EU set to miss 2030 marine protection targets, auditors warn
About 14 percent of EU waters are marine protected areas, but less than 1 percent is strictly protected. The goal is 30 percent, including 10 percent under strict protection.
Photo: de:Euseson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The EU is on course to miss its 2030 marine protection targets, the European Court of Auditors warned on Monday. About 14 percent of the bloc's marine waters are designated as protected areas, but less than 1 percent is strictly protected. The goal is to protect 30 percent by 2030, including 10 percent under strict protection.
Fishing restrictions cover only a small share of the protected areas. Enforcement is hampered by staff shortages, inadequate funding and lengthy administrative procedures. France and Sweden have made progress through community involvement and new bottom-trawling bans, while Ireland has been held back by data gaps and legal delays.
"The true challenge is turning designation into actual protection," said Iliana Ivanova, the ECA member in charge of the audit. Monica Verbeek of the NGO Seas At Risk said: "We cannot afford another decade of ambitious targets followed by insufficient implementation."