Gap-analys av marint skräp på stränder: en utvärdering av befintliga åtgärder inför uppdatering av åtgärdsprogrammet för havsmiljön

The objective of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) is to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the marine areas of the Union. In Sweden, the MSFD is implemented through the Swedish Marine Environment Ordinance. Article 10 in the MSFD stresses the need for environmental targets, which in Sweden is manifested using Environmental Quality Norms (EQN) with indicators. These are used to assess progress towards the objective. To gain an understanding of whether existing measures are sufficient to follow the respective EQN, an interdisciplinary semi-quantitative method known as “gap analysis” is used. The gap analysis evaluates the potential and current effectiveness of the measures to illustrate the extent to which the EQN in HVMFS 2012:18 can be followed with existing measures. It also indicates where and why the gaps exist if the EQN is not being followed: whether this is due to inadequate implementation of existing measures or whether new measures need to be designed. Gap analyses are thus a support tool for identifying what type of new measures may be most urgent to develop. The gap analyses are carried out in a number of steps for each EQN. Here we apply the gap method to the indicator E.1.1 Amount of litter on beaches within the EQN E.1: The marine environment should as far as possible be free from litter (HVMFS 2018:18). The results of the GAP-analysis show that existing measures have generally low to relatively low current effectiveness in both the Baltic and the West coast. However, the potential among existing measures to reduce the pressure was in general Sammanfattning Summary assessed to be high. There is also room for new measures to fill the gap that at current is preventing adherence of the EQN. The experts stressed the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of projects that aim to reduce pressures on the marine environment, to maintain a holistic perspective, and to coordinate larger efforts, while at the same time recognising local perspectives.