Commission staff working document
Objectives and sub-objectives of the Strategy
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- Sub-objective: Clear water in the sea
- Sub-objective: Rich and healthy wildlife
- Sub-objective: Clean and safe shipping
- Sub-objective: Better cooperation
- Targets and indicators for the objective ‘Save the Sea’
Objectives and sub-objectives of the StrategySave the SeaThe Baltic Sea and its transition area to the North Sea are still one of the most polluted in the world. Its poor state threatens the quality of life for the 80 million inhabitants living around it. The problems facing the sea, including algae blooms, dead zones on the bottom, air pollution, marine litter and noise and the negative environmental consequences of overfishing and heavy ship traffic, involve all coastal countries, calling for more coordinated action. The overall aim of the EUSBSR ‘Save the Sea’ objective is to achieve good environmental status by 2020, as required under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and favourable conservation status under the Habitats Directive in accordance with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, and taking into account the related targets by 2021, as required by the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Achieving the ‘Save the Sea’ objective is also essential to success in the other two objectives to ‘Connect the Region’ and ‘Increase Prosperity’. To help achieve this, the Strategy aims at reaching sustainability objectives as defined in Europe 2020 Strategy and its resource efficiency flagship and 7th Environment Action Programme. It also aims at influencing stronger implementation of relevant EU environmental legislation for example on the marine environment, nitrates from agricultural sources, biodiversity, protection of species and habitats, fisheries and eutrophication, as well as the integration of environmental and climate change concerns across all relevant policy fields, including energy, transport, agriculture, fisheries (both wild and aquaculture) and industrial policies. Significant sources of pollutants and nutrients are of land-based origin. Cooperation to improve the water quality of rivers, lakes and coastal areas and successful river basin management according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is needed to save the sea. Airborne emissions and emissions from shipping are also substantial in the Baltic Sea and need to be addressed. Local conditions and initiatives form the natural backdrop of the Strategy’s work to save the sea. For example, the designation of the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and its designation as a SOx Emission Control Area (SECA) should facilitate cooperative and effective action towards increasing the sustainability of maritime activities such as shipping, because it remains a crucial contributor to the economic prosperity of the region. Moreover, implementing the policy-driven, fully-integrated joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme BONUS improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the region’s environmental research programming and provides concrete scientific outputs which facilitate an ecosystem-based management approach to the use (and protection) of the region’s natural resources. Many actions and projects under the ‘Save the Sea’ objective are implemented with Russia and Belarus in the framework of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP), and through HELCOM and the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS). Through a range of projects in for instance water, wastewater, solid waste and energy efficiency, these frameworks are helping to deliver real benefits to the environment in the area extending from the Baltic Sea to the Barents Euro-Arctic region. Meeting the ‘Save the Sea’ objective will also contribute to the greater sustainability of goods and services which rely on a healthy marine ecosystem, including safeguarding the health of marine and coastal environment. This will lead to sustainable growth and jobs in marine and maritime sectors, and improve the well-being and health of people living in the region, in line with the overall objectives of the Integrated Maritime Policy and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Furthermore, addressing environmental challenges will also lead to new business opportunities. Actions to adapt to climate change are of outmost relevance both for ‘Clear water in the sea’ and ‘Rich and healthy wildlife’ sub-objectives in order to meet the set of targets. The region now has more capacity to apply agri-environmental measures, thanks to the development of cooperation projects under the EUSBSR. This cooperation across agricultural and environment sectors has raised a number of important cross-cutting issues concerning the interaction between agriculture and environment and shown the possibilities offered by focusing on multi-benefit measures. The role of agriculture, not only in reducing nutrient inputs to the sea, but also in providing solutions for ecosystem management and climate change adaptation, should be recognised and supported. Reliable and compatible marine data is essential to achieve the objectives of the Strategy, in particular those related to Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP),22 climate change and implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Marine data – geological, physical, chemical and biological – collected largely by public institutions, are still fragmented, of uncertain quality and difficult to assemble into coherent pictures of the entire Baltic sea-basin. In order to (1) increase the efficiency of all those who work with marine data – industry, public authorities and research bodies, (2) stimulate innovation and growth, and (3) reduce uncertainties in the past, present and future behaviour of the sea, the European Commission launched the European Marine Observation Data Network (EMODNET). Regional work also contributes to the creation of a pan-European marine data architecture based on the concept of inter-operable databases (HELCOM, ICES, EEA, EMODnet) as well as system of distributed databases. