The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) has recently been awarded funding to lead a new EU project that will investigate the interaction between all European regulations that affect governance of Europe’s seas and coasts.
Over time, the EU has developed comprehensive regulations and complex management systems to ensure that Europe’s sea and coastal areas are in good environmental condition. At the same time, there are often other policies that affect the sea – and which do not sufficiently contribute to solving the problems that arise at sea. This applies, for example, to agricultural and fisheries policy, but may also apply to various environmental regulations.
The sum of initiatives and rules has become so complicated and extensive that the EU needs help to streamline it. This is needed to increase clarity and effectiveness and to understand better what needs to be done. This is precisely the ambition of the CrossGov project, according to project manager Froukje M. Platjouw in NIVA.
– Typical problems are fragmented and conflicting legislation, challenges in implementing the regulations in practice, and political factors such as power relations between sectors and actors, says Platjouw.
– We will highlight the effect of governance being divided into several levels, from the international to the local, and that so many different sectors are involved. The project will also develop proposals for solutions together with those involved in policy- and decision-making, says the NIVA researcher, who has extensive experience in international and EU environmental law.
The EU’s Green Deal
The project will contribute with analyzes and proposals for measures that can lead to better compliance with the EU’s own goals and international obligations.
– The EU’s Green Deal has high ambitions to transform society towards environmental sustainability. The policy requires, among other things, that measures must be taken that change the way we affect our marine ecosystems, at the same time as the climate crisis is to be solved and new jobs are to be created in new sea-based industries, says Platjouw.
The EU is concerned with finding solutions that meet several goals at the same time so that attempts to solve one problem do not create new ones or amplify existing ones.
– For example, climate-oriented investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind should not be at the expense of nature and biodiversity or lead to increased pollution, at the same time as social aspects must be considered, says the NIVA researcher.
Oslofjorden as a case
In addition to studying the context of the regulations as they appear on paper, the project will also go in depth on how they work in practice. A number of case studies are therefore included in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean, including the Oslofjorden.
– The Oslofjorden is a very exciting case. The ecosystem has been greatly changed by discharges from, among other things, sewage and agriculture, and overfishing. The EU’s water framework directive stipulates that the impacts of such contributions must be met with measures that can restore good ecological condition, says Platjouw.
In Norway, this has been implemented through the water management plans. At the same time, the government has mobilized many actors for a joint contribution for the fjord through a comprehensive action plan.
– The project gives us the opportunity to follow these processes and compare what is happening in other European countries, Platjouw concludes.
| About the projectThe CrossGov project is part of the EU’s major research and innovation program Horizon Europe.CrossGov is the short name for “Coherent and cross-compliant ocean governance for delivering the EU Green Deal for European seas”The project will be carried out by a consortium coordinated by NIVA. The other participants are the University of Utrecht (Netherlands), the University of Eastern Finland, ACTeon (France), Sustainable_Projects (Germany), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Germany) and CNR-ISMAR (Italy).The project will start this summer and end in 2025. The project has a budget of approximately 3 million euros.PS: NIVA as coordinator has not yet completed the contract negotiations with the EU Commission. This is expected to be completed in the coming months. |
— 中文–
挪威水研究所 (NIVA) 最近获得资助，领导一个新的欧盟项目，该项目将调查影响欧洲海洋和海岸治理的所有欧洲法规之间的相互作用。
随着时间的推移，欧盟制定了全面的法规和复杂的管理体系，以确保欧洲的海洋和沿海地区处于良好的环境状况。与此同时，通常还有其他影响海洋的政策——这些政策并不足以解决海上出现的问题。例如，这适用于农业和渔业政策，但也可能适用于各种环境法规。
倡议和规则的总和变得如此复杂和广泛，以至于欧盟需要帮助来简化它。这对于提高清晰度和有效性以及更好地理解需要做什么是必要的。据 NIVA 的项目经理Froukje M. Platjouw 称，这正是 CrossGov 项目的雄心壮志。
– Platjouw 说，典型的问题是分散和相互冲突的立法、在实践中实施法规的挑战以及诸如部门和参与者之间的权力关系等政治因素。
– 我们将强调治理被划分为多个层次的影响，从国际到地方，涉及到如此多的不同部门。在国际和欧盟环境法方面拥有丰富经验的 NIVA 研究人员表示，该项目还将与参与政策和决策的人员一起制定解决方案建议。
欧盟的绿色协议
该项目将提供有助于更好地遵守欧盟自身目标和国际义务的措施的分析和建议。
– 欧盟的绿色协议具有将社会转变为环境可持续性的雄心壮志。该政策要求，除其他外，必须采取措施改变我们影响海洋生态系统的方式，同时解决气候危机，并在新的海洋产业中创造新的就业机会，说普拉乔。
欧盟关心的是寻找同时满足多个目标的解决方案，以便解决一个问题的尝试不会产生新问题或扩大现有问题。
– 例如，以气候为导向的对海上风电等可再生能源的投资不应以牺牲自然和生物多样性为代价或导致污染增加，同时必须考虑社会方面，NIVA 研究员说。
奥斯陆峡湾作为案例
除了研究纸上法规的背景外，该项目还将深入研究它们在实践中的运作方式。因此，在北海、波罗的海和地中海（包括奥斯陆峡湾）包括了许多案例研究。
– 奥斯陆峡湾是一个非常令人兴奋的案例。污水和农业以及过度捕捞等排放物使生态系统发生了巨大变化。Platjouw 说，欧盟的水框架指令规定，必须通过能够恢复良好生态条件的措施来应对此类贡献的影响。
在挪威，这已通过水管理计划实施。同时，政府通过全面的行动计划，动员众多行动者共同为峡湾做出贡献。
– Platjouw 总结说，该项目让我们有机会遵循这些流程并比较其他欧洲国家正在发生的事情。
| 关于该项目CrossGov 项目是欧盟主要研究和创新计划 Horizon Europe 的一部分。CrossGov 是“为欧洲海洋提供欧盟绿色协议的连贯和交叉兼容的海洋治理”的简称该项目将由 NIVA 协调的财团执行。其他参与者是乌得勒支大学（荷兰）、东芬兰大学、ACTeon（法国）、Sustainable_Projects（德国）、高级可持续发展研究所（德国）和 CNR-ISMAR（意大利）。该项目将于今年夏天开始，2025年结束。该项目的预算约为300万欧元。PS：NIVA作为协调人尚未完成与欧盟委员会的合同谈判。这预计将在未来几个月内完成。 |
NIVA China 