The EU has a comprehensive environmental policy framework in place and has been a key driving force in the establishment and implementation of nature conservation in the UK and other member states (Boyes and Elliott 2014). The EC is the governing body of the EU and EC directives bind specific member states to a given target, with each member state and respective national authorities in control of the form and methods used to meet said targets. All EC directives have been transposed into law in the respective UK territories. Under the Scotland Act (1998), for example, the Scottish Government is responsible for creating and passing laws, which will help implement EU law and put the legislation into place. Similarly, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, transposed legislation helps implement all EU law and some international environmental targets.
Habitats Directive and Birds Directive
The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) are the cornerstone of European nature conservation. The nature directives call for development of conservation management policy and indicators of condition in MPAs (Council Directive 92/43/EEC, 1992). Stemming from both directives is an EU-wide network of protected areas; Special Protected Areas (SPAs) for birds and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) collectively known as the Natura 2000 network. In the marine environment, the Natura 2000 network consists of more than 3000 SACs and SPAs and covers more than 5% of the total EU marine area (>300,000 km2) (as of June 2016) (EC 2016). The Habitat Directive has two main threads; a list of species under strict protection (European protected species, EPS) and the Natura 2000 network, which offers site protection. ‘Favourable conservation status’ of these sites and species is required nationally and across regions under EU jurisdiction. Each nation is responsible for the maintenance and periodic reporting of the conservation status of annexed species and habitats and any negative impacts. Member states are subject to penalties for non-compliance and degradation of annexed species and habitats by the EU (EEA 2015).
Marine Strategy Framework Directive
The Integrated Marine Policy (IMP) for the EU aims to develop trans-border marine management framework, encouraging ‘Blue Growth’ through holistic MSP and management (EU 2007; EU 2008). One of the main EU directives generated from the IMP is the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD) which calls for 'good environmental status' (GES) across marine areas in all member states by 2020. It is the first EU legislative instrument related to the protection of marine biodiversity, with the explicit objective that 'biodiversity is maintained by 2020'. In order to achieve this status, priority habitats (i.e. defined as ‘threatened and/or declining species and habitats’ under the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the north-east Atlantic 1992) will need to be assessed, maintained and managed for both current conditions, as well as future conditions under climate change scenarios (MSFD 2008). In order to achieve GES by 2020, each EU member state is required to develop a strategy for its marine waters. This 'Marine Strategy' must be kept up-to-date and reviewed every six years to comply with the directive’s adaptive management approach. The directive legislates an ecosystem approach to marine management encouraging protection alongside sustainable use. In the UK, the MSFD was transposed through the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. Implementation of the programme of measures is delegated to each national government for features present in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The MSFD is broken down into 11 key quality descriptors; three biological and eight pressure-related with each of these high-level descriptors broken down into a set of criteria and furthermore into indicators. GES will be assessed according to the indicators developed for all criteria of the relevant high-level descriptors relating to the OSPAR priority habitats (HM Government 2012). The MSFD applies to all coastal and offshore marine areas up to 200 nm (excluding transitional waters like estuaries, as defined by the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC).
Water Framework Directive
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) seeks to improve water quality in inland, surface, ground, transitional and coastal water bodies. The directive works on a 6-year cycle, with the last target date in 2015. There are a range of assessment elements, much like the MSFD, but are focussed on the biological and chemical status of all water bodies. Water bodies are classified on an ecological and chemical scale aiming for ‘good ecological status’ and ‘good chemical status’ for all water bodies. In terms of the marine environment, the WFD is applicable to transitional waters (defined as estuaries, sea lochs, and coastal lagoons) and coastal waters to 1 nm (3 nm in Scotland). For chemical status, this boundary stretches to territorial waters, 12 nm. There is considerable overlap between the WFD and the MSFD in coastal waters. Within the MSFD, there is an explicit recognition that the MSFD applies in coastal water only where GES is not covered by the WFD like noise, litter and some aspects of biodiversity (zooplankton, seabirds, coastal water fish and marine mammals) (HM Government 2012). As with other directives, they have been transposed into national law. The implementation of the legislation is carried out by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Marine Scotland in Scotland, the Northern Ireland Environmental Agency in Northern Ireland, the Environmental Agency and DEFRA in England and Natural Resources Wales in Wales.