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) has substantial needs in terms of high-quality data, and one of the priorities is to contribute to availability of MSP relevant data for transboundary consideration. The data in question concern marine activities as well as biological and physical environments. Sub-objective: Clear water in the seaEutrophication23 is a major problem for the Baltic Sea, and for the region’s lakes. It is caused by excessive nutrient inputs, especially nitrogen and phosphorous, which mainly originate from inadequately treated sewage, agricultural run-off and leaching and airborne emissions from road and maritime traffic and combustion processes. The nutrient load increases the primary production of the sea, leading to toxic algae blooms, oxygen depletion and other harmful effects that can lead to changes in the whole ecosystem. As the Baltic Sea is shallow and semi-enclosed with a slow water exchange rate, inputs of nutrients have a long-lasting effect on the entire sea. Therefore it affects all countries in the catchment area and no single country or sub-region, acting alone, can solve the problem. Close cooperation with HELCOM and within the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership is of key importance. Strong support from the highest political level is essential to the success of this joint work. To ensure clear water, every effort must be made to achieve the targets and indicators set under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the WFD (Water Framework Directive), the Nitrates Directive (NiD), the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and in the updated HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) in 2013. The main areas for cooperation include cutting nutrient inputs from urban waste water treatment plants, rural settlements, shipping, and the application of sustainable agricultural practices in the whole catchment area, with particular focus on reduction of fertiliser inputs. Full implementation of all relevant EU legislation is needed, alongside cross-sectorial policy-oriented dialogue – for instance to promote the alignment of policies that have an impact on the Baltic Sea (including the Common Agricultural Policy). Moreover, technical solutions going beyond EU requirements are in place for enhanced phosphorous removal in the waste-water treatment process, in line with HELCOM Recommendations 28E/5 and 28E/6, and these should be promoted and applied. Apart from full implementation of the Nitrates Directive (NiD) and the adoption of reinforced measures according to its art. 5§5, additional rural development measures could be used to go beyond this baseline and to reduce nutrient run-off and leaching, better utilisation of nutrients and increase the retention capacity in the landscape, and HELCOM recommendations for manure management in agriculture (28E/4) should be followed. Incentives for agri-environmental measures should be allocated effectively to the most polluting areas, only measures going well beyond the baseline should be financed, and more attention should be paid to nutrient recycling. The European Commission’s work on the sustainable use of phosphorus is closely related to this. The integrated research and innovation framework established through the BONUS programme to provide the knowledge necessary for a clean, sustainable prosperous Baltic Sea would be an appropriate mechanism that could support these efforts. Sub-objective: Rich and healthy wildlifeThe Baltic Sea region has a unique ecosystem. It ranges from with nearly fresh water and up to six months of ice cover in the North to the more saline Kattegat. Only a specific selection of species can survive in this brackish water, and the low number of macro species makes the ecosystem extra sensitive to changes in its physical and chemical composition, which can affect the balance of entire food webs. These ecosystems are particularly sensitive to climate change. There are many threats to marine biodiversity. One of the major ones is eutrophication (see sub-objective ‘Clear water in the sea’), which has caused low oxygen content of the bottom water in parts of the sea, and created species-poor areas with low benthos biomass. Another threat stems from the arrival of alien invasive species (e.g. water flea and comb jellyfish), for example through ballast water from ships, that compete with native species and sometimes cause ecosystem changes. Other threats are hazardous substances that affect the growth, reproduction and resilience of fish, marine mammals and seabirds. These substances include organic and inorganic contaminants and heavy metals, emitted by land sources and from dumped chemical and conventional munitions. Residues of pharmaceuticals also end up in the sea. Fisheries directly impact on stock status which in turn affects food web structures. The Baltic Sea has a low number of commercially exploited stocks and predominantly single species fisheries, 90% of these are within the Community and have only one external partner. Given these characteristics, the Baltic could be a basin in which to strengthen the ecosystem based approach to fisheries, as well as other specific action such as increased selectivity in fishing gears to work towards elimination