The seascapes approach to sustainable management of European Straits

Published the 19 May 2024

At the time when a Directive on maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal management is proposed by the European Commission, the technique of analysing the maritime landscape presented by the British partners during a NOSTRA workshop (initial result of the European Straits Initiative), seems to interest other European Straits. This exercise is applied to the Dover Strait and will additionally foster the current reflection led in France concerning the assets of this Strait with a view to seeing them listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The technique is called Seascapes Character Assessment (SCA) and was considered at a NOSTRA (Network Of STRAits) workshop in January 2013 in Kent, where a pilot SCA for Dover Strait was presented. SCA has been developed from Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) in the UK and is about to be incorporated into the first ever Marine Plans, which are being drawn up under the Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009.

Utilising a wide variety of data, seascapes can help to identify the natural, cultural and aesthetic characteristics of an area to assist with better informed decision making and policy development. For an area such as Dover Strait, where the respective coastlines are visible from either side of the strait, the benefits of having a completed SCA would seem clear, as geographically the area represents a common marine area. The purpose of SCA within marine planning is to contribute to decision making on what type of policies and developments are appropriate for a marine area.

In the EU context, the adoption of a seascapes approach can also help to deliver the aims of the European Landscape Convention and Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Following the workshop in Kent, partners across the project have carried out an analysis of the benefits of applying the seascapes approach for their strait. In the Strait of Bonifacio, a more complete exercise was carried out, utilising data relating to the National Park of Maddalena Archipelago, the Corsican Environment Office and Province of Sassari. The NOSTRA/ESI partners for Bonifacio have concluded that SCA was a useful tool for decision making, to be considered further.

For Dover Strait partners, the completion of the SCA is also an opportunity to strengthen the identity of the strait which has a rich human history and a unique geology which demonstrates how France and the UK were once one land mass.

Pas-de-Calais County Council are currently examining how to establish an evidence base for a potential World Heritage bid for Dover Strait. Kent County Council will be meeting with Pas-de-Calais to discuss the contribution that a completed SCA for Dover Strait could make to this evidence base.

The two authorities will also be discussing the wider benefits of completing the SCA for Dover Strait.