country is mainly caused by its own terrestrial sources (Bigagli et al. 2019).
Hydraulic infrastructure has resulted in over half of the world’s major rivers being
severely affected by the alteration and fragmentation of their flow regimes (Nilsson
et al. 2005), with deltas increasingly vulnerable to flooding and submergence as a
result of the combined effects of the trapping of sediment behind dams and sea-level
rise due to climate change (Syvitski et al. 2009) and in some cases over-abstraction
of groundwater (Erban et al. 2014). In other cases, river flows hardly reach the sea,
thus creating disequilibrium in water, sediment and nutrient supply to coastal
ecosystems. Additionally, climate change, and primarily sea-level rise, poses a
great threat on land to many coastal regions with populations, economic activities
and coastal ecosystems put at risk.
7.1.3 The Source-to-Sea Approach Supported by a Global
Policy Framework but Locally the Governance Still
Fragmented
Given the scale of the challenge, the international community has recognized the
need for integrated coastal and freshwater management. The UN Environment
Programme Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
6 (GPA) was adopted in 1995. This was followed
by the Manila convention in 2012, which committed ‘to improve cooperation and
coordination at all levels to deal with issues related to oceans, coasts, islands and
their associated watersheds, by applying integrated management such as “ridge to
reef” approaches, involving stakeholders and developing innovative solutions to
improve or resolve identified problems’. The importance of improving fresh and
marine water quality, as well as land-based ecosystem, is also recognized by several
goals within the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SDGs 6, 14 and 15).
7
However, in many cases, regional and national policies fail to align with the
international agenda. At EU level, the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD)
refers explicitly to the need to account for land-sea interactions for addressing
nutrient loads; however, the quality and ecosystem status of coastal waters, regulated
by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), is not yet adequately integrated into
the Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD) and the MSPD (Borja et al.
2010) (Fig. 7.1).
6 ‘The Global Programme of Action is designed to be a source of conceptual and practical guidance
to be drawn upon by national and/or regional authorities for devising and implementing sustained
action to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate marine degradation from land-based activities’.
cf. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p¼7432
7 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu¼1300
108
E. Akinsete et al.
Hydraulic infrastructure has resulted in over half of the world’s major rivers being
severely affected by the alteration and fragmentation of their flow regimes (Nilsson
et al. 2005), with deltas increasingly vulnerable to flooding and submergence as a
result of the combined effects of the trapping of sediment behind dams and sea-level
rise due to climate change (Syvitski et al. 2009) and in some cases over-abstraction
of groundwater (Erban et al. 2014). In other cases, river flows hardly reach the sea,
thus creating disequilibrium in water, sediment and nutrient supply to coastal
ecosystems. Additionally, climate change, and primarily sea-level rise, poses a
great threat on land to many coastal regions with populations, economic activities
and coastal ecosystems put at risk.
7.1.3 The Source-to-Sea Approach Supported by a Global
Policy Framework but Locally the Governance Still
Fragmented
Given the scale of the challenge, the international community has recognized the
need for integrated coastal and freshwater management. The UN Environment
Programme Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
6 (GPA) was adopted in 1995. This was followed
by the Manila convention in 2012, which committed ‘to improve cooperation and
coordination at all levels to deal with issues related to oceans, coasts, islands and
their associated watersheds, by applying integrated management such as “ridge to
reef” approaches, involving stakeholders and developing innovative solutions to
improve or resolve identified problems’. The importance of improving fresh and
marine water quality, as well as land-based ecosystem, is also recognized by several
goals within the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SDGs 6, 14 and 15).
7
However, in many cases, regional and national policies fail to align with the
international agenda. At EU level, the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD)
refers explicitly to the need to account for land-sea interactions for addressing
nutrient loads; however, the quality and ecosystem status of coastal waters, regulated
by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), is not yet adequately integrated into
the Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD) and the MSPD (Borja et al.
2010) (Fig. 7.1).
6 ‘The Global Programme of Action is designed to be a source of conceptual and practical guidance
to be drawn upon by national and/or regional authorities for devising and implementing sustained
action to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate marine degradation from land-based activities’.
cf. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p¼7432
7 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu¼1300
108
E. Akinsete et al.