Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Atlantic ECOsystems Assessment, Forecasting & Sustainability Part of EU Open Research Repository Published April 14, 2026 | Version v1 Project deliverable Open AtlantECO Deliverable - D03.3 - Report on links with EU strategies Authors/Creators Libralato, Simone Zunino, Serena 1, 2 Rico-Velez, Diana Lorena 3 Melaku Canu, Donata 1 Longo, Katherine VILLASANTE, SEBASTIAN 4, 5 Ainsworth, Gillian B. 5 Campos, Antía 5 Show affiliations 1. National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics 2.
OGS 3. Euro Mediterranean University 4.
Xunta de Galicia 5. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Description This report provides a synthesis of interlinkages between Ocean Health Index (OHI) elements and the EU strategies and directives. In particular, given the prominent role of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive regarding marine systems, a special look and interlinkages are analysed for this Directive in particular. Nevertheless, given that such Directives and approaches have international effects and linkages, this report contains a brief description of interlinkages and relevance of OHI in the context of the international conventions such as the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). This report situates the analysis of the Ocean Health Index (OHI) within the broader landscape of European and international marine governance. By examining conceptual, methodological, and governance linkages between assessment frameworks and regulatory instruments, it contributes to ongoing efforts to enhance policy coherence and scientific integration in marine environmental management. In particular, the comparison between a legally binding directive such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and a voluntary, science-based framework such as the OHI allows for a critical reflection on how different tools address complexity, uncertainty, and cumulative impacts in marine systems. This perspective is especially relevant in a context of accelerating environmental change and increasing demands on ocean resources. The work presents a brief description of EU strategies and directives considered (Section 2), then in two dedicated sections the main features of OHI (Section 3) and MSFD (Section 4) are analysed and distinguished in background, objectives, methodologies, use and applications. These parts serve as a basis for presenting linkages in the form of similarities and differences among OHI and MSFD in a fourth section (Section 5). Section 6 presents a case study mapping MSFD descriptors to cultural ecosystem services through the Ocean Health Index goals. Finally Section 7 is dedicated to highlight the linkages between international regulations such as the BBNJ and OHI. The report is based on analysis of scientific and policy literature increased by the experience carried out in AtlantEco through workshops, meetings and analyses that were carried in Task 3.1 and 3.2 of this Workpackage. Files AtlantECO_D03-3_Report-on-links-with-EU-strategies.pdf Files (3.6 MB) Name Size Download all AtlantECO_D03-3_Report-on-links-with-EU-strategies.pdf md5:743df0937faf84479579207005aa421f 3.6 MB Preview Download Additional details Funding European Commission AtlantECO - Atlantic ECOsystems assessment, forecasting & sustainability 862923 33 Views 14 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 33 33 Downloads Total downloads 14 14 Data volume Total data volume 57.5 MB 57.5 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19569999 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19569999) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19569999.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19569999 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19569999"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19569999.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19569999.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19569999 Resource type Project deliverable Publisher Zenodo Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created April 14, 2026 Modified April 14, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies