Title: International Conference on the Sustainable Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Environment
1International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- CONCLUSIONS
- Lessons learnt from past experience
- (i.e.,gaps in our knowledge)
- and
- The way forward
- Or Where do we go from here?
- Anastasios Eleftheriou
- Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, Greece
2International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Climate change
- Sustainable land use and CZM
- Impact of human activities
- Deep Sea management of resources
- Biodiversity changes
- Sustainable fisheries aquaculture
- Biotechnology
- Thresholds of environmental sustainability
- Environmental economy
- Information management
3International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Climate change gaps in our knowledge
- - serious gap in ecosystem modelling
- - global forcing need to understand its role in
the - Mediterranean and Black
Sea - in order to predict future climate change, we
need to know more about past climate change - - no knowledge as to what factors triggered short
climate change in Mediterranean Sea
4International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Climate change where do we go from here?
- - Operational models to integrate information by
means - of simple indicators (renewal time scale of
coastal areas) - - investigations into past climate change
(measurements and models) in order to make
realistically varied scenarios - - existing observation system (EUROGOOS System)
to be maintained and enhanced and linked to other
Global Observation Systems - - forcing effect of anthropogenic aerosols on
Med/Black Seas - to be investigated
- - forecast models to run on operational mode and
- checked against data
5International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Coastal management gaps to be filled
- -how to ensure sustainable utilization of natural
resources - -how to avoid creation of thresholds that will
not hamper sustainability - PROBLEMS
- -coastal zones affected by inland activities
- -coastal erosion major problem with no standard
solutions - -CZM policies and approaches sectoral rather than
integrated
6International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Coastal management what next?
- -develop and implement integrated CZM, joint
effort from natural and social sciences - -coastal areas and catchment areas to be managed
holistically - -investigate impact of global regional change
on local coastal systems - -modelling and forecasting systems needed to
support implementation of EU policies - -research to find solutions for coastal erosion
problems
7International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Impact of Human Activities gaps to fill
- effects of microbial pollution in the Med.
coastal zone persist, related to urban waste
water. - -changes in productivity linked to anthropogenic
nutrient loads, result of global change? - -spatial distribution of heavy metal pollution,
organic pollutants, not well studied - -processes, pathways and fate of these pollutants
in Black Sea not well known - -geographical imbalance of data is more acute.
- -intake of pathogenic micro-organisms causing
damage to health still has to be determined. - - large stretches of coastal zones, for which
records are very sparse.
8International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Impact of Human Activities what next?
- -ecological indicators needed to capture
complexities of coastal systems, must be
regularly monitored - - identification of sources of pollution (e.g.
non-point sources in agriculture) and biological
effects of long-range pollutants. - -research and data on virus contamination is
required on a basin scale. - -scarcity of data is probably the main issue in
the two regions. - -monitoring capabilities of some countries have
to be improved. -
9International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Deep Sea Management of Resources gaps to be
filled - -recent exploration of Eastern Mediterranean
using hi-tec techniques and methodology reveals
diverse environments - -deep basins,hydrothermal vents,mud
volcanoes,cold seeps,brine pools,canyons,gas
hydrates - -unique hydrography (warm/deep waters, deep water
mass formations) - -discoveries of unique ecosystems with deep-water
species colonising from N.Atlantic, with high
food requirements - -lateral transport of food is it event-driven?
Canyon fed?
10International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Deep Sea Management of Resources what has to be
done - -urgent need for detailed seabed mapping to find
hydrothermal areas, volcanic hot spots - -need to understand interconnectivity of
ecosystems - -the eastern Med. is unique test bed for
adaptation studies of benthic species colonising
from the Atlantic - -gas hydrates important alternative energy
source where do they occur? In what quantities?
How can they be recovered?
11International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Biodiversity changes gaps to be filled
- -Patterns and changes in marine biodiversity
poorly known, with unexplored areas, ecosystems
groups - -loss of coastal habitats a major global concern
(loss of 80 area loss of 50 species) - -insufficient harmonisation of classical and
molecular techniques - -lack of studies concerning the coupling of
biodiversity with ecosystem functioning,
productivity and economic profitability - -little info on effects of fishing gear on
biodiversity - -lack of long-term data and comparative
datasets/methodology, analysis, reference sites
12International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Biodiversity changes what next?
