Federal/State Working Group North Sea and Baltic Sea (BLANO)
The implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is carried out in Germany by BLANO. In addition to the technical work, electronic reporting and compliance with regard to the data directives is coordinated nationally by this organizational structure for the marine sector. In this context, the MDI-DE plays an important role in the required data provision with its technical infrastructure and data supply. There is thus close cooperation within the “cross-sectional data working group”. The MDI-DE is an essential building block in the National Marine Data Concept and supports the data offer in the BLANO data catalog.
Main topics on the MSFD in BLANO
The MSFD requires ecosystem-based management by Member States, taking into account 11 environmental themes (descriptors) with the aim of improving the marine environment in the long term.
The main topics are reflected in the BLANO working groups:
- Benthos and benthic habitats
- Biodiversity and food webs
- Energy and underwater noise
- Fish and fisheries
- Hydrography, hydrology and morphology
- Marine litter
- Eutrophication, nutrients and plankton
- Neobiota
- Pollutants and biological effects
- Expert group human activities
- Expert group marine biotopes
- Expert group on munitions in the sea
A suitable IT infrastructure and coordinated data products are required for the technical work on these cross-border topics and evaluations, as well as for electronic reporting.
The MDI-DE supports this work by: