IDEM - Implementation of the MSFD to the Deep Mediterranean Sea

The IDEM project, which started on 01 April 2017 and runs until April 2019, aims to support the next phase of the implementation of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In particular, the project aims to achieve a regionally coherent, coordinated and consistent initial environmental assessment and determination of Good Environmental Status (GES), as well as the definition of sets of environmental targets, for the Mediterranean deep sea (which, for purposes of this project is taken to be waters deeper than 200 metres). Beside this, IDEM aims at understanding, quantifying and mapping drivers, anthropogenic pressures and impacts, current knowledge and spatial coverage of data regarding the MSFD indicators in the Mediterranean deep sea.

IDEM will review the current determinations of GES, environmental targets and criteria/indicators assessed so far for Mediterranean coastal areas to see if these can be adapted to the Mediterranean deep sea. This will be done through literature surveys and reviews of existing information, and from data generated through scientific surveys already scheduled as part of ongoing national or international programmes during the lifespan of IDEM. Furthermore, an integrative analysis of all indicators will be performed in order to identify key areas for monitoring.

Overall, IDEM will also provide crucial information for the conservation and management of the deep Mediterranean Sea, contributing to the actions and initiatives concerned with the identification of Special Areas of Conservation and the design of Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks (e.g. Joint Management Action of the European Community with the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan).

The IDEM consortium comprises nine partner institutions from six countries: Cyprus, France, Italy, Israel, Malta, and Spain. The Maltese partner is the Department of Biology of the University of Malta, whose role is to collect, collate, synthesise and provide information pertinent to the deep sea of the central-eastern Mediterranean sub-regions.

The IDEM work programme consists of four Actions:

• Action1. Analysis of scientific publications, national and international reports and grey literature available on the implementation of the MSFD.
• Action 2. Analysis of the available datasets (including open access repositories, scientific literature, partners’ own data, and new datasets gathered during IDEM’s lifespan) from the different Mediterranean sub-regions.
• Action 3. Based on the output from Action 2, the identification of the major data gaps, the most feasible or promising criteria/indicators, the thresholds of indicators to identify GES in the Mediterranean deep-sea, and the key deep Mediterranean areas for monitoring.
• Action 4. Dissemination of the output of IDEM by means of a dedicated web site and the engagement of stakeholders. This output will be used to provide new insights useful for the designation of protected areas in the deep Mediterranean Sea.

The Malta Team is participating in all actions.

Access the IDEM project website for more information.

This project has received funding from the European Union's DG Environment programme under grant agreement No 11.0661/2017/750680/SUB/En V.C2