This article appears in the following ICES Journal of Marine Science issue: Marine Environmental Indicators: Utility in Meeting Regulatory Needs [View the issue table of contents]
OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea
1 Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Rijkswaterstaat North Sea Directorate, PO Box 5807, 2280 HV Rijswijk, The Netherlands
2 Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Rijkswaterstaat Centre for Water Management, Zuiderwagenplein 2, PO Box 17, 8200 AA Lelystad, The Netherlands
Correspondence to E. L. Enserink: tel: +31 630042014; fax: +31 320249218; e-mail: lisette.enserink{at}rws.nl
Heslenfeld, P., and Enserink, E. L. 2008. OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1392–1397.Committed to the ecosystem approach to management, OSPAR has accumulated 15 years of experience in developing a conceptual framework for ecological indicators and objectives, and in applying the framework to the North Sea as a test case. These Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) have become a model for the implementation of the new European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. We describe the history of EcoQO development, its current status, and future needs. We also present our positive and negative experiences in developing the approach, and conclude that regional sea conventions and marine research institutes in Europe should join forces to accelerate the development of ecosystem indicators and objectives, using existing concepts.
Keywords: EcoQO, indicators, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, North Sea, OSPAR
Received 7 January 2008; accepted 24 June 2008.
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