scholarly journals Institutional Change and the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach: A Case Study of HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP)

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Savitri Jetoo ◽  
Nina Tynkkynen
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Clear Shift ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The goal of this article is to explore the ways in which institutional changes are made to accommodate the application of the ecosystem approach for the governance of international environmental organizations. It examines the case of the Helsinki Commission, the governing body for restoration of good ecological status to the Baltic Sea, using the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) as its main tool. The Parties to the Helsinki Convention committed to adopting the ecosystem approach in the BSAP, recognizing that a clear shift was needed from the previous sectoral emphasis. The analysis is relevant and timely, as a review of BSAP indicates that implementation actions are lagging. The findings show that while the ecosystem approach influenced problem framing and envisioning, the overarching governance paradigm within HELCOM has not changed. Targeted transition leadership is crucial to guide more formal rules of engagement among actors and sectors for the better implementation of this holistic approach.

scholarly journals The Good, the Bad and the Future: A SWOT Analysis of the Ecosystem Approach to Governance in the Baltic Sea Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10539
Author(s):  
Savitri Jetoo ◽  
Varvara Lahtinen
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The ecosystem approach has been used extensively as a guiding principle in water policies of the Baltic Sea Region since the 1970s. In addition to its operationalization as a management framework in this region, it also has expansive theoretical underpinnings. However, despite extensive literature on this approach, there has not yet been any systematic assessment of the internal and external factors that influence its implementation. This kind of assessment could form the basis for improved thinking around the concept and better implementation actions. As such, this article presents a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the ecosystem approach in the Baltic Sea Region by using content analysis on Baltic Sea documents. This study found that key strengths of the principle are its interdisciplinary focus and its acceptance as a framework for conservation, whilst resource intensiveness and its operational complexity are key weaknesses. The SWOT analysis revealed that a key opportunity in the external environment is the ease of alignment with other policies whilst the key external threat is the difficulty integrating disciplines. This study showed that with a streamlined allocation of resources, more stakeholder engagement through capacity building and political leadership, the ecosystem approach could facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge pooling to achieve a good ecological status of the Baltic Sea.

scholarly journals Projected change in atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea towards 2020

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 21533-21567 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Geels ◽  
K. M. Hansen ◽  
J. H. Christensen ◽  
C. Ambelas Skjøth ◽  
T. Ellermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Total N ◽  
Ship Traffic ◽  
Projected Change ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Projected Changes

Abstract. The ecological status of the Baltic Sea has for many years been affected by the high input of both waterborne and airborne nutrients. The focus is here on the airborne input of nitrogen (N) and the projected changes in this input, assuming the new National Emission Ceilings directive (NEC-II), currently under negotiation in the EU, is fulfilled towards the year 2020. The Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) has been used to estimate the development in N deposition based on present day meteorology combined with present day (2007) or future (2020) anthropogenic emissions. By using a so called tagging method in the DEHM model, the contribution from ship traffic and from each of the nine countries with coastlines to the Baltic Sea has been assessed. The annual deposition to the Baltic Sea is estimated to be 203 k tonnes N for the present day scenario (2007) and 165 k tonnes N in the 2020 scenario, giving a projected reduction of 38 k tonnes N in the annual load in 2020. This equals a decline in N deposition of 19 %. The results from 20 model runs using the tagging method show that of the total N deposition in 2007, 52 % came from emissions within the bordering countries. By 2020 this is projected to decrease to 48 %. For some countries the projected decrease in N deposition arising from the implementation of the NEC-II directive will be a considerable part of the reductions agreed on in the provisional reduction targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. This underlines the importance of including projections like the current in future updates of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

scholarly journals Toward the Baltic Sea Socioeconomic Action Plan

AMBIO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1377-1388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markku Ollikainen ◽  
Berit Hasler ◽  
Katarina Elofsson ◽  
Antti Iho ◽  
Hans E. Andersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Nutrient Loading ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper analyzes the main weaknesses and key avenues for improvement of nutrient policies in the Baltic Sea region. HELCOM’s Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), accepted by the Baltic Sea countries in 2007, was based on an innovative ecological modeling of the Baltic Sea environment and addressed the impact of the combination of riverine loading and transfer of nutrients on the ecological status of the sea and its sub-basins. We argue, however, that the assigned country-specific targets of nutrient loading do not reach the same level of sophistication, because they are not based on careful economic and policy analysis. We show an increasing gap between the state-of-the-art policy alternatives and the existing command-and-control-based approaches to the protection of the Baltic Sea environment and outline the most important steps for a Baltic Sea Socioeconomic Action Plan. It is time to raise the socioeconomic design of nutrient policies to the same level of sophistication as the ecological foundations of the BSAP.