- -need to synthesize existing info by building a
Mediterranean and Black Sea database. - -comparative studies needed concerning fishing
gear effects protected areas vs fished areas, in
specific habitats - -need to define common protocols and to test the
old and new tools (indicators) o throughout the
Med. and Black Sea areas - -unique opportunity in area because of huge
bacterial biodiversity to search for new
bacterial patterns and processes which may affect
the entire planets - - new studies on micro algae, invertebrates
needed
13International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
Sustainable fisheries/aquaculture gaps _quality
of statistics still one of main weaknesses in
determining actual fishing effort, structure and
capacity of difference types of fishing
vessels. -collapse of fish stocks shows
management failure to sustain natural resource
need to re-examine marine sustainability and look
to adaptability instead -selection of
aquaculture sites must conform to EU
environmental regulations, with knowledge needed
of carrying capacity, etc -food safety, of
paramount importance, has developed management
paradigms to help the private sector to develop a
legal framework. This is lacking in sustainable
development in fisheries management.
14International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Sustainable fisheries/aquaculture what next?
- The production of good quality statistics a major
priority - -fisheries management system should be changed
(since it is clearly ineffective) by following
the food safety management paradigm - -in aquaculture, precise definitions of carrying
capacity for fishfarms in the area are needed - -lessons should be learned from the food safety
sector and management paradigms should be
formulated
15International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Biotechnology gaps to be filled
- -90 industrial enzymes of microbial origin,
marine microorganisms least well known - -hardly any microorganisms have been isolated,
yet are likely to be important for industry - -population genetic analysis based on DNA markers
can identify status and history of species - -sponges sources of pharmaceutically active
substances challenge is to maintain the
associated bacterial community
16International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Biotechnology what next?
- -development of DNA taxonomy system
- -research into microbial and macrobial faunas
from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps new
discipline of Ecogenomics - -studies in maintenance of sponge bacterial
communities - -genetic studies on influence of hydrographic,
climatic and anthropogenic factors in marine
species
17International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Thresholds gaps to be filled
- Threshold values needed to formulate sustainable
development policies for coastal areas - -need to define economic costs and value of goods
and services provided by coastal areas (estimated
at twice global GDP) - -since thresholds are regional specific,(response
to P differs right across Med., continuum of
thresholds across regions are needed - -cost-benefit analysis must incorporate entire
range of social and environmental costs - -lack of integration of science, politics and
economy results in substantial financial and
environmental loss
18International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Thresholds what next?
- -sound scientific data needed to accurately
define thresholds - -Threshold concept to be incorporated into WPD
- -since the concept of thresholds is the
cornerstone of sustainability, work needs to be
done to define levels and values, in order to
integrate separate aspects (science, politics and
economics) - -threshold and point of no return values must be
used as a starting point for negotiating with
other users
19International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Information Management identified gaps
- -the information not always easily accessible.
- -much information remains scattered in various
departments and institutions - in many cases not available in electronic form.
- -quality assurance procedures are needed
20International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Information Management what next?
- -more information must centrally gathered in
electronic form in national and international
databases, so that it can be utilised easily by
decision makers in the administration and by
other partners - -Quality assurance and control procedures should
be further developed and implemented to ensure
data quality and reliability. - -Allocated resources should increase to enable a
continuous flow of high quality data,ie updating
- -An assistance component should be developed
which could include training and establishment of
contacts with more advanced laboratories
21International Conference on the Sustainable
Development of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Environment
- Conclusions and recommendations
- the way ahead
- Move towards the development of a National
Sustainability Programme which will take into
account the problems, concerns and solutions from
the participating countries - -The existing cooperative programmes from the
region should form the basis for a platform which
will take into consideration the scientific and
technological experience of the participating
countries, to give credence and momentum and lead
to an IP in the E.Mediterranean and the Black Sea - -the platform will link this geographic area and
will enhance the scientific, technical and
political issues taking into account their unique
contrasts and similarities as an interconnected
large area - -training and mobility of scientists and
technicians should also fall within the scope of
this action