On Tuesday 11 June 2024, the handbook "Cumulative effects assessment in the marine environment" was launched at the JPI Oceans Strategic Navigation Forum. The handbook is the culmination of work of the JPI Oceans Knowledge Hub Cumulative Effects of Human Activities, led by Norway and with Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany and Italy as participating countries. The handbook was presented by the Knowledge Hub co-coordinator, Donata Canu, from National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics in Italy.
The Knowledge Hub expert group's purpose was to generate a report with guidelines and procedures on how to holistically evaluate the combined effects of human activities and natural processes on the marine environment. Target groups include authorities and policy makers who frequently take decisions or give out permits that are expected to be based on Cumulative Effects Assessments, but also scientists who need such tools to further their research. The expert group covered a broad range of expertise, such as on marine multi-use, framework assessment for environmental impacts, environmental impact assessment, management of marine renewables, impacts on deep-sea, and modelling of environmental stressors.
The handbook is written to be practical, easy to understand and useful for use in all European countries, with examples to highlight specific adaptations in local contexts. Policy makers included in the expert group leveraged on their experience from ministries with implementation of marine policy and Marine Spatial Planning. They will ensure a good update of the handbook among policy makers, as will the several experts who are connected to the related works of the Common Environmental Assessment Framework (CEAF) and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR).
On World Ocean Day 2024, the handbook was endorsed under the UN Decade of Ocean Science.
Coordinator Donata Canu illustrating external pressures with balloons