European marine and coastal nature conservation work requires that concrete and common guidelines and strategies are taken.

All European states shall individually and jointly take all appropriate measures with respect to their coastal and marine ecosystems to conserve natural habitats and biological diversity and to protect ecological processes.
 

Guidelines Coastal states should take action according to the following strategies and principles: 1.  to review the national and general environmental situation, the state of exploitation of the sea and coasts, existing trends and damages within the marine and coastal environment; 2.  to establish maps of coastal and marine sensitives zones; 3.  to elaborate principles and goals for marine and coastal nature conservation and to review existing national legislation and other instruments to achieve the goals; 4.  to prepare principles and goals for the conservation of marine and coastal species, e.g.:   elaboration of comprehensive (red) lists of threatened species of marine and coastal fauna and flora; initiation of urgent measures for the protection of especially endangered species; 5.  to prepare strategies and guidelines for the conservation of valuable marine and coastal landscapes and biotopes, e.g.:   elaboration of comprehensive (red) lists of threatened marine and coastal landscapes and biotopes; initiation of urgent measures for the protection of especially endangered landscapes and biotopes; to establish or to contribute to an international system of marine and coastal protected areas; special protection of a coastal strip in order to ensure the maintenance and restoration of coastal dynamic processes; 6.  to develop and improve marine and coastal monitoring programmes with respect to nature, conservation, e.g., macro-phytobenthos, macro-zoobenthos, fish, birds and the marine mammals; 7.  to determine gaps and deficits in marine and coastal research relating to nature conservation.

 

REFERENCES: Nature Conservation and Biological and Landscape diversity

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• de Fontaubert, A. Charlotte ; Downes, David R. ; Agardy, Tundi, Biodiversity of the seas ; implementing  the Convention on biological diversity in marine and coastal habitats, Washington, DC : IUCN US, 1996, IUCN Environment Policy and Law Paper, n° 32, Marine Conservation and Development  Report
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• Roe, Dilys ; Dalal-Clayton, Barry ; Hugues Ross, A directory of impact assessment guidelines, London, IIED , 1995.
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