29 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablas, 1 apéndice.The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) adopted in 2008 aims to
protect the marine environment through the holistic Ecosystem Approach (EA).
The MSFD requires Member States to develop and implement cost-effective
measures to achieve and/or maintain “Good Environmental Status” (GEnS). To
this end, interested parties require a large amount of data and this data should be
appropriately managed. This is particularly true for EA applications, where data can come from diverse sources, in diverse formats, and from several disciplines.
Preliminary steps for supporting reliable multi-disciplinary analysis include data
collection, data management, and the implementation of an interoperable sharing
system. In an effort to implement this type of multidisciplinary analysis, a working
group from the KnowSeas project (www.knowseas.com) created a Spatial Data
Infrastructure for the Mediterranean Sea, designed to define and analyze the
GEnS concept across various geographical scales. This article describes the
implementation of this SDI, demonstrating how an interoperable system can
provide strong support in implementing the MSFD under the EA, and how marine
spatial planning can assist policymakers in the decision making process.This work was co-funded by the KnowSeas project (grant number 226675) and
the EGIDA project (grant number 265124).Peer reviewe