Preparation of OSPAR's next assessment of the state of the North-East Atlantic

Work is well under way in the preparation for OSPAR’s next assessment of the state of the North-East Atlantic due in 2023 (QSR 2023).

A meeting was held in London from 23-25 April meeting to consider information received from the OSPAR committee meetings in spring 2019 in order to finalise the ‘QSR 2023 guidance document’. Once finalised, the guidance document will set out the scope and structure of the QSR 2023 as well as set out the process for delivering assessments.

The ‘QSR 2023 guidance document’ will be the resource to go to for all the experts in OSPAR that will be involved in the work to deliver the QSR 2023. The comprehensive assessment will require input from hundreds of experts and many different committees and topics. Assessments are expected on topics ranging from the number of seabirds, to the amounts of radioactivity discharged into the marine environment, and assessments of whether the measures OSPAR has implemented have been effective and what the socio-economic effects of the state of the marine environment is. The guidance document is to facilitate this process by defining the key delivery milestones and describing the intended output products.