Presentation for the OECD Forum 2018. May 2018.

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Safeguarding oceans: a perspective from
the EU
Céline Charveriat
OECD forum
May 30th, 2018

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Safeguarding oceans: where is the EU at?
Key questions:
• Is Europe in « a safe and just space »
and making its fair contribution to
keeping humanity in a safe and just
space?
Source: Kate Raworth. Doughnut Economics. 2017

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Some worthwhile achievements: Marine Protected
Areas
• Between 2008 and 2015 the spatial coverage
of marine sites designated for protection
under the EU Habitats Directive quadrupled.
• In 2012, it was calculated that the coverage
of marine protected areas equated to 5.9 %
coverage of total European coastal and
marine areas.
• According to the latest research, it appears
Europe could meet the 10 % global target by
2020, as three regions have exceeded 10%
and one is very close (9.9%).

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Some promising developments: EU Strategy for Plastics
in the Circular Economy (2018)
• Recognises the importance and challenges
of plastics
• Foundation for a ‘new plastics economy’
• A few highlights:
‒ By 2030, all plastics packaging in EU
reusable/recyclable
‒ By 2030, recycling of over 50% of plastics
waste
‒ Increase demand for recycled plastics four-
fold
‒ Improved separate collection of plastics
‒ Action on plastics waste prevention – e.g.
reverse logistics for packaging, alternatives to
disposable plastics
‒ Legislation on single-use plastics…

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New EU Directive on single use plastics (SUPs)
• Targets the most found SUPs
• Prevention: ‘significantly reduce’ consumption of SUP food
containers & cups within 6 years
• Prohibit placing on market: cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates,
straws, stirrers & balloon sticks
• Product design: SUP beverage container lids to remain
attached during use
• Labelling: wet wipes, sanitary wear & balloons must bear
clear label regarding environmental impacts of
littering/inappropriate disposal & information on presence of
plastics
• EPR: must be established for food & beverage containers &
packaging, beverage cups, cigarettes/filters, wet wipes,
balloons, very/lightweight plastic bags, fishing gear. Must
cover cost of collection, transport, treatment, marine litter
clean-up & awareness raising
• SUP bottles: annual 90% separate collection rate by 2025

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What next?
• Need for holistic policy approaches and
integration into sector policies, building on
the Marine Strategy Framework directive
(MSFD)
• Improving data&knowledge about marine
species and habitats
• Getting the management right of existing
MPAs and ensuring good enforcement of
conservation measures
• Going beyond MPAs: aiming at good
environmental status of all EU marine
waters by 2020 (as per MSFD’s objective)
• Adopting the SUPs directive and seeing
through implementation of the plastics
strategy and supporting global action in
that field

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What next? The EU as a global actor
• Improve the regulation of EU fishing
fleets outside EU waters
• Step up efforts to assess and address
biodiversity impacts of EU trade
policies
• Strengthen the global governance
framework of the oceans
• Increase funding available to support
sustainable marine resource use in
third countries as part of the new MFF

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References
• Eurostat. 2017. Sustainable development in the European Union – 2017 monitoring report of the
progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. IEEP. Socio-economic benefits of EU MPAs. 2016
• G20Insights. 2017. The Ocean dimension of the 2030 agenda.
• IEEP. 2016.Socio-economic aspects of marine litter as part of GESAMP’s report on sources, fate and
effects of microplastics in the marine environment.
• IEEP. 2018. A sustainable Blue Economy, Adopting the concept of ecosystem services in EU MPAs.
• IEEP. 2017. Single Use Plastics.
• IEEP. 2017. Greening taxes and subsidies in the Pacific.
• Agnesi,all. 2017. Spatial Analysis of Marine Protected Area Networks in Europe’s Seas II.

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Thank you for your attention !
ccharveriat@ieep.eu