Press release
The first PANACHE work package was meant to assess the ecological coherence of the Channel MPA network.
The final report, which will be officially submitted at the end of April, shows that the MPA network's coverage is significant and truly accounts for species and habitats, particularly with respect to European obligations: the Natura 2000 network accounts for a substantial portion of all marine protected areas in the Channel. However, disparities do exist on either side on the border. The marine protected areas are more frequently located near the coasts, to the detriment of offshore areas and their ecosystems, especially in the western Channel. In addition, areas varying greatly in size have the same protection status from one country to another. This lack of MPA homogeneity thus impacts the way ecological processes are taken into account. Lastly, knowledge of marine ecosystems is still incomplete, and assessment is therefore tricky at times.
Nonetheless, the work done as part of PANACHE forms a benchmark for studies into MPA network development in the Channel. It provides a state of play at a time "t", a vital starting point for further studies that will be carried out recurrently and on different scales (national and European). And it will also contribute to adequate management of these marine protected areas. Because, the ultimate conclusion that we can draw from these first results is that cross-border cooperation is particularly relevant to study protection of the shared marine space, whose biological frontiers are not the same as our administrative boundaries.
