It's widely recognized that the southern North Sea is an area of particularly high primary production and of upmost ecological importance. Our territorial marine and coastal ecosystems are no exception, providing an impressive range of valuable ecosystem services.
But our needs and our world are changing rapidly, with rising negative impacts on these ecosystems. These impacts, in turn, lead to increased risks to our society and the way it functions. Important information has recently been published confirming the global deteriorating state of the oceans. Among these sources of information, a first climate risk assessment at the European level has been carried out by the European Environment Agency, including some special attention to both marine and coastal ecosystems. Based on this and other documents, Cerac looked at the impact of climate change on those ecosystems under Belgian jurisdiction.
Belgium is strongly committed, both within its borders and internationally, to ensuring that marine resources are used in an increasingly sustainable manner. One of the key messages of this note is that the various existing and planned initiatives (including nature restauration and conservation programs, and engineered coastal protection) will have to be fully effective to protect us/our society from the many expected devastating consequences of a warmer ocean and the resulting increase in acidity and sea level.
Read more : Impact of Climate Change on Belgian coastal and marine ecosystems | CERAC