Sea-floor integrity Ecological Objective
Sea-floor integrity is maintained, especially in priority benthic habitats1
Operational Objectives
Extent of physical alteration to the substrate is minimized
Impact of benthic disturbance in priority benthic habitats is minimized
Indicators Distribution of bottom impacting activities2
Area of the substrate affected by physical alteration due to the different activities2 Impact of bottom impacting activities2
in priority benthic habitats
Change in distribution and abundance of indicator species in priority habitats3
1. E.g. coastal lagoons and marshes, intertidal areas, seagrass meadows, coralligenous communities, sea mounts, submarine canyons and slopes, deep-water coral and hydrothermal vents 2. E.g bottom fishing, dredging activities ,sediment disposal, seabed mining, drilling, marine installations, dumping and anchoring, land reclamation, sand and gravel extraction 3. Indicator species to be used to assess the ecosystem effects of physical damage to the benthos could refer to disturbance-sensitive and/or disturbance-tolerant species, as appropriate to the circumstances, in line with methodologies developed to assess the magnitude and duration of ecological effects of benthic disturbance
Hydrography Ecological Objective
Alteration of hydrographic conditions does not adversely affect coastal and marine ecosystems.
Operational Objectives
Impacts to the marine and coastal ecosystem induced by climate variability and/or climate change are minimized
Alterations due to permanent constructions on the coast and watersheds, marine installations and seafloor anchored structures are minimized
Indicators
Large scale changes in circulation patterns, temperature, pH, and salinity distribution
Long term changes in sea level
Impact on the circulation caused by the presence of structures
Location and extent of the habitats impacted directly by the alterations and/or the circulation changes induced by them: footprints of impacting structures
Trends in sediment delivery, especially in major deltaic systems
Extent of area affected by coastal erosion due to sedi- ment supply alterations
Impacts of alterations due to changes in freshwater flow from watersheds, seawater inundation and coastal freatic intrusion, brine input from desalination plants and seawater intake and outlet are minimized
Trends in fresh water/sea water volume delivered to salt marshes, lagoons, estuaries, and deltas; desalination brines in the coastal zone
Location and extent of the habitats impacted by changes in the circulation and the salinity induced by the alterations
Changes in key species distribution due to the effects of seawater intake and outlet
Coastal ecosystems and landscapes Ecological Objective
The natural dynamics of coastal areas are maintained and coastal ecosystems and landscapes are preserved
Operational Objectives
The natural dynamic nature of coastlines is respected and coastal areas are in good condition
Indicators
Areal extent of coastal erosion and coastline instability Changes in sediment dynamics along the coastline Areal extent of sandy areas subject to physical disturbance1
Integrity and diversity of coastal ecosystems, landscapes and their geomorphology are preserved
Length of coastline subject to physical disturbance due to the influence of manmade structures Change of land-use2 Change of landscape types Share of non-fragmented coastal habitats
1. Physical disturbance includes beach cleaning by mechanical means, sand mining, beach sand noursihment 2. Land-use classess according to the classification by Eurostat-OCDE, 1998:
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/q2004land.pdf
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, MAJOR FINDINGS AND GAPS AND NEXT STEPS IN THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH 79
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