Webinar Series: Navigating Marine Policy – Coherence, Challenges, and Opportunities for European Seas

This webinar series explores key governance challenges and opportunities in achieving policy coherence for European seas.

From the ambitious targets of the European Green Deal and the forthcoming Oceans Pact to the complex regulatory landscape governing marine biodiversity, offshore wind expansion, and source-to-sea management, these sessions bring together experts to discuss how policies can work together more effectively.

Attendees will gain insights into evidence-based policymaking, cross-sectoral compliance, and best practices for aligning environmental, energy, and marine governance objectives.

Find more information and register for each webinar individually below.

1. Understanding the ambitions for the European oceans, regulatory realities and the need for policy coherence.

Date: Monday 17th of March, 11:00-12:00.

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Webinar Description:

The European Green Deal (and the forthcoming Oceans Pact) set many ambitious goals and targets for the oceans. These need to be implemented and realized within a complex landscape of old and new policies and laws. This webinar sheds light on the diverse set of marine ambitions, the complex regulatory context in which these should be achieved, and the need for more policy coherence to ensure that.    

 The attendees will…

• better understand the European Green Deal and its marine dimension;
• better understand the EU policy and legal landscape of relevance for the realization of the GD ambitions;
• better understand the challenges with implementation of high-level policy ambitions in a multi-sectoral and multi-level governance system,
• better understand the need for more policy coherence

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2. Policy coherence in marine governance – How can we comprehensively assess and understand it? 

Date: Thursday 27th of March, 11:00-12:00.

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Webinar Description

Policy coherence refers to the extent to which different policies work in concert, reinforcing each other by fostering synergies and mitigating conflict. The lack of coherence can result in sub-optimal trade-offs or incentives that undermine the objectives of other policies. Policy coherence is crucial for the realization of the various high-level ambitions of the Green Deal. It has also been emphasized strongly in the context of the forthcoming Oceans Pact. This webinar provides a deep dive into the concept of policy coherence and clarifies how it can be assessed in the context of marine policies.  

The attendees will…

• better understand the concept of policy coherence
• learn a methodological approach for the analysis of policies 
• understand the different elements of policies that can be subject to the coherence analysis 
• better understand the barriers and enablers that affect policy coherence.

During the webinar, some examples are presented that shed light on how the framework can be applied within the biodiversity cluster and fisheries cluster of policies. 

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3. Evidence-based marine policy making: concepts, challenges, and recommendations

Date: Thursday 3rd of April, 11:00-12:00

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Webinar Description

Science-policy-society interfaces (SPSIs) are defined as social processes which encompass relations between scientists and other actors in the policy process, and which allow for exchanges, co-evolution, and joint construction of knowledge with the aim of enriching decision-making (Van Den Hove, 2007). When optimal, SPSIs ensure sound policy formulation, implementation, and adaptation processes, and can deal with different elements, such as incomplete knowledge, unpredictability, uncertainty, and ambiguity, thus improving coherence and cross-compliance in ocean governance. This webinar, centred on the topic of evidence-based policymaking in the field of marine governance, presents the main conceptual elements of SPSIs functioning, provides examples of current practices, challenges and related recommendations to support effective SPSIs towards reaching EGD objectives.

Attendees will…

• gain understanding of how Science-Policy-Society Interfaces function as critical mechanisms to enhance evidence-based policymaking in the context of marine governance
• deepen their knowledge of the conceptual foundations of SPSIs and how these interfaces facilitate effective communication and collaboration between scientific, policy, and societal actors
• be provided with real-world examples illustrating both successes and challenges in SPSIs functioning, providing practical insights that can be adapted to their own contexts,
• gain perspectives on how evidence can be more effectively integrated into policymaking processes. 

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4. Balancing offshore wind energy expansion and biodiversity protection in the North Sea

Date: Monday 12th of May, 11:00-12:00.

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Webinar Description

The EU’s targets for offshore renewable energy and biodiversity conservation are ambitious, multi-layered, and ultimately interconnected. Offshore wind energy is a key pillar in the EU’s clean energy transition, yet its expansion raises concerns about potential trade-offs with marine biodiversity protection. This webinar, “Balancing Offshore Wind Energy Expansion and Biodiversity Protection in the North Sea”, will explore governance challenges in aligning offshore wind deployment with conservation objectives. Through expert insights and case study examples, panellists will discuss the current policy landscape, highlight conflicts and synergies, and identify opportunities to enhance coherence between climate and biodiversity goals. 

Attendees of this webinar will…

• gain a deeper understanding of the governance challenges in balancing offshore wind energy expansion with marine biodiversity protection in the North Sea
• explore how different policy frameworks interact and learn from concrete examples of how various countries are addressing conflicts and synergies between renewable energy targets and biodiversity conservation.
• gain insights into policy coherence mechanisms, regulatory trade-offs, and multi-level governance approaches. 

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5. Policy coherence from source to sea

Date: Wednesday 14th of May, 11:00-12:00

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Webinar Description:

• Source-to-sea approach: need for holistic management of water resources, addressing the entire continuum from land to sea. This approach ensures that upstream activities, such as agriculture and industrial processes, are managed to prevent downstream impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems  

• How does policy and regulatory landscape in Europe ensure source-to-sea approach?  

• The MSFD and WFD are central in this regard – two environmental directives for achieving good environmental/ecological status – however with different geographical and thematic focus areas.   

• How to achieve coherence between these policies to ensure a sea-to-source approach?  

• This session provides insights from three national case studies on how source-to-sea issue is addressed, specifically focusing on mechanisms to ensure coherence between WFD and MSFD 

What will attendees gain from attending the webinar?

• Insight on current state of play at the EU and case study level and ideas to improve the coherence of governance related to eutrophication. Option B: concrete comparative aspects and ideas between FIN and NOR. 

What hard and soft skills will the webinar provide that will help attendees enhance coherence and cross-compliance within their sectors?

• Insights on how to improve coherence through regulation, governance and practices. 

At the conclusion of the webinar, attendees will be able to…

• Understand key coherence challenges and potential ways forward.