Human health and EU maritime policy: Closing the loop. H2020 SOPHIE Project

Seas, Oceans and Public Health in Europe (SOPHIE) is a pan-European project working towards protecting both human health and the health of the marine environment. Funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, to help establish a new research capacity for the emerging scientific discipline of Oceans and Human Health, SOPHIE brings together different communities (i.e. marine scientists, medical and social scientists, experts from the public health and other fields) and creates a platform for these communities to work together to understand the complex interactions between the marine environment and human health and wellbeing. While we have legislated widely to regulate the impacts of human activities on the marine environment, and devised mechanisms to monitor and measure these impacts, we have not fully considered, in turn, the impacts of the marine environment (and marine environmental degradation) on human health. From a policy perspective, Oceans and Human Health seeks to deliver new knowledge and understanding that can help us to close this loop. This report examines a number of legislative instruments and strategies in the context of the EU's Integrated Maritime Policy. Taking account of the Health in All Policies goal, consideration is given to what extent key EU maritime policies or actions can or should encompass a focus on human health. Recommendations are made on mechanisms and tools that can be used to achieve co-beneficial outcomes for marine environmental health and human health.