The use of benthic indicators in Europe: from the Water Framework Directive to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) are the European umbrella regulations for water systems. It is a challenge for the scientific community to translate the principles of these directives into realistic and accurate approaches. The aim of this paper, conducted by the Benthos Ecology Working Group of ICES, is to describe how the principles have been translated, which were the challenges and best way forward. We have tackled the following principles: the ecosystem-based approach, the development of benthic indicators, the definition of 'pristine' or sustainable conditions, the detection of pressures and the development of monitoring programs. We concluded that testing and integrating the different approaches was facilitated during the WFD process, which led to further insights and improvements, which the MSFD can rely upon. Expert involvement in the entire implementation process proved to be of vital importance.
ILVO-Fishery, Biological Environmental Research Division, Ankerstraat 1, 8410 Ostend, Belgium. gert.vanhoey@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
Gert
G
Van Hoey
Angel
A
Borja
Silvana
S
Birchenough
Lene
L
Buhl-Mortensen
Steven
S
Degraer
Dirk
D
Fleischer
Francis
F
Kerckhof
Paolo
P
Magni
Iñigo
I
Muxika
Henning
H
Reiss
Alexander
A
Schröder
Michael L
ML
Zettler
D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005060:Europe; D058865:Introduced Species; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*