Department of Architecture and Arts, University Iuav of Venice, Tolentini, Santa Croce 191, 30135 Venice, Italy.
Department of Environmental and Life Science, Polytechnique University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 1;715:136884. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136884. Epub 2020 Jan 23.
The deep sea covers about 79% of the Mediterranean basin, including habitats potentially able to deliver multiple ecosystem services and numerous resources of high economic value. Thus, the deep Mediterranean Sea represents an important frontier for marine resources exploitation, which is embedded within the European Blue Growth Strategy goals and agendas. The deep sea is crucial for the ecological functioning of the entire basin. For this reason, the deep Mediterranean deserves protection from the potential cumulative impacts derived from existent and developing human activities. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has been identified as key instrument for spatially allocating maritime uses in the sea space avoiding spatial conflicts between activities, and between activities and the environment. Indeed, MSP incorporates the ecosystem-based approach (EB-MSP) to balance both socio-economic and environmental objectives, in line with the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Despite MSP is under implementation in Europe, the Directive is not applied yet for the managing and monitoring of the environmental status of the deep sea. In the Mediterranean, deep areas fall both in internal and territorial waters, and in High Seas, and its management framework turns out to be complicated. Moreover, a certain level of cumulative impacts in the deep Mediterranean has been already identified and likely underestimated because of paucity of knowledge related with deep-sea ecosystems. Thus, the implementation of scientific knowledge and the establishment of a sustainable management regime of deep-sea resources and space are urgent. This study aims at reflecting on the best available ecological knowledge on the deep Mediterranean to incorporate conservation objectives in EB-MSP. We propose a framework to include key ecological principles in the relevant phases of any EB-MSP processes taking in consideration existing socio-economic and conservation scenarios in the region. We add the uncertainty principle to reflect on the still unexplored and missing knowledge related to the deep Mediterranean. Here, we resume some guidelines to overcome limits and bottlenecks while ensuring protection of deep-sea ecosystems and resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
深海覆盖了地中海盆地约 79%的面积，包括具有提供多种生态系统服务和众多高经济价值资源潜力的生境。因此，深地中海是海洋资源开发的重要前沿领域，这一领域符合欧洲蓝色增长战略的目标和议程。深海对整个盆地的生态功能至关重要。因此，深地中海需要免受现有和正在发展的人类活动带来的潜在累积影响的保护。海洋空间规划 (MSP) 已被确定为在避免活动之间以及活动与环境之间空间冲突的情况下，在海域中对海洋用途进行空间分配的关键工具。事实上，MSP 采用了基于生态系统的方法 (EB-MSP)，以平衡社会经济和环境目标，符合海洋空间规划指令和海洋战略框架指令。尽管 MSP 正在欧洲实施，但该指令尚未应用于深海环境状况的管理和监测。在地中海，深海区域既存在于内部和领海水域，也存在于公海，其管理框架变得复杂。此外，由于深海生态系统相关知识匮乏，深地中海已经存在一定程度的累积影响，而且可能被低估。因此，迫切需要实施科学知识并建立深海资源和空间的可持续管理机制。本研究旨在反思深地中海现有的最佳生态知识，将保护目标纳入 EB-MSP。我们提出了一个框架，在考虑到该地区现有社会经济和保护情景的情况下，将关键生态原则纳入任何 EB-MSP 过程的相关阶段。我们增加了不确定性原则，以反思与深地中海相关的尚未探索和缺失的知识。在这里，我们总结了一些克服限制和瓶颈的指导方针，同时确保保护地中海的深海生态系统和资源。
