Water, Marine & Fisheries

Latest in Water, Marine & Fisheries

• Greening taxes and subsidies in the Pacific

  IEEP will share its expertise on environmental taxation and the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies at a forum event on greening taxation and subsidies in the Pacific region during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

• Socio-economic benefits of EU Marine Protected Areas

  They are more than just a nature conservation tool – a study by IEEP shows how EU Marine Protected Areas help to maintain and improve the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services and related socio-economic benefits.

• The importance of tackling environmental crime

  IEEP supported the final conference of the EU EFFACE project, focusing on the importance of adopting improved measures to tackle environmental crime.

• New report: assessing the benefits of marine protected areas

  Marine Protected Areas provide a range of benefits to human wellbeing, including providing food, mitigating climate change and creating opportunities for recreation and tourism. Further steps are needed to assess and communicate these benefits, this way supporting marine conservation both globally and in the EU.

• Benefits of marine protected areas in the context of EU’s Natura 2000 network

  A scoping study by IEEP outlines a step-wise methodology to assess the overall benefits provided by the EU’s marine Natura 2000 network.

• New open access book on marine litter

  A new book, 'Marine Anthropogenic Litter', has been published comprising 16 chapters on various aspects of the complex issue of litter in the world’s oceans. Researchers from IEEP contributed a chapter on the economics of marine litter. The whole book is free to view online.

• Case studies focusing on different types of environmental crime

  IEEP, as being part of a 40-months EU-funded research project, produced three case studies focusing on illegal e-waste shipment, illegal localised pollution incidents and illegal fishing.

• Evidence before ideology

  The latest edition of IEEP's newsletter is now available. David Baldock argues that in 2015 solid evidence rather than political fashion will be required in scrutinising EU policy and economic performance. Also: fossil fuel subsidies; allocating fishing quota; and the launch of our new training programme.

• Paper on the challenges of taking account of long timescales in the management of Europe’s regional seas

  There many physical, biological and social characteristics of marine systems which are slow to change. Understanding these is important if marine managers are to develop effective targets and measures to deliver environmental improvements.

• Allocating fishing rights to the most sustainable fishers - practical recommendations

  One of its most important reforms in the new Common Fisheries Policy is the introduction of a requirement on Member States to use transparent and objective criteria of an environmental nature when allocating fishing opportunities. This report for RSPB makes recommendations for UK Governments on how to implement this requirement comprehensively and ambitiously.

• The Manual: Front pages

  This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter provides information on the authors, editors and editorial board involved in the Manual, as well as guidance on how to use it, and a brief outline of its content.

• The Manual: Chapter 5 - Water and marine

  This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. In this chapter the development of EU water pollution policy is explored, including the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and other directives and policies covering flooding; water scarcity; and dangerous substances in water.

• The Manual: Chapter 12 - Funding instruments

  This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the EU's main funding instruments that have environmental implications, including the European Agriculture funds, the European Fisheries Fund and the Structural and Cohesion funds.

• The Manual: Chapter 13 - Sectoral policies

  This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.

• Challenges of achieving good environmental status in the Black Sea

  Achieving Good Environmental Status in the Black Sea is particularly challenging due to governance structure. This paper explores this in relation to eutrophication and fisheries management.

• Guidelines for biodiversity proofing the EU budget

  This report provides a practical framework to ensure that spending under the EU budget has no negative impacts on biodiversity, and that spending under the EU budget is overall supportive to achieving the biodiversity targets.

• Environmental policy and the UK’s review of the EU Balance of Competences

  The UK Government’s Balance of Competences review has now taken evidence on 25 subject areas, including the 6 with the most relevance for the Environment. We take stock of the IEEP’s contributions, and consider what a possible UK renegotiation might mean for the environment.

• 40 years of cooperation in protecting the Baltic Sea

  IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen gave a presentation at the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM) Jubilee Session on the understanding and valuation of marine ecosystem services, Helsinki, 5 Mar 2014.

• Inland fisheries and the Common Fisheries Policy

  The reformed fisheries policy could lead to improvements in the state of commercial inland fisheries, if the measures are properly implemented, with the greatest potential coming from the strengthening of community-led local development.

• Understanding and valuing ecosystem services provided by the Baltic Sea

  IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen outlined key perspectives on the valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services in a regional workshop on the Valuation of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services in the Baltic Sea, Stockholm (7-8 Nov 2013)