Portugal must speed up the process of ordering the maritime space of the Azores – WWF – Atualidade
The study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) analyzes, in addition to Portugal, the maritime spatial planning plans (MSP) of the other member states of the European Union in the northeast of the Atlantic Ocean (Spain, France and Ireland). ), taking into account an ecosystem-based approach.
Although Portugal still received the highest foul (46.2%) of the four, “its performance is still well below” what the WWF considers necessary to classify the country as “partially-“, which contributes to a plan specific to the Azores archipelago.
The MSPs of the various countries were in agreement with four — nature inclusion, socio-economic indicators, good ocean governance and maritime process scope — and, on average for each of the countries, Spain is the second best ranked ranking (39, 6%), followed by France (34.2%) and Ireland (32%).
Portugal, which has the largest undivided economic zone in the EU, was one of the few countries that presented maritime spatial planning plans within the deadline set by the European Directive that required them, but the national MSP has not yet been applied exclusively in the Azores, which represents 57% of the Portuguese EEZ.
The WWF report explains that, when the Portuguese MSP was developed, it was up to the regional governments to deal with the outermost regions, Madeira and the Azores, and that in the case of this archipelago the start of the process was delayed.
The delay “European Union Biodiversity Strategy with the ability to meet the European Union’s protection and marine targets”, noting.
“In addition to the dimension and marine marine, more marine, species of its migratory and marine, marine, unique, marine, marine species, marine, marine, marine, more marine species, related different “some marine species”, including blue whales and sperm whales”.
At the same time, the archipelago has “a diverse and growing set of maritime activities, including fisheries, tourism and scientific research, as well as other emerging sectors such as biotechnology and renewable energy”, and is expected to host the largest Protected Maritime (AMP) ).
“France, Portugal and Spain accelerate the MSP process regarding their outermost regions to ensure that their unique natural heritage is preserved in the face of global and regional challenges such as rising sea levels and overfishing.”
In the French case, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion and San Martin are at stake, and in Spain, the Canaries.
According to the report of the W report, the way forward for the four States is “exclusive applicator of the space of an order W, the exclusive space of the environment of an order of environments throughout all economic zones within the limits of ecological activities, including all economic zones within the boundaries of ecological activities, including all economic zones within the boundaries of ecological activities. such as outermost regions”.
Promote and improve “the cooperation of participatory processes and the improvement of the strategies adopted among the participating States and the processes adopted, in addition to being adopted” among the States proposed by the EU that do not integrate the best. The European bloc, so that maritime space plans are coherent and coordinated across the region.
The international non-governmental Belgium also analyzes in the study the MSPs of the member states in the North Sea (Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden), concluding that the national plans in both regions do not guarantee “a sustainable blue economy in the EU and the nature recovery”.
No report of the salmon plans analyzed has an answer to the uncertainties of climate change, “despite high sea temperatures already disturbing the mackerel and Atlantic catches between 1989 and 2017”, it indicates.
“The science is clear: climate crises and biodiversity are defending fishing in the biggest fishing market in the world and it’s been a while,” said Antonia Leroy, responsible for European ocean policy at the WWF, quoted in the press release. report.
Leroy considers that they are “myopic of the member states whose economies depend on human seas” and that ignore that “reality in the way they manage their maritime areas”, adding that it is “irresponsible (…) for the workers”, both direct and of the supply chain.
“A radical overhaul is needed in future planning processes to mitigate crises and protect our blue economies”, he argues.
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