Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC), Netherlands

Description of Organisation

The Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) (www.eucc.net) is an association with members in 40 countries, both particulars and organizations/institutions. Founded in 1989 with the aim of promoting a European approach to coastal conservation by bridging the gap between scientists, environmentalists, site managers, planners and policy makers, it has grown since then into the largest network of coastal practitioners and experts in Europe and neighbouring area , with 14 National Branches and offices in seven countries.

EUCC's mission is to promote coastal and marine management that integrates biodiversity conservation with those forms of development that sustain the integrity of landscapes, the cultural heritage and the social fabric of our coast. EUCC advocates best practice by developing coastal and marine policies, mobilising experts and stakeholders, and providing advice and information. EUCC´s activities range from innovative policy advice (e.g. ICZM progress indicators) to involvement in initiatives aiming at the improvement of access to coastal information, and field projects combining coastal and marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Main tasks of EUCC in MARLISCO:

EUCC will coordinate the activities planned to develop an European Video Contest , and will be responsible for conducting the national activities and associated tasks within other work packages in The Netherlands.

Relevant experience:

EUCC has built an extensive experience in international projects, in particular ones related to coastal best practices and ICZM e.g. OURCOAST (DG Environment) , EUROSION (DG Environment),  CoPraNet (INTERREG IIIC), SUSTAIN (INTERREG IVC), in which wide engagement of coastal stakeholders and organisation of international events have taken place and EUCC has played a central role. Other projects in which EUCC implemented activities to support bridging the gap between policy makers, stakeholders and science include SPICOSA (FP6), CONSCIENCE (FP6), IMCORE (INTERREG IVB), KnowSeas (FP7)  and MARCOM+ (DG Environment). Furthermore, EUCC is member of the ICZM Expert Group and integrates both the MSFD Underwater Noise and Marine Litter Technical Subgroups, which have been set-up to provide guidance and recommendations to the MSFD-GES Working Group in respect to these two descriptors. 

EUCC has been or is currently involved in other key EU projects dealing with marine litter, including the Pilot Project on Plastic Recycling Cycle and Marine Environmental Impact (DG Environment, 2012),  CLEANSEA - Towards a Clean, Litter-Free European Marine Environment through Scientific Evidence, Innovative Tools and Good Governance (FP7 , 2013-2015) and the Pilot Project Removal of marine litter from Europe’s four regional seas (DG Environment, 2013-2014). In the Netherlands, EUCC has experience with the fishing sector based on the activities developed in a national by-catch pilot project, as well as, currently implementing a programme of removal of ghost nets associated to wrecks in the North Sea. EUCC is therefore working on different strategic fronts and is able to bridge and facilitate synergies between various initiatives.

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