authorities analyse and organize human activities in marine areas in order to achieve
ecological, economic and social objectives”. In its turn, it follows the ecosystembased approach, meaning that MSP should be based on the best available scientific
knowledge on the ecosystems and their dynamics. Its practical implementation
necessitates, among others, the evaluation of conflicting uses and interests and states
that the marine strategies “shall apply an ecosystem-based approach to the management of human activities, ensuring that the collective pressure of such activities is
kept within levels compatible with the achievement of good environmental status
and that the capacity of marine ecosystems to respond to human-induced changes is
not compromised, while enabling the sustainable use of marine goods and services
by present and future generations”.
As part of the MSP process, MPAs should be able allocate marine resources to
anthropogenic uses and integrate geospatial and scientific information in the
decision-making. MPA designation and management should aim to identify and
map areas that are useful for each use and then minimize the conflicts between
ecological, social and economic interests. The CES at the depths of MPAs can accrue
from underwater seascape, seabed aesthetic, biodiversity, iconic and non-iconic
species and archaeological remains (in ocean these are historic shipwrecks and
rarely late Pleistocene/early Holocene remains), and the resulting benefits for the
public are associated with history, heritage, education and identity related to the sea
or to aesthetics. Although currently there is no EU policy to govern CES, the ES
management approach has already had an impact on the policies regarding natural
resources management. This is traced back to 1992, when the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) made the ES management approach the primary framework for action to achieve a balance among the three objectives of the Convention:
the integrated management of land, water and living resources. In 2008, the ES
management approach appears as a cornerstone of the EU Marine Strategy Directive
(2008/56/EC) along with its amendment in 2017, which links it to the human
pressures and impacts on the marine environment, using the 11 descriptors and the
aim of achieving Good Environmental Status of the EU’s marine waters by
2020 (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008).
To make CES values operational in MPA management using a monetary stated
preference approach, we need to define the attributes that can be used for their
monetary valuation as described in the previous section. A pilot operationalization of
the proposed methodology was developed in the case of the Interreg projects REC
ONNECT (Regional Cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development) and AMAre (Actions for Marine Protected Areas). In these projects, the
essential socio-economic and cultural variables offered by seagrass habitats of
targeted MPAs in Greece, Cyprus, Albania and Bulgaria ( RECONNECT ) and
Spain, Malta, Italy and Greece (AMAre) were studied, with the overall objective
to develop management scenarios based on the seagrass ES valuations that can be of
use for the policymakers. The CES included were relevant to the natural environment itself, in particular, the ability of Posidonia meadows to become hot spots for
biodiversity providing food, habitat, refuge and nursery ground for marine flora and
fauna, including iconic or non-iconic species, and their ability to reduce current
130
L. Stergiopoulou et al.
ecological, economic and social objectives”. In its turn, it follows the ecosystembased approach, meaning that MSP should be based on the best available scientific
knowledge on the ecosystems and their dynamics. Its practical implementation
necessitates, among others, the evaluation of conflicting uses and interests and states
that the marine strategies “shall apply an ecosystem-based approach to the management of human activities, ensuring that the collective pressure of such activities is
kept within levels compatible with the achievement of good environmental status
and that the capacity of marine ecosystems to respond to human-induced changes is
not compromised, while enabling the sustainable use of marine goods and services
by present and future generations”.
As part of the MSP process, MPAs should be able allocate marine resources to
anthropogenic uses and integrate geospatial and scientific information in the
decision-making. MPA designation and management should aim to identify and
map areas that are useful for each use and then minimize the conflicts between
ecological, social and economic interests. The CES at the depths of MPAs can accrue
from underwater seascape, seabed aesthetic, biodiversity, iconic and non-iconic
species and archaeological remains (in ocean these are historic shipwrecks and
rarely late Pleistocene/early Holocene remains), and the resulting benefits for the
public are associated with history, heritage, education and identity related to the sea
or to aesthetics. Although currently there is no EU policy to govern CES, the ES
management approach has already had an impact on the policies regarding natural
resources management. This is traced back to 1992, when the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) made the ES management approach the primary framework for action to achieve a balance among the three objectives of the Convention:
the integrated management of land, water and living resources. In 2008, the ES
management approach appears as a cornerstone of the EU Marine Strategy Directive
(2008/56/EC) along with its amendment in 2017, which links it to the human
pressures and impacts on the marine environment, using the 11 descriptors and the
aim of achieving Good Environmental Status of the EU’s marine waters by
2020 (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008).
To make CES values operational in MPA management using a monetary stated
preference approach, we need to define the attributes that can be used for their
monetary valuation as described in the previous section. A pilot operationalization of
the proposed methodology was developed in the case of the Interreg projects REC
ONNECT (Regional Cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development) and AMAre (Actions for Marine Protected Areas). In these projects, the
essential socio-economic and cultural variables offered by seagrass habitats of
targeted MPAs in Greece, Cyprus, Albania and Bulgaria ( RECONNECT ) and
Spain, Malta, Italy and Greece (AMAre) were studied, with the overall objective
to develop management scenarios based on the seagrass ES valuations that can be of
use for the policymakers. The CES included were relevant to the natural environment itself, in particular, the ability of Posidonia meadows to become hot spots for
biodiversity providing food, habitat, refuge and nursery ground for marine flora and
fauna, including iconic or non-iconic species, and their ability to reduce current
130
L. Stergiopoulou et al.