Today is the start of the two day European Maritime Day Conference, which is being held in Malta this year. This annual event is organised by the European Commission (Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) to encourage better stewardship of Europe’s coastal zones, seas and oceans, and highlight the crucial contribution that our marine environment plays in delivering sustainable growth.
To coincide with this, we have joined forces with 25 other NGOs across Europe to demand that the first bit (better stewardship for our marine environment) is not sacrificed for the second (‘Blue Growth’). Specifically, what we are calling for is that the proposed (and snappily named) Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management (with the equally snappy acronym, MSP-ICM) gets rooted in a firmer environmental legal basis.
Quite simply, unless MSP-ICM is used in a way that bases decisions on the health of the environment - and on the precautionary principle - the EU’s ’Blue Growth’ agenda will never be sustainable. It’s not just the sensible decision to take in terms of building a long term future for the maritime economy, it’s also a legal requirement. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires Member States, including the UK Government, to achieve Good Environmental Status for our marine environment – and as such should be the prime legal purpose when planning how to manage it.
You can read our full statement here: