Assessment objectives

•Provide an assessment of the productivity of UK seas

•Identify the extent to which human uses and natural pressures are affecting the quality of UK seas

•Address the specific species, habitats and economic issues of the eight UK marine regions

•Helps show whether current environmental protection measures are working, and aims to provide policy makers, planners and the public with a clear evaluation of progress towards the UK Government and the Devolved Administration's vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.

Mandate for the assessment

In 2002, the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations set out a vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. As an initial step towards this vision, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Devolved Administrations published Charting Progress in 2005, which was the first integrated assessment of the state of the UK seas. Charting Progress made a number of recommendations for action to improve our understanding of the marine environment and the way we manage and collect information about it. The UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS) community, which has prepared Charting Progress 2, was established in response to Charting Progress to provide a more structured and co-ordinated approach to the assessment and monitoring of our seas. Charting Progress 2 provides the foundation for the initial assessment required by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive in 2012. This Directive requires the UK to ensure they are taking measures to achieve ‘Good Environmental Status’ for their seas by 2020. It focuses efforts towards a common goal and enables the international collaboration that is vital to achieving the vision the UK shares for the sustainable use of UK seas.

Conceptual framework and/or methodology used for the assessment

Other (please specify)

To make this assessment we have used standards, criteria or indicators that describe a particular desired status or quality associated with the marine vision and then checked how the evidence measures up.

URL or copy of conceptual framework developed or adapted

The UK Initial Assessment under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive has used an ecosystem services approach to report on the costs of degradation of not reaching good environmental status in UK seas by 2020. This can be accessed in the following document: http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2012/12/20/pb13860-msfd-strategy-part-one/

System(s) assessed

• Marine
• Coastal
• Marine benthic habitats

Species groups assessed

Microbes, Plankton, Fish, Seals, Turtles, Cetaceans, Marine birds

Provisioning

• Food
• Water
• Genetic resources
• Medicinal resources
• Fertiliser

Regulating

• Air quality
• Climate regulation
• Moderation of extreme events
• Regulation of water flows
• Regulation of water quality
• Waste treatment
• Erosion prevention

Supporting Services/Functions

• Habitat maintenance
• Nutrient cycling
• Primary production

Cultural Services

• Recreation and tourism
• Sense of place

Drivers of change in systems and services

Yes

Impacts of change in services on human well-being

No

Options for responding/interventions to the trends observed

Yes

Explicit consideration of the role of biodiversity in the systems and services covered by the assessment

Yes

Year assessment started

2005

Year assessment finished

2009

If ongoing, year assessment is anticipated to finish

Periodicity of assessment

Repeated

If repeated, how frequently

Website(s)

http://chartingprogress.defra.gov.uk/

Report(s)

CP2 - Full Report
CP2-Full_report.pdf

CP2 - Government Commentary
Government-Commentary-on-Charting-Progress-2.pdf

CP2 - Overview Report
Charting-Progress-2-Overview.pdf

The Clean and Safe Seas Feeder Report
CSSEG-feeder-report.pdf

The Ocean Processes Feeder Report
OPEG-feeder.pdf

The Productive Seas Feeder Report
PSEG-feeder.pdf

Communication materials (e.g. brochure, presentations, posters, audio-visual media)

CP2 - Launch Presentation
Charting_Progress_2_-_Charting_Progress_2_Launch_Presentation_-_2010-09-03.pdf

Journal publications

Training materials

Other documents/outputs

Clean and Safe seas
Charting_Progress_2_-_Clean_amp_Safe_Seas_-_2010-07-20.pdf

Tools and approaches used in the assessment

• Modelling
• Geospatial analysis
• Indicators
• Economic valuation
• Social (non-monetary) valuation
• • Establishing common standards, methods and protocols, Communication and awareness raising

Process used for stakeholder engagement in the assessment process and which component

The UKMMAS is comprised of a number of organisations and government bodies, each of which contributed to the report process through various communication processes. A stakeholder workshop was held to present and discuss the findings of the Feeder Reports with industry representatives and environmental non-governmental organisations and to consider any additional information.

Key stakeholder groups engaged

Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (AFBI); Associated British Ports (ABPMer); British Geological Survey (BGS); British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC); Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquatic Science (CEFAS); Countryside Council for Wales (CCW); Environment Agency (EA); Environment Heritage Service (EHS); Natural England (NE); Fisheries Research Services (FRS); Food Standards Agency (FSA); Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (IACMST); Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC); Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA); Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA); Met Office; National Centre for Ocean Forecasting (NCOF); Natural Environment Research Council (NERC); Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU); Sir Alistair Hardy Foundation of Ocean Science (SAHFOS); United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO); Representatives of industry; and Representatives of marine research institutions.

The number of people directly involved in the assessment process

100-1000

Incorporation of scientific and other types of knowledge

• Scientific information only
• Resource experts (e.g. foresters etc)
• Citizen science

Supporting documentation for specific approaches, methodology or criteria developed and/or used to integrate knowledge systems into the assessment

Charting Progress (2005) Overview & Report
Charting_Progress_2_-_Charting_Progress_2005_-_2010-08-25.pdf

Independent Peer Review
chartprogress-peerreview.pdf

Integrated Regional Assessment
CP_Integrated_Regional_Assessment.pdf

Marine Environment Quality
1._Marine_Environment_Quality.pdf

Marine Fish and Fisheries
4._Marine_Fish_and_Fisheries.pdf

Marine Habitats and Species
3._Marine_Habitats_and_Species.pdf

Marine Processes and Climate
2._Marine_Processes_and_Climate.pdf

Assessment reports peer reviewed

Yes

Accessibility of data used in assessment

For access to the major datasets, please go to the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) http://www.oceannet.org/ Access to specific data not included at MEDIN can be made on request.

Impacts the assessment has had on policy and/or decision making, as evidenced through policy references and actions

Charting Progress 2 formed the basis for work to develop the characteristics of good UK environmental status and related targets and indicators under the EU Marine Strategy Directive. The UK Government and Devolved Administrations have published a Government Commentary on Charting Progress 2 in which they highlight the important messages coming from the report and outline their approach to them. One of the major policy initiatives to address the recommendation calling for a more coordinated and systematic approach to marine monitoring, assessment and data collection was the setting up in 2006 of the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS), co-chaired by Defra and the Scottish Government. Charting Progress 2 has been produced by the UKMMAS community and represents a more joined-up way of working, one which shares resources and maximises efficiency in the collection and management of marine data.

Government Commentary on CP2
Government-Commentary-on-Charting-Progress-2.pdf

Independent or other review on policy impact of the assessment

No

Lessons learnt for future assessments from these reviews

N/A

Capacity building needs identified during the assessment

Capacity building needs and gaps in knowledge are identified in detail at the end of each chapter. Please see the main report for specific needs.

Actions taken by the assessment to build capacity

Network and sharing experiences, Sharing of data/repatriation of data, Workshops, Developing/promoting and providing access to support tools, Communication and awareness raising

How have gaps in capacity been communicated to the different stakeholders

UKMMAS and its working groups will work under the Marine Science Co-ordination Committee which recently published a 15- year UK Marine Science Strategy for delivering world class marine science to inform decisions on food and energy security, managing the Seas sustainably and dealing with climate change. This should bring marine research and monitoring more closely together, and should further enhance the relationship between the research community and policy makers that we developed during the combined efforts that have led to this report. This should in turn enable a more objective process for the prioritising and funding of research needed to fill the gaps in knowledge.

Gaps in knowledge identified from the assessment

Capacity building needs and gaps in knowledge are identified in detail at the end of each chapter. Please see the main report for specific needs.

How gaps in knowledge have been communicated to the different stakeholders

UKMMAS and its working groups will work under the Marine Science Co-ordination Committee which recently published a 15- year UK Marine Science Strategy for delivering world class marine science to inform decisions on food and energy security, managing the Seas sustainably and dealing with climate change. This should bring marine research and monitoring more closely together, and should further enhance the relationship between the research community and policy makers that we developed during the combined efforts that have led to this report. This should in turn enable a more objective process for the prioritising and funding of research needed to fill the gaps in knowledge.