Member State report / Art9 / 2012 / D10 / Greece / Mediterranean: Aegean-Levantine Sea
| Report type | Member State report to Commission |
| MSFD Article | Art. 9 Determination of GES (and Art. 17 updates) |
| Report due | 2012-10-15 |
| GES Descriptor | D10 Litter |
| Member State | Greece |
| Region/subregion | Mediterranean: Aegean-Levantine Sea |
| Reported by | APC S.A. |
| Report date | 2012-10-15 |
| Report access | MALGR_MSFD9GES_20130430.xml |
GES component |
D10
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10.1 Characteristics of litter in the marine and coastal environment |
10.1 Characteristics of litter in the marine and coastal environment |
10.1 Characteristics of litter in the marine and coastal environment |
10.1.1 Trends in litter on shore |
10.1.2 Trends in litter in water column |
10.1.3 Trends in micro-plastics |
10.2 Impacts of marine litter on marine life |
10.2.1 Trends in amount of litter ingested |
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Method used |
MAL-EL-MS-AL: For descriptors 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 it is attempted to approach GES quantitatively using environmental thresholds/limits to describe the desired state of GES. For descriptors 1, 2, 4,7 and 10 a qualitative description of what GES will be like is provided. |
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Marine reporting units |
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Feature |
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Criterion/indicator |
D10 |
10.1 |
10.1 |
10.1 |
10.1.1 |
10.1.2 |
10.1.3 |
10.2 |
10.2.1 |
GES description |
To achieve Good Environmental Status according to descriptor 10 it is desirable to reduce the quantities of marine litter in coastal and marine environment to such an extent that they do not harm the environment and the organisms living in or depending on it.
For descriptor 10, GES is approached qualitatively as it is impossible to establish threshold values for the quantities or properties of marine litter.
According to initial assessment marine litter constitutes a crucial issue for the subregion, although it is impossible to determine the level of disturbance. The incoherence of available data from surveys and cleanup campaigns as well as the inadequacy of information – e.g. there are gaps about the state of the deep sea - cannot provide a thorough insight into the existing status of litter in the marine and coastal environment.
The environmental status of the Ionian Sea to a proportion of 5 to 10 % is regarded as not good at coastal level, as significant amounts of litter reach the coastal and marine environment from various land based and sea based sources (80% of the marine litter derives from land based sources). It is obvious that the assessment of GES is produced based on quality parameters taking into consideration the aesthetics degradation caused to the marine environment due to the presence of litter along with environmental, social and financial adverse impacts. In the long run it is desirable to have totally litter - free coasts and seas. However, by 2020 it is aimed to have achieved a dramatic reduction in the amounts of litter. |
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Threshold values |
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Threshold value unit |
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Proportion of area to achieve threshold value |
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Reference point type |
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Baseline |
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Assessment method |
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Development status |