Intersessional correspondence group for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

OSPAR's Intersessional correspondence group for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (ICG-MSFD) met in Spain from 8-9 April 2019.

The ICG’s main purpose is to ensure that OSPAR work is useful for Contracting Parties that are EU member states to use in meeting their national and regional reporting requirements for the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). With that in mind, the meeting focused on OSPAR’s developing QSR 2023 and in particular the indicator and thematic assessments, and provided advice on consistency and harmonisation for joint OSPAR and EU purposes.

As well as assessments, Contracting Parties shared national information on their determinations of good environmental status and environmental targets, their monitoring programmes and programmes of measures, working towards consistency and coherence at the regional scale.

ICG-MSFD discussed the outcomes of these EU-funded projects:

iFADO (Innovation in the Framework of the Atlantic Deep Ocean),

MISTIC SEAS 2 (Implementation of a coherent and coordinated sub-regional approach to monitoring and evaluation of marine biodiversity in Macaronesia for the second cycle of the MSFD), and

The new RAGES (Risk-based approaches to good environmental status) project