MSFD Stakeholder Participation

How can NI stakeholders become involved in the transposition process?
The DOE Marine Policy Teams held an information seminar on 16 June 2009. Full details of the seminar including a questionnaire on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and copies of the seminar presentations are available here. We hope to hold additional events in the autumn of 2009 which will be publicised on this website. If you would like to register to receive an invitation to attend future events please complete the stakeholder registration form below and return to marineteam@doeni.gov.uk

Stakeholder Registration Form (548KB)

Stakeholder involvement at a European level
Stakeholder participation will ensure a broad range of interests within NI are considered during the transposition of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. To promote coordination between Member States the EU Commission has established the following structures :-

1. Marine Directors. This group is a primary platform for policy coordination.  

2. Marine Strategy Coordination Group, which includes stakeholders, contributes to making planning arrangements for issues which the MSFD requires Member States to deliver in a coordinated way in a regional context.

The group is supported by a :-

i. Working Group on GES; and

ii. Working group on marine data, information and knowledge exchange.

DOE, like the European Commission, is keen to encourage stakeholder involvement. EU level stakeholder groups have been invited by the Commission to attend meetings of the two Working Groups as well as meetings of the Marine Strategy Co-ordination Group. These bodies are known as level 1 stakeholders and include :-

• KIMO - the Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation
• OGP - International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (which encompasses most of the world’s leading publicly-traded, private and state-owned oil & gas companies, industry associations and major upstream service companies)
• UEPG – the European Aggregates Association
• European Ocean Energy Association (which unites the broad interests of the European ocean energy industry into a single, focused and independent voice details of its members can be found at http://www.eu-oea.com/index.asp?bid=426)
• Seas at Risk (The European association of non-governmental environmental organisations working to protect and restore to health the marine environment of the European seas and the wider North East Atlantic. The Marine Conservation Society is the UK’s affiliated group).
• Birdlife International(which  is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).
• Greenpeace
• IFAW – International Fund for Animal Welfare
• WWF
• OCEANA
• EurOcean
• EFMS - European Federation of Marine Science and Technology Societies.
• European Council for Maritime Applied R&D (whose mission is to contribute to a common Strategic Plan for Research and Development in the European Maritime Sector that will contribute in defining content and priorities of National and European Union research programmes.)
• European Confederation of Nautical Industries (established on 14 April 2004 to represent the international interests of its members. A list of members in the UK is available at http://www.icomia.com/members-info/members/members01.asp?CT_ID=20)
• International Salvage Union (provide essential services for the world's maritime and insurance communities. Members are engaged in marine casualty response, pollution defence, wreck removal, cargo recovery, towage and related activities. Details of members can be found at http://www.marine-salvage.com/members/)

How NI stakeholders can be involved at a European Level?
Northern Ireland stakeholders should either feed in their views through the level 1 groups or if they are not affiliated to a Europe wide group, apply to marineteam@doeni.gov.uk (using the above stakeholder registration form) to be a level 2 national stakeholder. Level 2 national stakeholders can access relevant meeting documents.

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