Revision of the Current Environmental Assessment and Status of Pilots

Publication: Report
Citation: Lukic, I. et al. 2020: Revision of the Current Environmental Assessment and Status of Pilots. Deliverable 4.1 of the Horizon 2020 project "Multi-use Offshore Platforms Demonstrators for Boosting Cost-effective and Eco-friendly Production in Sustainable Marine Activities" (UNITED).

The UNITED project report "Current Environmental Assessment and Status of the Pilots" provides a comprehensive overview of the current environmental assessments and status of various pilot projects. These projects included a variety of multi-use concepts in the marine environment, including the combination of offshore wind energy with shellfish and kelp cultivation, offshore wind and solar energy, shallow estuarine aquaculture and kelp cultivation, and tourism. The report looks at the environmental aspects of these pilot projects and assesses their environmental impacts, regulatory requirements and existing environmental assessment results and monitoring capacity.

Multi-use combination of aquaculture and tourism

A detailed analysis of the combination of aquaculture and tourism was carried out as part of the MUSES project for case studies in the eastern Atlantic (southern coast of mainland Portugal and the Azores) and in the northern Adriatic (Italian coast from Emilia Romagna to Veneto). A practical example is Piran Bay in Slovenia, where a fish farm (sea bass and mussel production) is located in a protected fishing area and nature park. The farm serves as a refuge for numerous fish and other marine organisms and fulfills a function similar to artificial underwater reefs or wrecks. In this context, tourist and educational activities are offered by the Piran Bay aquaculture operators.

Triplet multi-use combination in Piran Bay

A unique combination of aquaculture, tourism and environmental protection is practiced in Piran Bay. The operators of the fish farm participate in national and European research projects on environmental, biological and traceability issues of economically important fish species in the Portorož fishery protection area. This integration of educational and research activities could also be considered for the Greek pilot.

Conclusions for multi-use pilot projects

The report concludes that the Piran Bay pilot site is a unique maritime area where many factors need to be considered when implementing a multi-use approach. The environmental assessments carried out in this area provide important insights for similar multi-use projects.

This comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact and current status of various multi-use pilot projects in the maritime sector underlines the importance of integrative approaches for the sustainable use of maritime resources.

Assessment Framework to Determine the Economic Feasibility of Multi-use Platforms

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The UNITED project report "Business Analysis of UNITED Pilots" provides a detailed business analysis of the various pilot projects. This analysis includes an assessment of the economic viability, SWOT and PESTEL analyses as well as a review of the financial aspects of the projects. The aim of the report is to assess the financial attractiveness and feasibility of multi-use concepts in European marine areas, with a particular focus on the synergies and challenges arising from the combination of different maritime activities.

Business Analysis of United Pilots

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This UNITED project report deals with the development of an environmental assessment framework to determine the ecological feasibility of multi-use platforms. This assessment framework is based on the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and applies an integrated cumulative effects assessment (iCEA) in the scoping and identification phases of key impacts. The report aims to assess the added environmental value ("benefits") of multi-use in the marine environment.

Assessment Framework to Determine Ecological Feasibility of Multi-Use Platforms

Year 2021

Publication:Report

The report addresses training and capacity building to ensure safe and efficient ocean multi-use operations, with a focus on societal engagement and educational objectives.

Year 2023

Language: English
Authorship: Dr. Nico Stelljes

Lukic, I., Schultz-Zehden, A., Strothotte, E., Jaeger, M., Sorensen, C. H., Drigkopoulou, I., Nevejan, N., Kerkhove, T., Hoekstra, R., Van Den Burg, S., Declercq, A., Stechele, B., Poelman, M., Iatrou S., Stavrou A.
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

European Commission, Research Executive Agency (REA), International
Year: 2020
Dimension: 72 pp.
Project: Multi-use Offshore Platforms Demonstrators for Boosting Cost-effective and Eco-friendly Production in Sustainable Marine Activities (UNITED)
Project ID: 33000
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Acronyms
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Link with other work packages
3 Methodology
4 GERMAN Pilot: Offshore wind, Mussel & seaweed cultivation
        4.1 Baseline environmental account in the pilot site
        4.2 Environmentally responsible mission of the pilot
        4.3 General overview of regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring for the given pilot
        4.4 Overview of existing environmental assessment results and monitoring information
        4.5 Recommendations for the pilot
        4.6 Conclusions

5 DUTCH PILOT: OFFSHORE WIND, SOLAR AND SEAWEED
        5.1 Baseline environmental account in the pilot site
        5.2 Environmentally responsible mission of the pilot
        5.3 General overview of regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring for the given pilot
        5.4 Overview of existing environmental assessment results and monitoring information
        5.5 Recommendations for the pilot
        5.6 Conclusions
6 BELGIAN Pilot: Offshore wind, flat oyster aquaculture & restoration, and seaweed cultivation
        6.1 Baseline environmental account in the pilot site
        6.2 Environmentally responsible mission of the pilot
        6.3 General overview of regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring for the given pilot
        6.4 Overview of existing environmental assessment results and monitoring information
        6.5 Recommendations for the pilot
        6.6 Conclusions
7 DANISH Pilot: Offshore wind and tourism
        7.1 Baseline environmental account in the pilot site
        7.2 General overview of regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring for the given pilot
        7.3 Overview of existing environmental assessment results and monitoring information
        7.4 Recommendations for the pilot
        7.5 Conclusions
8 GREEK Pilot: Aquaculture and tourism
        8.1 Baseline environmental account in the pilot site
        8.2 Environmentally responsible mission of the pilot
        8.3 General overview of regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring for the given pilot
        8.4 Overview of existing environmental assessment results and monitoring information
        8.5 Recommendations for the pilot
        8.6 Conclusions
9 Summary & next steps
    ANNEX 1: German pilot – additional information
    ANNEX 2: Greek pilot – additional information
    Species
    Population in the site
    Motivation
Keywords: Coastal + Marine

Economics

abiotic factors, fauna and flora, human activities and current threats, endangered animal and plant species, habitat types, offshore wind, mussel farming, seagrass cultivation

Great Belt and Little Belt, North Sea, Dutch coast, Saltholm Island, Middelgrunden Reef, Baltic Sea, Piran Bay, Slovenia, Algarve, Portugal, Malta, Rhodes Island, Greece

Environmental impact assessment, pilot projects