scholarly journals Voicing and Visualizing Change: Perceptions of Environmental Heritage in the Baltic Sea Region

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1566-1589
Author(s):  
Savitri Jetoo ◽  
Jaana Kouri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Interdisciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Complex Solutions ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Good Ecological Status ◽  
Human Actors

To address “wicked problems” that threaten the good ecological status of the Baltic Sea such as climate change with diverse stakeholder values and complex solutions, new interdisciplinary knowledge that incorporates citizen science is urgently needed. This paper scrutinizes environmental heritage in the Baltic Sea region by exploring what it means to persons living in the Baltic Sea environment. It asks the question, what is environmental heritage? It uses a qualitative research method using both texts and photographs—collected in an open competition—to consider humanistic viewpoints of persons living in the changing climate in the Baltic Sea Region. A thematic content analysis was utilized to identify emerging themes in the text and visual inquiry was used to decipher what meanings related to environmental change were conveyed in submitted the photographs. Some of the findings include that environmental heritage is perceived as experiences of living and interacting with the Sea and other non-human actors like animals, but also as material objects in the environment such as sustainable architecture. It also found that environmental heritage is articulated as a source of conflict, between users and uses and the traditional and new ways of life. Resolution of this conflict is important in guiding effective solutions to the challenge of climate change. It is thus important to develop interdisciplinary methods that facilitate the merging of different knowledge systems in order to generate effective solutions.

scholarly journals Projected change in atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea towards 2020

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2615-2629 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Geels ◽  
K. M. Hansen ◽  
J. H. Christensen ◽  
C. Ambelas Skjøth ◽  
T. Ellermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Ship Traffic ◽  
Projected Change ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Projected Changes ◽  
The Eu

Abstract. The ecological status of the Baltic Sea has for many years been affected by the high input of both waterborne and airborne nutrients. The focus here is on the airborne input of nitrogen (N) and the projected changes in this input, assuming the new National Emission Ceilings directive (NEC-II), currently under negotiation in the EU, is fulfilled towards the year 2020. With a set of scenario simulations, the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) has been used to estimate the development in nitrogen deposition based on present day meteorology combined with present day (2007) or future (2020) anthropogenic emissions. Applying a so-called tagging method in the DEHM model, the contribution from ship traffic and from each of the nine countries with coastlines to the Baltic Sea has been assessed. The annual deposition to the Baltic Sea is estimated to 203 k tonnes N for the present day scenario (2007) and 165 k tonnes N in the 2020 scenario, giving a projected reduction of 38 k tonnes N in the annual load in 2020. This equals a decline in nitrogen deposition of 19%. The results from 20 model runs using the tagging method show that of the total nitrogen deposition in 2007, 52% came from emissions within the bordering countries. By 2020, this is projected to decrease to 48%. For some countries the projected decrease in nitrogen deposition arising from the implementation of the NEC-II directive will contribute significantly to compliance with the reductions agreed on in the provisional reduction targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. This underlines the importance of including projections like the current in future updates of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

scholarly journals The Baltic Health Index (BHI): Assessing the social–ecological status of the Baltic Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Blenckner ◽  
Christian Möllmann ◽  
Julia Stewart Lowndes ◽  
Jennifer R. Griffiths ◽  
Eleanore Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Health Index ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Baltic

scholarly journals Changing seasonality of the Baltic Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1009-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mati Kahru ◽  
Ragnar Elmgren ◽  
Oleg P. Savchuk
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Seasonal Cycles ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
Satellite Sensors ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Increasing Trends

Abstract. Changes in the phenology of physical and ecological variables associated with climate change are likely to have significant effect on many aspects of the Baltic ecosystem. We apply a set of phenological indicators to multiple environmental variables measured by satellite sensors for 17–36 years to detect possible changes in the seasonality in the Baltic Sea environment. We detect significant temporal changes, such as earlier start of the summer season and prolongation of the productive season, in several variables ranging from basic physical drivers to ecological status indicators. While increasing trends in the absolute values of variables like sea-surface temperature (SST), diffuse attenuation of light (Ked490) and satellite-detected chlorophyll concentration (CHL) are detectable, the corresponding changes in their seasonal cycles are more dramatic. For example, the cumulative sum of 30 000 W m−2 of surface incoming shortwave irradiance (SIS) was reached 23 days earlier in 2014 compared to the beginning of the time series in 1983. The period of the year with SST of at least 17 °C has almost doubled (from 29 days in 1982 to 56 days in 2014), and the period with Ked490 over 0.4 m−1 has increased from about 60 days in 1998 to 240 days in 2013 – i.e., quadrupled. The period with satellite-estimated CHL of at least 3 mg m−3 has doubled from approximately 110 days in 1998 to 220 days in 2013. While the timing of both the phytoplankton spring and summer blooms have advanced, the annual CHL maximum that in the 1980s corresponded to the spring diatom bloom in May has now shifted to the summer cyanobacteria bloom in July.

