11. OSPAR and the World Ocean

One ocean

Though the North-East Atlantic is undeniably unique, it shares common geological, physical, and chemical features with the global ocean and is inextricably connected to it. The movements of ocean currents, themselves coupled to the Earth’s atmosphere, transport nutrients throughout the ocean system that are essential for the primary production undertaken by the phytoplankton that forms the base of all oceanic food webs. This interconnectedness across ocean systems and the common pressures that impact the marine environment reinforce the need for collaboration between governments, international organisations, and civil society in finding solutions to the challenges posed by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

OSPAR is in a unique position globally, shepherding an international agreement that catalyses science-based monitoring and assessment not only of environmental condition and ecosystem health, but also the effectiveness of management responses to the myriad marine environmental challenges. The OSPAR Maritime Area spans open ocean areas in addition to semi-enclosed seas, enabling OSPAR to consider ecosystem changes in the context of much broader environmental change. The OSPAR Convention fosters cooperation between its Contracting Parties, which openly share information on human uses of the ocean affecting coastal lands and watershed, the condition of coastal and marine environments and the ecological features they support, and the management measures taken to ensure that use is sustainable and ecosystem services continue to be delivered. In addition, a common methodology for monitoring indicators across a wide spectrum of parameters, describing pressures, state, and response, enables coordination of effort so as to establish a solid base of understanding about the OSPAR Maritime Area as a whole.

That the OSPAR Convention acts as a model for other regions is one mark of its value as a multilateral instrument. OSPAR’s harmonisation of approaches and its careful use of both tools and language to openly portray what is happening in the North-East Atlantic contributes to global understanding of ocean ecology and the human impacts upon it. Regional scale is not only effective for taking management measures based on evidence-based assessments, it also makes plain that not all impacts originate within regions, and that marine systems are never entirely bounded. OSPAR therefore has a major role to play in the global arena and can galvanise action at the larger scales that environmental protection requires.

Cooperation within the OSPAR Region and the European Union

As the competent Regional Sea Convention for the North-East Atlantic, the OSPAR Commission is the primary platform for the international cooperation that is needed to implement effective marine policy in north-western Europe. In addition to the extensive cooperation between OSPAR Contracting Parties to work toward common goals and ensure the harmonisation required for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, there is concrete cross-regional cooperation. OSPAR has mutually beneficial cooperation with neighbouring Regional Seas, and works closely with them. It collaborates with the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) on issues ranging from marine birds, marine mammals, eutrophication, underwater noise, ballast water to the establishment of special areas regulating ships’ exhaust gases (Baltic and North Sea NOx Emission Control Areas, NECAs). Similarly, OSPAR cooperates with the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (the operational arm of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution) including sharing lessons learned and best practice for conducting and presenting regional assessments. A key aspect of OSPAR’s mandate is to cooperate with other competent international organisations to deliver shared objectives for protecting the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic and its sustainable use. A good example of this is the collective arrangement agreed between OSPAR and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). The foremost objective of the collective arrangement is to facilitate cooperation and coordination on area-based management between legally competent authorities by promoting the exchange of information on each other’s activities and achievements and taking into consideration all conservation and management measures taken in relation to the North-East Atlantic.

Cooperation at a global level

The assessments delivered under OSPAR’s Quality Status Report 2023 - and the information and data that underpin it - provide a strong basis for collaborating with others to ensure that human activities impacting on the marine environment are managed appropriately. As one of 18 Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) in the world, OSPAR works closely with many regional bodies to enhance cross-regional cooperation within the UNEP framework, including the Cartagena Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region. OSPAR also plays an important role in the collective efforts of the RSCAPs to implement Sustainable Development Goals 14 and 17. One important example of this is OSPAR’s contribution to the latest UN World Ocean Assessment, using the information gathered for the QSR. Another example is OSPAR’s international engagement in the Arctic region. As an Observer to the Arctic Council, OSPAR contributes through involvement in the relevant working groups, actively engaging with AMAP (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) on ocean acidification and the transport of chemicals, and providing collaboration to combat pollution from maritime disasters and chronic pollution from ships and offshore installations that can impact the Arctic. OSPAR also contributes to the work of PAME (Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment) on protecting the marine environment.

In addition, OSPAR, whose Maritime Area includes areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) will play an important supporting role in supporting implementation of the newly agreed Implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

OSPAR as a model for regional scientific assessment and harmonisation of approaches

The OSPAR Contracting Parties have a strong track record of conducting systematic and transparent assessments of the marine environment whose findings can easily be shared. This sharing includes not only the results of those assessments and the data and information that underpin them, but also the assessment methodologies for integrating indicators and best practices in coordination and cooperation.

OSPAR’s assessments help fulfil the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFSD) requirements and contribute to the ‘report once use many times’ philosophy. As well as meeting reporting needs, the assessments underlying the QSR enhance cohesion and integration between the various descriptors/themes. Each new QSR makes a special effort to further develop understanding of cumulative effects (a policy priority) and of holistic assessment. QSR assessments contain several layers of information at different geographical scales, from the assessment unit scale, which is relevant for an indicator, to the OSPAR Maritime Area scale that forms the basis for thematic assessments. This makes the assessments useful for national purposes as well as region-wide and tracking of the health of the North-East Atlantic.

OSPAR has created a standardised framework for all assessments that reflects practical management perspectives, with each assessment aiming to shed light on:

1. the nature of the problem,
2. what has been done about it,
3. whether these measures worked,
4. how the topic or theme affects the overall status of the North-East Atlantic, and
5. what should be done next.

OSPAR assessments now comprise a long time-series of consistently collected data and information gathered since the 1980s, and OSPAR makes every effort to enhance comparability between older and newer datasets. Furthermore, OSPAR catalyses coordinated action under the Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (JAMP) and the Coordinated Environmental Monitoring Programme (CEMP) in order to maximise data compatibility and sharing.

Working together to understand what is happening in the North-East Atlantic and what may happen in the future provides decision-makers with solid information to help understand inevitable trade-offs and choices. The QSR 2023 and its explicit application of the ecosystem approach through a DAPSIR framework places marine management in the context of human wellbeing. Prioritisation of action at the regional, national, and local level is aided by tools such as Sankey diagrams that graphically portray which drivers and pressures may require the greatest policy responses (see example). Applying the DAPSIR framework ensures that the thematic assessments coherently, consistently and holistically consider the interrelationships between the environmental, social and economic forces underlying degradation, and the management policies, regulations, and behaviour that can mitigate it.