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Marine Litter Baselines in Europe

Anna M Addamo, Georg Hanke, MSFD-Technical Group of Marine Litter*European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC, Italy)

6th International Marine Debris ConferenceSan Diego (USA), 12-16 March 2018

*MSFD-TGML

Data science is the core of policy support

Quantitative baselines of litter are needed in order to provide comparable assessments and to monitor the progress of litter-reduction measures.

The “first-ever” pan-European dataset on ML

The 1st ever pan-European dataset on marine beach litter that allows comparison and data analysis in support of policy decisions and prioritization across Europe

• Member States

• Regional Sea Conventions

• Research

• NGOs

• EU Policymakers

Baseline Concept

DEFINITION*

A starting point that provides a first large-scale comprehensivecharacterization of marine litter in a specific year and location.

*MSFD-TGML

It is against which to monitor, measure and assess progress and effectiveness during and after the implementation of measures or plan once is completed.

Baseline Concept

SETTINGS*

ML Baseline requires data with sufficient:

• spatial coverage and resolution

• temporal coverage (in duration and frequency)

• appropriate quality (“fit-for-purpose”)

*MSFD-TGML

Baseline Concept

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH*

1. Creation of ML data availability overview

*MSFD-TGML

2. Identification of priority test scenario(s)

3. Identification of options for baseline calculation

4. Testing scenarios with different time coverage/spatial aggregation

5. Discussion and identification of common principles for the baseline setting

All-inclusive data sources

• Member States (23 MS out of 28)- National monitoring programmes

• Research projects (e.g. DeFishGear)

• NGOs (e.g. Legambiente)

• Citizen Science (e.g. MarineLitterWatch)

• Regional Sea Conventions (OSPAR, Barcelona, HELCOM, Bucharest)- Regional monitoring programmes

Spatial - Temporal Scale

• Timing of baseline setting (at/from-to)

• Spatial aggregation of data (distribution/measures)

At which level should we work?

The scale for baseline depends on the compliance with reduction goals and efficiency of measure

Scenario Testing – Proposal*

Beach, macro litter, all items (individual/groups), 2012-2016, regional, sub-regional, national

*MSFD-TGML

• Countries: 21 MS out of 23

• Beaches: 369 locations

• Surveys: 3831 transects

• 5-Years (4 seasons): 2012-2016

Data analysis: metadata

• Marine Areas: 4 regions

• Sampling effort: + beaches

• Total ML: > 1.200.000 items

• Abundance: ~ 300 items/100m

Data analysis: preliminary outcomes

No. Surveys

No. Beaches

Data compilation: hindrances

• Sampling method heterogeneity: e.g. variable transect lengths (50m – 3km)

• Data template heterogeneity: 19 different formats

Harmonization Transect 100m

Harmonization Data Format

approach

In collaboration with

Data compilation: hindrances

• Spatio-temporal heterogeneity: e.g. variable No. of surveys by season/country

approach

No lower spatio-temporal scale

In collaboration with

Data compilation: hindrances

• Code Mapping: 3 code lists (TGML, OSPAR, UNEMAP) –Not always 1:1 correspondance

approach

Harmonization code - categories/subcategories

In collaboration with

CASE: Top Marine Beach Litter Items in EU

• Countries: 17 MS out of 23

• Beaches: 276 locations

• Surveys: 679 transects

• 1-Year (4 seasons): 2016

• Items: 355.671 objects

• Marine Areas: 4 Regions

CASE: Top Marine Beach Litter Items in EU

• Temporal scale: Seasonality

• Spatial scale: Europe – Regional*

• Support: Plastic Strategy

• Goal: Reduce most widespread items

• Action: Single Use Plastic Items

Outlook Baseline set basis for:

• Setting Thresholds

• Identifying Scale of Measures

• Revising of Guidance for Monitoring

• Revising of Master List Categories

• Implementing Efficient Policy

Thank YouAny questions? Any suggestions?You can find me anna.addamo@ec.europa.eu

Thanks to Giorgetti A., Vinci M., Molina Jack M.E., Brosich A. and Montero Chaves M. for their contribution and fruitful collaboration.