Policy Area Nutri of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region works on Saving the Sea, which is one of the three main objectives of the Strategy. The aim of the Policy Area is to reduce nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea to acceptable levels.
Of the many environmental challenges facing the Baltic Sea, the most serious and difficult to tackle with conventional approaches is the continuing eutrophication. Excessive nutrient loads through agricultural run-off, inadequately treated sewage, airborne emissions and internal fluxes are the main cause of eutrophication. The impacts of eutrophication include oxygen depletion, reduced water clarity, an increase in filamentous algae, summer blooms of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) and other undesirable changes in species composition.
The latest decades' large-scale investments in waste water treatment plants and key decisions on cleaner shipping have had an important impact on decreasing the nutrient load. According to the latest HELCOM assessment total normalised nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the Baltic Sea have decreased with 12% and 25%, respectively, since the reference period (1997-2003) and 2015. However, to save the sea, further and continued action is needed.
Posted by Sanni Turunen, Wednesday, 16th January 2019 @ 10:18am
The policy areas Nutri and Bioeconomy welcome you to learn, share and exchange ideas about nutrient recycling in agriculture and state of the Baltic Sea in Jyväskylä, Finland 12-13 February 2019. It is possible to present project results at the Project Fair during the first evening.
You can download the draft programme and information about registration, accommodation and other practicalities in here. We expect to have participants from administration, advisory services, projects, research and other stakeholders that work with issues related to agri-environmental measures.
Register here. The registration closes at 28.1.2019.
In the third call for proposals the Monitoring Committee selected 31 projects out of 114 submitted project applications in the thematic areas of innovation, natural resources and transport. The Committee allocated EUR 56 million of the European Regional Developing Fund (ERDF), EUR 1.9 million of the Norwegian National Fund and EUR 1.4 million of ENI/Russian National Fund to the selected projects.
Among the appreciated projects is DESIRE, a PA Nutri flagship. The project aim is to decrease the amount of nutrients leaking to the rivers by e.g. reactivation of already drained wetlands. DESIRE focuses on the numerous disturbed peatlands in the Neman river catchment and ways to restore some of them to act as wetland buffer zones.
Nutrient offsetting for the Baltic Sea(NutriTrade) Initiating full scale mussel farming in the Baltic Sea (Baltic Blue Growth) Interactive water management (IWAMA) Better efficiency for industrial sewage treatment (BEST) Consumer guide for sustainably produced meat (CONSUME) Development of sustainable wetland management by restoration and biomass utilisation of peatlands in the Neman river catchment to improve water quality of the Baltic Sea (DESIRE) Enhancing water resources management in four river basins oriented on Baltic protection (BigRivers4Baltic)
Phasing Out of the Use of Phosphates in Detergents, finalized in 2011. (EN and RU)
Putting Best Agricultural Practices into Work (Baltic Deal), 2010-2013.
Assessment of Regional Nutrient Pollution Load and Identification of Priority Projects to Reduce Nutrient Inputs from Belarus to the Baltic Sea, Nov 2012-Dec 2013.
Project on Reduction of the Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea Today (PRESTO), Jun 2011-Mar 2014.
