Quantifying Environmental Impacts and Their Effects According to the MSFD: Achieving Good Status by 2020

The ever-increasing development of human activities along the coastline and the overexploitation of marine resources make it necessary today to implement methods for quantifying anthropogenic pressures-based on data observation and analysis-in order to assess the state of the environment and develop environmental conservation programs with a view to sustainable development. In this context, the PERSEUS project (Policy-Ented Marine Environmental Research in the Southern European Seas) aims to maintain or achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) through the use of new technologies and innovative observation systems, by applying the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and following a four-year implementation plan. This project is being implemented in several regions of both EU member states and non-member states. In Tunisia, the Gulf of Tunis is one of the pilot sites selected for this project, with the goal of implementing the MSFD strategy to achieve Good Environmental Status by 2020.