Marine: "Seas of Change" - Consultation Paper

The Government's consultation paper to help deliver our vision for the marine environment:

Note: This consultation has now closed. A summary of responses (200 KB) was published on 16 October 2003.

The Government's first Marine Stewardship Report (MSR), Safeguarding Our Seas was published on 1st May 2002. This set the outline for a strategy for the conservation and Sustainable Development of the marine environment, based on a vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. The report contained a number of new as well as ongoing initiatives to turn our vision into reality.

The report outlined the real progress that had been made in protecting the seas around the UK, but it was recognised that many threats still remained and further action is needed to tackle these. Since the 1st May we have held a number of productive workshops to help take forward these initiatives in addition the Government will be consulting on a range of initiatives in the near future.

This follow-up consultation paper, Seas of Change, launched on 14th November 2002, forms the basis for discussion on making progress; how to develop a practical application of the ecosystem-based approach; to consider how to involve stakeholders in the development of coastal and marine policy; the scope and content of future reports; and the consultation procedure.

This consultation also fulfils the Government's commitment outlined in Safeguarding Our Seas to consult whether current arrangements for stakeholder involvement are adequate and on the scope and content of the future MSRs. In addition the Government is taking the opportunity to invite initial views on how principles underpinning the ecosystem-based approach can be fleshed out and applied in practice, and views on our strategic goals for the marine environment.

Obtaining the report

The consultation paper (190 KB) is available for downloading from this web site.

Further information is available on our Help page about downloading or reading Adobe Acrobat documents.

Printed copies are available from Defra Publications, Admail 6000, London, SW1A 2XX, Tel: 08459 556000, Fax: 020 8957 5012, Email: defra@iforcegroup.com.

Responses

Please send your views, no later than 28 February 2003, to:

Matthew Carden
Marine and Waterways Division,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Zone 3/B6, Ashdown House,
123 Victoria Street,
London SW1E 6DE
Tel: 020 7944 5292
Fax: 020 7944 5309