Biodiversity

Göteborg, in Sweden hosted the OSPAR Biodiversity Committee meeting close to the Skagerrak coast. The main focus of the meeting was the development and assessment of common biodiversity indicators on mammals, fish, benthic and pelagic habitats and food webs. These will provide a crucial part of OSPAR's intermediate assessment in 2017.

The evaluation of the coherence and effective management of the ever-growing OSPAR network of marine protected areas was also discussed, including the development of future assessments. Finally progress on the protection of species and habits was also reviewed including the development of a plan to implement the 50 recommendations already adopted by OSPAR in the next few years.