MAP Technical Reports Series No. 106 UNEP

13.2 Assessment of the present status
- 159 -
As the present assessment is very general, it is suggested that detailed assessments
of the state and extent of eutrophication in the Mediterranean Sea are prepared by region giving
special attention to the monitoring of coastal areas.
The ecological assessment of the state and the extent of eutrophication requires an
investigation of community structure and diversity, which should consider the different
compartments of plankton and benthos, and indicate the activity at different levels: species,
populations and communities.
13.3 Inventory of land based sources
There is an urgent need for a survey and for the establishment of a geo-related
inventory of land based sources to be linked to the monitoring programmes.
When producing an inventory of land based sources of pollution in the Mediterranean
Sea attention should be paid especially to those substances which cause eutrophication and,
whenever possible, to the effects they cause around the discharge sites.
13.4 Scientific action
It is necessary to complement the already ongoing monitoring and assessment efforts,
and to provide scientific information as required for modelling and control policies, by conducting
specific research focused on the following objectives :
(a) Factors controlling eutrophication processes;
(b) The structure and function of eutrophic ecosystems and the relevant hydrodynamics
as the basis for the determination of their receiving capacities for eutrophicants;
(c) Classification of the stages and degrees of eutrophication on the basis of quantitative
parameters;
(d) Investigation of the recovery processes in ecosystems that have been modified due to
anoxia and mortalities induced by eutrophication;
(e) Further development of scientific methods as needed, particularly for the monitoring
and ecological assessment programmes.
It is recommended that the policy analysis of eutrophication be strengthened in order
to take into account the complex socio-economic, legal and political factors which influence both
the perception of the problem and what should be done about it. Reliance on legal instruments
alone, e.g. the protocol on land-based sources of pollution, in some cases may not be an
effective means of managing the open-access common-property marine resources of the
different parts of the Mediterranean.
It is also recommended that a problem-oriented approach be pursued in addressing
particular cases of anthropogenic eutrophication.
Mathematical modelling should be used as a means for: