species and ecosystems to climate stressors. The vulnerability assessment is a key element in climate-smart management, since the responses of marine organisms and ecosystems to climate-induced changes are neither straightforward nor linear, as they depend on the species’ sensitivity, resistance and adaptivity to the (single or combined) stressors. In other words, some species may survive, while others may disappear or invade; depending on the trophic role of the species, the ecosystem may undergo an abrupt shift to a different state (with consequent modification of ecosystem services) or exhibit resilience.
Read full Deliverable 3.3 here!
• Deliverable 6.1 State of the art on key barriers and levers for policy coherence
Reversing biodiversity loss requires mainstreaming biodiversity concern and objectives into all relevant environmental and non-environmental policies, strategies, and practices across policy levels. The aim of Task 6.1 of MSP4BIO was to understand the status of biodiversity mainstreaming in marine policies and sectors in the EU region, and to identify related barriers and levers. A specific objective was to scrutinize the role, potential, and limitations of the maritime spatial planning directive (MSPD) and its implementation in the EU member states (MS) for enhancing biodiversity mainstreaming and policy coherence.
An empirical study covering environmental, economic, and MSP policies and their implementation at the EU, regional, and national levels was conducted. The analysis involved eight (France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, and Bulgaria) EU MS. Also, the policies of four Regional Sea Conventions (RSCs) were addressed.
Read full Deliverable 6.1 here!