Brussels, 10/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's “Marine Knowledge 2020” communication was adopted on Wednesday 8 September. The three objectives set out in the communication are: reducing operational costs and delays for those who use marine data; providing wider access to quality-checked, rapidly-available coherent marine data; and reducing uncertainty in knowledge of the oceans and seas.
The creation of marine knowledge begins with observation of the sea and oceans. Subsequently, that knowledge can be applied to deliver smart, sustainable growth, to assess the health of the marine ecosystem or protect coastal communities. The Commission's communication essentially covers the first two stages of the process chain, i.e. data collection and assembly. For subsidiarity reasons, data collection is mainly under the responsibility of member states. “The EU has the potential to add value in the assembly phase because of the need to ensure coherence across borders and between different user communities”, the communication reads.
The Commission suggests the creation of an integrated network to replace the fragmented marine observation system currently used and, after a cautious estimate, the benefits linked to the creation of such an integrated network could amount to €300 million annually.
The Commission proposes a series of improvements to existing instruments, namely: - it will take the necessary steps to ensure that data from EU-supported regional development and marine and maritime research programmes are more available for re-use; - it will examine what further measures are needed to promote coastal information systems in its follow-up to the EU recommendation on integrated coastal zone management; - demonstrations of GMES (global monitoring of environment and security) marine services will be supported through the space theme of the 7th framework programme until 2014, and follow-ups are being considered; - in the short-term, the Commission will make sure that the new access rules for fisheries data are fully enforced by member states and, in the mid- and long-term, ways to widen the scope for assessing data will be explored; - to optimise use of resources, WISE-Marine (water information system section of SEIS, the shared environmental information system) and EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) will be coupled in the context of the implementation of the marine strategy framework directive. The setting in place of WISE-Marine, scheduled for 2012, will allow the collection and visualisation of member state data on the marine environment and human activities; - and the Commission intends to launch a further set of measures to improve the coverage of data, resolution and range of assembled parameters.
Prospect of operational marine data architecture. In order to work towards such an infrastructure, the Commission proposes that: - knowledge should not be only the responsibility of government; - European industry should dedicate adequate resources to ensure adequate safeguarding of knowledge and, when it is no longer commercially valuable, its wider dissemination; - the Commission will encourage communication amongst national data centres through regular discussions in its marine observation and data expert groups and its maritime internet forum; - to ensure an integrated view of monitoring needs, the Commission will explore how a sea-basin checkpoint might work by setting up pilots in the period 2011-2013; - the Commission will continue to define priorities for assembling data in ur-EMODnet (prototype) but in the period 2011-2013 will develop a proposal for more permanent governance; - and the Commission will set up a prototype secretariat to manage the ur-EMODnet process.
Improving knowledge of the seas and oceans that make up 71% of our planet's surface is one of the three cross-cutting tools of the EU's integrated maritime policy. Indeed, marine knowledge can also help achieve the other two tools - better spatial planning and integrated maritime surveillance. “The magnitude of future changes in oceanic systems, their impact on human activity and the feedbacks on the ocean from these changes in human behaviour cannot be forecast without understanding the way the system works now and how it worked in the past”, the Commission points out. Knowledge is therefore necessary to achieve good environmental status of marine waters, in accordance with the marine strategy framework directive. (L.C./transl.jl)