Commission staff working document

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  Continued and increasing nutrient loads into the Baltic Sea:
  

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  insufficient recycling of nutrients;
  
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  insufficient nutrient removal in urban waste water treatment plants;
  
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  structural changes in agricultural production, including centralisation of domestic animal farms and oversupply of manure in some areas;
  
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  difficulties in achieving rapid results due to for instance the complex cycle of nutrients, especially phosphorus, the long time lag between implementing the measure and observing an effect in the water, and the slow turnover of the water in the sea;
  
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  increases in run-off and thus eutrophication and other impacts due to climate change.
  

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  Challenges in cooperation across the macro-region:
  

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  varying levels of commitment to implement the BSAP;
  
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  lack of clear support at the highest political level;
  
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  conflicting policy targets of environmental and agricultural policies;
  
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  differing views on country-wide nutrient reduction requirements;
  
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  low awareness of costs-efficiency of nutrient load-reducing measures;
  
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  low awareness of costs and benefits of reaching the objectives of BSAP;
  
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  difficulties in monitoring nutrient loads from diffuse sources;
  
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  difficulties with providing HELCOM with accurate data due to lack of institutional capacity in some countries;
  
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  challenges in coordinating efforts with third countries.
  

A comprehensive system for the design, the monitoring and the follow-up of indicators and targets will be set up in 2013, under the responsibility of the priority area coordinators. The still missing targets and deadline, baseline, and statistics/information sources related to the below indicators will be defined.