The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve more effective protection of the marine environment throughout the coastal areas of Europe. The objective of the Directive is to reach a ”good environmental status“ for Europe’s seas by 2020, thus protecting a resource whose status is crucial to the marine economy and society in general. The MSFD builds upon experience with the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC; WFD) and takes a similar integrated, holistic approach. Just like the WFD, the MSFD assumes that ecological objectives and economic principles do not contradict but complement and support each other. The cost-benefit analysis, which is explicitly stated in the MSFD, plays an important role in balancing ecological and economic approaches. The objective of this contract was to explore a practical methodology to assess the benefits of measures to reduce the pressure on marine ecosystems and to reach the objectives of the MSFD. The methodology applied follows the TEEB approach. FT collected and analysed the approaches of other Member States to identify elements of methodologies that could be used in Germany. Fresh Thoughts was also involved in the case study on eutrophication.
