Member State report / Art11 / 2020 / D7 / Cyprus / Mediterranean: Aegean-Levantine Sea

Report type Member State report to Commission
MSFD Article Art. 11 Monitoring programmes (and Art. 17 updates)
Report due 2020-10-15
GES Descriptor D7 Hydrographical changes
Member State Cyprus
Region/subregion Mediterranean: Aegean-Levantine Sea
Reported by Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environm
Report date 2020-12-14
Report access

Descriptor
D7
Monitoring strategy description
Cyprus implemented the program code MALCY-D07 in the geographical area of MAL-CY-MS to monitor construction projects related to changes in the marine environment (hydrodynamics of the marine currents, dispersion of pollutants, etc.). Under this program is the sub program MALCY-07-01 that monitors the man-made structures and discharges. This sub program was conducted along the Cypriot coastal waters. The indicative species used in the monitoring was Posidonia oceanica. The monitoring program followed the MSFD criteria and indicators of spatial characterization of permanent alterations, extent of area affected by permanent alterations, impact of permanent Hydrographical conditions, spatial extent of habitats affected by permanent alteration; and UNEP/MAP (2013) criteria and indicators of location and extent of the habitats impacted directly by the alterations and/or the circulation changes induced by them (footprints of impacting structures), areal extend of coastal erosion and coastline instability, and length of coastline subject to physical disturbance due to the influence of manmade structures. The DFMR (2020) report identified four heavily modified coastal water bodies which covered 10.5% of the entire Cypriot coastline. The report also identifies the total Cypriot coastline covered by artificial infrastructure to protect vessels and/or coasts/beaches from erosion (total length: 40.1 km; total area: 2.8 km2 [7.8%]). The waste discharges into the Cypriot coastal waters include brine from desalination plants and cooling water from one winery, power stations, and one recycling of petroleum products plant. These are regulated through permits from the applicable Cypriot Ministry.
Coverage of GES criteria
Adequate monitoring will be in place by 2024
Gaps and plans
In order for Program D7 – Hydrographical Changes to achieve compliance with GES, the primary recommendation is for Cyprus to reactivate program MALCY-D07 and sub program MALCY-07-01 to allow for the continuation of a suitable baseline to which historical and future impacts can be robustly assessed. It is also recommended that Cyprus perform a comprehensive environmental sensitivity index (ESI) analysis of its entire coastline at a frequency of every five years. The ESI analysis should consist of mapping, classification, and ground-truthing exercises. Mapping and classification exercises can be conducted primarily by desktop analysis of existing satellite imagery, much of which is updated within the time frames recommend here and is publicly available (i.e. Google Earth). Ground-truthing exercises can be conducted using site visits and commercially available and relatively inexpensive drones that provide high-quality imagery and pan and zoom capabilities. Conducting the ESI analysis at the recommended five-year frequency schedule will allow for a robust assessment and comparison of changes in land use, impervious surfaces, and point source and non-point source discharge sources along the coastline. Relatively frequent ESI mapping from the coastline to approximately 2 km inland could eventually allow for the conduct of a correlation analysis between anthropogenic development along the coastline, changes in hydrology, and climatic patterns over period of time that are long enough to tease out trends without the confounding factor of short-term variability such as seasonality or general weather patterns. Hydrographical changes of the offshore region can be assessed through records provided by oil and gas operators. The “Guidelines for an Offshore Environmental Baseline Survey for Oil & Gas Exploration Activities in Cyprus” requires operators to collect hydrographical casts (i.e. temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH) at several locations within their concessions during baseline studies. These records can be collated into a central database and compared over time to investigate any potential long-term trends in the offshore hydrographical conditions over time.
Related targets
Coverage of targets
Related measures
Coverage of measures
Related monitoring programmes
  • D07
Programme code
D07
Programme name
Hydrographical changes
Update type
Same programme as in 2014
Old programme codes
Programme description
The Cyprus hydrographical changes monitoring programme focuses on state/impact and pressure characteristics that describe the section of the marine environment that is occupied by hydrographically-altering man-made structures and discharges. It addresses some indicators of Ecological Objectives 07 (hydrographical conditions) and 08 (natural dynamics of coastal areas) adopted by the Contracting Parties of UNEP/MAP (2013).
Monitoring purpose
  • Environmental state and impacts
  • Human activities causing the pressures
Other policies and conventions
  • Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2011/92/EU)
  • UNEP-MAP Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme
  • Water Framework Directive
Regional cooperation - coordinating body
  • BARCON
Regional cooperation - countries involved
Regional cooperation - implementation level
Coordinated data collection
Monitoring details
Features
Hydrographical changes
Elements
  • Seabed substrate and morphology
  • Wave regime
GES criteria
D7C1
Parameters
  • Extent
Parameter Other
Spatial scope
  • Coastal waters (WFD)
  • EEZ (or similar)
  • Territorial waters
Marine reporting units
  • MAL-CY-MS
Temporal scope (start date - end date)
2016-9999
Monitoring frequency
As needed
Monitoring type
  • Administrative data collection
  • Numerical modelling
  • Visual observation
Monitoring method
  • Other monitoring method
Monitoring method other
The monitoring methods are described in DFMR (2012c).
Quality control
Unkown
Data management
Data access
Related indicator/name
Contact
References
DFMR. (2012c). Initial Assessment of the Marine Environment of Cyprus (p. 260). Nicosia, Cyprus: Department of Fisheries and Marine Research. Retrieved from http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/dfmr/dfmr.nsf/all/861E2DAB1057FAF1422579FB002107A8/$ file/1-Initial%20Assesment%20Report.pdf