Innovative tools and integrated assessment of good environmental status - support for work package leadership within FP7 project DEVOTES

Monitoring of marine biodiversity has long been carried out on a local, and national scale. Recently the European Water Framework directive has drawn together some aspects of monitoring, and this has been implemented across Europe. The recently adopted Ma rine Strategy Framework Directive goes a step further, and requires an integrated approach to monitoring biodiversity, across all the Eureopean seas and including all habitat types and all key components of biodiversity. The DEVOTES project aims to furthe r the scientific basis of understanding of marine Biodiversity, as a contribution to the MSFD efforts. The present project funds from NFR support work package leadership within DEVOTES, which in this case involves extensive international correspondence, m eetings and joint reporting efforts.

The proposed project requests financial support for co-leadership of two work-packages (WPs) within the newly-accepted EU FP7-ENV.2012.6.2-3 project "DEVelopment Of innovative Tools for understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good Environmental St atus" (DEVOTES). The applicant was asked to join the steering committee and co-leads two work packages, because of her leading role in representing Norway and providing advisory services to the Commission, drawing from biodiversity monitoring/research to develop the criteria and indicators which now are adopted within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). This directive requires Good Environmental Status (GES) in European waters by 2020. However, the detailed monitoring and assessment strategy s till is lacking, and this is urgently required to meet the monitoring deadline of 2015. The DEVOTES WPs led by the applicant provide a) innovative monitoring techniques and b) integrated assessment of biodiversity. Our role draws on international research to identify tools and to lead the development of a holistic marine biodiversity assessment scheme, which takes into account human pressures on ecosystems and the goods and services which they provide. In total 24 partners from all across Europe are inv olved in the WPs and thus leadership is complex and the allotted budget insufficient. NFR support will ensure Norway's profile reflects both dedication and competence. Because Norway did not adopt the MSFD, we hold an essential role as independent advisor s to the EC (the applicant, Cochrane). Such work directly feeds into Norwegian integrated management plans for our marine waters, and thus NFR support will allow us to offer the gains of our unique role in both DEVOTES and the MSFD to maximum benefit for Norwegian ecosystem management.