Towards an evaluation of physical loss pressure in the Italian seas for the implementation of the marine strategy framework directive

Abstract

All over the world marine waters are under increasing pressure from human activities affecting marine ecosystems. Several EU Directives require assessment of the condition of marine environments; in particular the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) applies an ecosystem approach to the management of human activities. In this context, the mapping of pressures in a standardized and comparable way is a critical step to assess the spatial pattern, the temporal change and the ecological impacts of human pressures. Within the MSFD, one of the stressors directly affecting the seafloor is the Physical Loss (PL) pressure, representing the permanent or long-term alteration of marine habitats. The main purpose of this study was to propose a method to estimate the spatial extent of PL pressure in the framework of the Initial Assessment phase of the MSFD. Furthermore, considering that human activities PL-related cause the loss of benthic habitats, and that the Mediterranean sea is characterized by sensitive and protected habitats such as the biogenic substrates sensu MSFD, the distribution of PL pressure was overlaid with the distribution of the seabed habitats to estimate the loss of biogenic substrates. This study represents a useful tool for establishing the baseline condition for PL pressure, to compare future conditions and to evaluate different management scenarios. Moreover, it allows identification of the areas where pressure tends to accumulate as ‘hot spots’ on which to focus in future impact analyses and the areas where few stressors are present.

Pipeline Geopolitics: Subaquatic Materials and the Tactical Point

“…Posidonia Oceania beds were justifiably among the 'priority habitats' identified by the EU Habitats Directive(Telesca et al 2017) -after all, the subaquatic meadows of Posidonia "play a key role in protecting the coastline by trapping sediments, oxygenating the water and preventing coastal erosion" (European Commision 2009, 8, see alsoAgnesi et al 2008, Montefalcone et al 2009. Moreover, as a subsequent scientific review of the physical loss of Posidonia Oceania in Italian waters observed, the main human activities contributing to pressure on the seagrass are "coastal defence and ports, cables and pipelines"(Paganelli 2017, 7, our emphasis, Badalamenti 2006.Indeed, with the exception of the coastline near to San Foca and Brindisi, alternative routes for the pipeline would have either directly or indirectly interfered with restrictions associated with Marine Protected Areas and regional nature reserve buffer zones(TAP 2014b, 32-33, TAP 2014d, European Communities 2009. Thus, although according to the company there were a number of other factors that influenced the choice of the best possible route -including onshore 'landscape restrictions' and considerations to do with the length of the pipeline between the compressor station in Albania and the pipeline receiving terminal (PRT) -the sparseness of Posidonia was the overriding factor (TAP 2014d, 42).…”