Harmonize

Towards the cross-regional unification and harmonization of applicable assessment approaches for impulsive noise in regard of special requirements from EU Regions and Subregions

General data on the Harmonize project

Project Harmonize
Client / project managementEU
Duration01.02.2021 – 31.07.2022
Research focusUses of the sea
Project numberKT800.O.4.EUP.00001.00
Project management at BSHCarina Juretzek

Project Description

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) provides a framework for necessary actions by EU Member States to achieve and maintain sustainable use of the marine environment consistent with a "Good Environment Status (GES)". There are 11 qualitative descriptors available under the MSFD for determining GES. Descriptor D11 – “Introduction of energy” describes the good environmental status with regard to underwater noise: "Introduction of energy, including underwater noise, is at levels that do not adversely affect the marine environment". One criterion under D11 is impulsive underwater noise.

To reconcile the protection of the marine environment and the expansion of offshore wind energy, the BSH monitors, among other things, the underwater noise that is generated by pile driving during offshore construction projects. In 2013, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) put the noise protection concept for harbour porpoises in the North Sea into effect. Since then, the BSH has based its assessment of the impact of pile driving on the marine environment on the criteria and approaches described therein, and has also gained many years of practical experience in implementing assessment criteria for impulse noise within this framework. Based on this experience, the BSH operates the national sound register as part of the implementation of the MSFD.

For the assessment of good environmental status, COMMISSION DECISION (EU) 2017/848 provides the basis for the requirements of the assessment criteria and approaches used by the EU Contracting States. Currently, there are a number of assessment methods used by different regional marine conventions and member states individually ("expert-based"). Based on a cross-regional cooperation, the scope of this proposal is the elaboration of harmonized assessment approaches regarding impulsive underwater noise by

  1. identifying existing best practices,
  2. considering specific regional requirements, and
  3. defining common criteria and boundary conditions

in order to ensure comparability and interpretability of assessments between regions. The BSH is the project leader and coordinates the work in the network. The specialized technical work within the project is mainly covered by awarding contracts.

Objectives

The aim of Harmonize is to harmonize GES assessment approaches for impulse sound within the EU based on scientifically valid approaches as well as field-tested experience. The expected outcome of Harmonize are harmonized assessment methods with (1) standardized common procedures, which are (2) applicable to the purpose of determining GES, (3) practicable across the EU regions, and (4) affordable regarding the national resources needed to implement them.

Project partners

Schweden (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), Italien (ISPRA - Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale)

Contractors

Müller-BBM GmbH as well as two SMEs in the further course of the project