SOKO PROJECT: DEVELOPING DETAILED OIL COMBATING PLAN FOR MANAGING ON-SHORE CLEAN-UP PROCEDURES IN FINLAND

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 373-379
Author(s):  
Justiina Halonen ◽  
Melinda Pascale
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Gulf Of Finland ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Railway Transportation ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Rescue Services ◽  
The Baltic

ABSTRACT Shipping on the Baltic Sea, especially the transportation of oil, has grown significantly over the past few years. One of the most accident risky areas for Finland is situated in the Eastern Gulf of Finland (lat. 60° 11’ long. 027° 45’ E). The Baltic Sea has officially been classified by the International Maritime Organization as Particularly Sensitive Sea Area in 2005. In Finland the Regional Rescue Services (RRS) are responsible for organising on-shore clean-up with the assistance of the Regional Environmental Centres (REC). These oil combating authorities of Kymenlaakso region in south-eastern Finland have developed a thorough preparedness for oil incidents with the help of SOKO – Management of on-shore oil combating - project (SOKO). SOKO, innovated and administrated by the Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences (KyAMK), produced a detailed guidebook for oil combating authorities and the response commander (RC). The scope of the guidebook was achieved as an interdisciplinary effort between educational institutes, rescue services, environmental centres, authorities, civic organisations and businesses. The guidebook provides detailed information on how to conduct oil combating in the case of a major oil incident where the oil reaches the shores. The guidebook is used as an action plan, as a manual for the response commander (RC) as well as for training both authorities and volunteers. It is an extensive collection of studies undertaken by further education students and specialists under the supervision of the project steering committee, formed by local oil combating authorities and KyAMK SOKO project personnel. The guidebook discusses the oil combating organisation and the management, the human resources, the communication and the financing issues. The guidebook also covers the arranging cleaning operations, the oil combating equipment and the temporary storage sites in the mainland and the archipelago and the construction specifications for the temporary storages. Transportation of oily wastes was also examined including the methods for loading and discharging oily wastes, as well as the sea, road and railway transportation methods using a database for estimating the best and most economic routes from the archipelago to the mainland. In addition, detailed operative charts were produced, with indications of the cleaning sectors and the oil waste transportation spots. The SOKO contingency plan differs from the governmental plans by focusing only on the on-shore response excluding the at-sea response. The role of the oil combating authorities in the project was to identify unresolved issues in preparedness, provide practical information, supervise and accept the outcome. The main financier of SOKO in 2003–2007 was the Finnish Ministry of Education. The SOKO concept is currently expanding to cover more coastal area in the Gulf of Finland (SOKO II -project 2007–2011).

scholarly journals Nitrogen surface water retention in the Baltic Sea drainage basin

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 10829-10858 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Stålnacke ◽  
A. Pengerud ◽  
A. Vassiljev ◽  
E. Smedberg ◽  
C.-M. Mörth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Total N ◽  
N Retention ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract. In this paper, we estimate the surface water retention of nitrogen (N) in all the 117 drainage basins to the Baltic Sea with the use of a statistical model (MESAW) for source apportionment of riverine loads of pollutants. Our results show that the MESAW model was able to estimate the N load at the river mouth of 88 Baltic Sea rivers, for which we had observed data, with a sufficient degree of precision and accuracy. The estimated retention parameters were also statistically significant. Our results show that around 380 000 t of N are annually retained in surface waters draining to the Baltic Sea. The total annual riverine load from the 117 basins to the Baltic Sea was estimated to 570 000 t of N, giving a total surface water N retention of around 40%. In terms of absolute retention values, three major river basins account for 50% of the total retention in the 117 basins; i.e. around 104 000 t of N is retained in Neva, 55 000 t in Vistula and 32 000 t in Oder. The largest retention was found in river basins with a high percentage of lakes as indicated by a strong relationship between N retention (%) and share of lake area in the river drainage areas. For example in Göta älv, we estimated a total N retention of 72%, whereof 67% of the retention occurred in the lakes of that drainage area (Lake Vänern primarily). The obtained results will hopefully enable the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) to refine the nutrient load targets in the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), as well as to better identify cost-efficient measures to reduce nutrient loadings to the Baltic Sea.

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