# Presentation: 580318

## Proposed Marine Environmental Protection Product Specification 

- Kathryn L. Ries
- Office of Coast Survey, NOAA

## PROPOSAL

**U.S. (NOAA) has submitted a Proposal to the 19****th**** CHRIS Meeting to:**
- “... amend S-57  by developing and and adopting a Product Specification for marine environmental protection (MEP) data...”

## WHY?

- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used around the world to protect marine resources, but information on the location, type of resource, and regulations are not easily available to the mariner.
- Maritime accidents as well as routine ship operations (e.g., discharge and anchoring) can injure coral reefs and impact tourism
- The cost of such damage can be millions of dollars per incident. Between 1984 and 1987 this amounted to $16 million dollars in the United States alone

## National Requirements

**The USA (NOAA) Coral Reef Program, and the USA national Coral Reef Task Force have asked the US hydrographic office for an appropriate international standard for coral reef information.**
**The USA Marine Protected Area Program (MPA), and the USA (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary Program have also asked for an international standard to more fully exchange data on MPAs.**
**Nations around the world are taking more steps to regulate and protect their sensitive marine resources from shipping  impacts.**

## Emerging International Requirements

**The IMO Intervention Convention affirms the right of a  coastal State to take measures “...to prevent, mitigate or eliminate danger to its coastline  from a maritime casualty.”**
**International donor organizations like the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank are providing funding to support the development of supplemental environmental information layers, such as the environment and natural resource conservation and management overlays for the Marine Electronic Highway in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.**

## Emerging International Requirements

**The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has expressed great interest in an international standard for that purpose because no suitable standard exists.**
**The “Gulf of Honduras Hydrographic Activity Implementation Plan” calls for “...bringing environmental data to the mariner so that informed decisions may be made to avoid environmental damage”  to the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef System**

## The Role of IHO

**The IHO is the logical body to address the need for an MEP product specification (consistent with expanded mission)**
**ENCs are a powerful tool to bring this information to the mariner without adding “clutter” to the chart **
**The additional MEP data could be displayed as a supplemental environmental protection information overlay to ENCs in an ECDIS. **

## International Standard Efforts

- U.S. has developed a draft marine Environmental Protection Product Specification
-      (initial focus on MPAs and Corals), along with
- Object Catalog
- Catalog of Attributes, and
- Presentation Library
- Submitted Product Specification as a Proposal to CHRIS (Nov 2007) for consideration
- Formally present Product Specification to CHRIS, requesting revision and adoption within a year
- Participate in completion of standard

## U.S. Pilot Project in the Florida Keys

**One of the world’s largest coral reef ecosystems**
**Designation as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area**
**More than 40% of the world’s shipping commerce transits through the Florida Straits each year.  **
**Since 1984, 10 large ship groundings have occurred in the Florida Keys and the Tortugas.  Coral reef damage by large ships anchoring has occurred at least 17 times since 1997.**

## Slide 10

## Florida Keys

- Coral Reef Habitats

## Actions to Date

- Completed ENC coverage for the area
- Converted existing coral reef maps and regulatory information into format suitable for use with electronic charts
- Developed a Coral Reef/MPA Product Specification
- Produced Prototype environmental supplemental data layer

## Still in Process

- Conduct test of layer display in conjunction with ENC on Electronic Chart Systems
- Address any required software modifications
- Identify/Contact vessels interested in participating in a field demonstration
- Conduct field demonstrations
- Share results

## Florida Keys

- Coral Reef Habitats

## Coral Reefs

- FKNMS Boundary

- Coral Reefs

## FL Keys National

- Wildlife Refuge

## Benefits

- Proposed Amendment of S-57 will:
- Enable mariners to make informed decisions about which areas to avoid and/or the regulations, fines, delays pertaining to such areas
- Provide Member States an international standard for the exchange and use of their environmental data
-   Serve scientific/environmental users
-   Establish IHO leadership in this arena as part of its expanded mission to support international environmental objectives
** **

## Principal Outcome:  Reduce damage to ships and the marine  environment

## S-57 BASED MIO STANDARDS

**S-57 ENC PRODUCT SPECIFICATION**

**MIO GENERIC PRODUCT SPECIFICATION**

**MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT SPECIFICATION**

- IHO Standard

- IHO Standard Approved by CHRIS