Managing Marine Conservation Zones

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Managing Marine Conservation Zones

• Dr Angela Moffat
• Marine Bill Project Manager
• Natural England
• angela.moffat_at_naturalengland.org.uk

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Outline

• Marine Conservation Zones What are they and
  where do they fit in the overall scheme of
  things?
• How will they be selected?
• What data will be used?
• How will marine conservation zones be managed?
• How might the conservation agencies, public
  authorities and developers best work together?

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UK Marine Protected Area Network

• Governments Vision for the marine environment
• Clean, healthy, safe, productive and
  biologically diverse ocean and seas
• Governments aim
• to recover and protect the richness of our
  marine environment and wildlife through the
  development of a strong, ecologically coherent
  and well managed network of marine protected
  areas, that is well understood and supported by
  all sea users, by 2012

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UK Marine Protected Area Network

• The UK Marine Protected Area network will consist
  of
• International marine sites
• Special Areas of Conservation
• Special Protection Areas
• Ramsar sites
• National marine sites
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• (Marine Nature Reserves)
• Marine Conservation Zones

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Marine Conservation Zones

• Aims
• To designate MCZs that will meet the UKs MPA
  network criteria thereby conserving and/or aiding
  the recovery of ecosystems and biodiversity,
  whilst minimising economic or social impacts on
  society.
• To maximize the wider benefits of the MCZ network
  to society by investigating synergies with other
  sectors.

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• Under the UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill, MCZs
  can be designated for the purpose of conserving
• Marine flora or fauna
• Marine habitats or types of marine habitat
• Features of geological or geomorphological
  interest
• The above includes
• Species that are rare or threatened and
• The diversity of flora, fauna or habitats whether
  or not rare or threatened.
• Socio-economic considerations
• The economic and social consequences of
  designation may also be taken into account

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MCZ selection process

• Integrated inshore /offshore planning
• Delivered through four regional projects
• Places stakeholders central to the decision
  making process
• Process open and transparent
• Bottom up, top guided process.

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Physical data

• Drawing on the wealth of existing information
  including
• Broad-scale habitat distribution maps
• Detailed bathymetric charts
• Detailed sediment distribution maps.

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Ecological data

• Range of research commissioned to provide best
  available scientific ecological evidence
  including
• Species and habitats distribution maps
• Important nursery, juvenile or spawning grounds
• Areas of high biological diversity
• Areas of high benthic productivity
• Distribution of seabed sediments and rock
• Distribution of geological and geomorphological
  features.

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Socio-economic data

• Existing socio-economic information including
• Distribution of activities
• Further projects to gather additional information
  including
• Distribution of inshore fishing activity
• Distribution of recreational activities

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Management of Marine Conservation Zones

• The Marine Coastal Access Bill places the
  responsibility for the management of MCZs with
  public authorities.
• Public authorities must
• Exercise their functions in the manner which the
  authority considers best furthers the
  conservation objectives stated for the MCZ
• Where it is not possible to exercise their
  functions in a manner which furthers those
  objectives, exercise them in the manner which the
  authority considers least hinders the achievement
  of those objectives.

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Public authority marine conservation zone duties
and marine licensing

• Public authorities will need to carry out these
  duties as part of delivering their licensing
  functions
• Where a public authority thinks that an activity
  it intends to carry out or which is seeking a
  licence may significantly hinder the achievement
  of a MCZs conservation objectives, they are
  required to consult the statutory conservation
  agency.

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Role of Natural England

• Natural England will be responsible for providing
  advice to public authorities on how activities
  and impacts will affect delivery of the
  conservation objectives for MCZs.
• The Bill gives Natural England the power to
  provide advice and guidance on a number of
  aspects of marine conservation zone management
  including
• Factors which might damage or affect protected
  features
• Impacts that might hinder achievement of the
  conservation objectives and how these might be
  mitigated
• How to further the conservation objectives
• Compensatory measures, where damage cannot be
  avoided.

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Making the process work

• Data and information collated as part of the MCZ
  selection process will be available to public
  authorities and developers wherever possible
• Natural England is keen to work with developers
  and public authorities from an early stage in
  project development to ensure that relevant
  factors are considered from the outset
• Natural England has found this to be a successful
  way of working with developers and public bodies
  to secure the management of existing Sites of
  Special Scientific Interest and European marine
  sites.
• Natural Englands aim is not to prevent an
  activity from occurring but to advise on whether
  it is possible to carry it out in a way that
  prevents a significant impact on a MCZ (and its
  role in the network)

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Working together

• Ongoing dialogue around continuing activities
• Early dialogue over new/changed activities
• Collaboration over the production of guidance to
  cover commonly occurring situations
• Production of guidance for developers on when to
  consult us and the information that will be
  required
• Continuing discussion over the effectiveness of
  management measures (including licensing
  conditions)
• Adaptation of management if current management
  measures are shown to be ineffective.

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Summary

• MCZs will contribute to delivering Governments
  aim for a ecologically coherent and well-managed
  network of MPAs
• The process of identifying MCZs will generate a
  large amount of data and information that will
  also be of use in managing the sites
• Public authorities will be responsible for the
  management of MCZs and have specific duties
  relating to MCZs
• These duties will need to be delivered alongside
  carrying out their functions, including
  licensing
• Natural England is keen to work with public
  authorities and developers from an early stage to
  secure effective management of MCZs with the
  minimum of fuss for all parties.

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