Maritime Spatial Planning Directive
The EC Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive 2014/89/EU is another key legislation stemming from the IMP. The MSP Directive requires all states to design and implement marine spatial plans, giving them the freedom to do this at national, regional or local scales. As with other EU policies, there are minimum common targets and timescales; plans need to be in place by Spring 2021, they should include all human activities with land–sea interactions, public and stakeholders must be involved throughout the planning process and the most effective future spatial development of the marine area must be identified (EU 2011a). Activities considered within the MSP include fishing, aquaculture, renewable energy, offshore oil and gas activities and maritime transportation (EU 2011a). The MSP Directive seeks to encourage ‘Blue Growth’, a key EU initiative for sustainability and holistic management of the maritime area (Flaguel 2010). National legislation like the Marine Scotland Act (2010) included MSP measures. The MSP Directive ensures that all members states contribute to marine management on equal terms.
EU Biodiversity Strategy
To complement binding legislation, the EU adopted the EU Biodiversity Strategy in 2011 following the commitments made at the 10th Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010. The vision set out by the EU was to protect, value and restore biodiversity, natural capital and ecosystem services (EU 2011b). This was partly adopted in recognition of the failure of the EU to meet 2010 biodiversity targets set by the EU in 2001. The EU biodiversity strategy contains six targets: full implementation of EU nature legislation to protect biodiversity, better protection for ecosystems and more use of green infrastructure, more sustainable agriculture and forestry, better management of fish stocks, tighter controls of invasive alien species, and bigger EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss. The strategy also includes a commitment to help halt global biodiversity loss based on the CBD. As of 2015, only one of the six targets was on track (others progress classified as not significant or insufficient), invasive species target five, according to the mid-term report (EC 2016). The 2020 headline target showed no significant progress and overall, biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystem services in the EU has continued since the 2010 baseline (EEA 2016). This strategy links with the nature directives, which have no set deadlines. The EU is aiming for all 100% of habitats in favourable conservation status by 2020.
Table 1 provides a summary of the main EU marine legislation relevant to the sustainable management of marine species and habitats within the UK including a list of key objectives. Please refer to Fig. 1 for a summary schematic.
Considering the role of Brexit
In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU, commonly referred to as 'Brexit'. The EU has been instrumental in driving nature conservation policy across European seas, fixing ambitious targets through directives that have required all countries to take action for marine conservation and planning. Further, many of the most important UK environmental policies and priorities are those that have emerged via the EU (Boyes and Elliott 2014). Consequently, any scenario in which the UK withdraws from the EU could have significant implications for the marine environment (Boyes and Elliott 2016).
While the political, economic, social and environmental impacts of Brexit are largely unknown, the application of EU policy under which the UK is currently bound would likely change under different Brexit scenarios and consequently result in varying degrees of policy implications (IEEP 2016). Ultimately, the final outcomes will depend on negotiations with the EU; however, if the UK were to remain part of the European Economic Area (EEA), it is assumed that most environmental law would still apply (Burns et al. 2016). There would, however, be some major exceptions; most notably the Habitats and Birds Directives. Although these directives have been transposed into UK law, the UK would have the freedom to loosen or change all aspects of the legislation and be free of EU pressures to achieve favourable conservation status. The UK would still be bound to the ambitious targets of the MSFD, WFD and most other environmental policies, but would be unable to influence their development or negotiate future target setting and still be subject to penalties for noncompliance. If the UK were to completely break from the EU, no EU legislation would apply. The directives which have been transposed into law in the respective UK nations would still apply but the governments would have the freedom to change these laws over time to suit their own requirements (Burns et al. 2016). Additionally, the UK would still be required to meet the standards of many directives in order to trade with the EU, which would need to be negotiated throughout the Brexit process. While there is a risk that the UK could loosen environmental legislation in order to increase UK competitiveness, the EU has developed blanket policies which prevent states from increasing competitiveness by reducing environmental standards (e.g. increasing fishing quotas). According to the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), the UK would likely seek agreements on a voluntary basis with Europe in relation to the marine environment and fisheries (IEEP 2016). For a more in-depth examination, Boyes and Elliott (2016) provide a comprehensive overview of how current EU legislation that contributes to the protection and management of UK marine environments may change under varying Brexit exit scenarios, and what the implications of such changes could be for UK marine governance.