of discards. Regional cooperation across the Baltic Sea can help support this. Actions have to both minimise the adverse effects of human activities that cause pollution and work towards preventing damage, by for example establishing an ecologically coherent network of well-managed marine protected areas as one tool within a wider integrated sea use management (ISUM) approach to maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). In addition to the threats, other upcoming trends and uncertainties that have been identified24 as potentially damaging to Baltic Sea wildlife and biodiversity now or in the near future include increased infrastructure development (such as ports, pipelines, power cables etc.) and increased coastal zone activities (including cities, tourism facilities, coastal defence structures, energy supply systems, fish farms). BONUS can be a useful source of science based information to reduce the negative effects of, for instance, fishing and in countering the introduction of new alien species by ships. This sub-objective supports the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan’s section on biodiversity and nature conservation, and its specific sections on maritime traffic. The implementation of relevant EU policies and instruments, including the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the Common Fisheries Policy, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, and the full implementation of Natura 2000 network of protected areas designated under Birds and Habitats are important aspects of the work to ensure a rich and healthy wildlife, halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems by 2020, and restoring them in so far as feasible. Sub-objective: Clean and safe shippingAs maritime transport on the Baltic Sea is constantly increasing, clean and safe shipping is becoming more and more essential for the whole area, both on sea and on land. The EUSBSR addresses the issue in holistic manner taking into consideration various aspects such as: reducing the environmental impact of ship air emissions and thus maximising opportunities for innovation in shipbuilding and marine equipment, illegal and accidental discharge of oil, discharge of untreated sewage, hazardous substances, introduction of alien organisms via ships’ ballast and hull fouling, and making joint risk assessments; reducing air pollutant emissions such as PM and NO2 in ports and port cities by improving infrastructure (e.g. cleaner Non Road Mobile Machinery such as cranes) and improving logistics with the hinterland; strengthening and integrating maritime surveillance system, which is a strategic tool proposed in the context of the Integrated Maritime Policy thanks to the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) tool, to help prevent marine accidents; strengthening human capital: ensuring proper training, setting common standards and enhancing maritime careers; reinforcing preparedness and response capacity to major emergencies on sea and on land at macro-regional level: improving cooperation and coordination between various actors (maritime safety, security, surveillance and disaster response agencies). Sub-objective: Better cooperationThe urgency of the common environmental challenges facing the Baltic Sea calls for closer cooperation between all coastal countries. In fact, this is crucial for achieving the targets on clear water, a rich and healthy wildlife and clean and safe shipping. Several roadblocks need to be addressed. For instance, some of the policy areas demanding closer cooperation are dealt with by different administrations in different countries, making it a challenge to bridge borders and sectors. Responding maritime accidents, to give an example, may be dealt with by the ministry of the interior in one country, the ministry of defence in another country, and the ministry of the environment in yet another country. For instance by boosting the work of national focal points (see chapter on governance of the Strategy: description of roles and responsibilities) and inclusive steering groups, the Strategy aims to promote macro-regional, cross-sectorial dialogue, building on the work in place through HELCOM and co-operation projects. Cooperation and exchanging good practices in ecological education and climate change mitigation is important. The MSFD also calls for cooperation within marine regions such as the Baltic Sea, in order to reach the objective of good environmental status of the marine environment by 2020. Through better cooperation, the Strategy aims to accelerate implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, and to put in place transboundary, maritime spatial plans applying the ecosystem approach throughout the region. The ecological, economic and social benefits of maritime spatial planning (MSP) are by now well documented and, in principle, undisputed. Several Baltic Sea states have already implemented a regime for MSP at national level and some others are in the process of doing so. In order to have a fully functioning planning system at regional (Baltic Sea) level, it is important that all coastal states have national activities for planning in place, and will work together on key transnational topics. The HELCOM-VASAB Working Group Road Map will guide the work in order to achieve the Strategy objective to implement MSP in all coastal states by 2020. Otherwise, cross-border cooperation on transboundary issues will not be fully addressed. It is therefore important that national regimes are in place and pilot regimes/activities are launched as soon as possible. The ongoing work to implement the EU Directive on maritime spatial planning (2014/89EU) can be supported with the existing Baltic experience in MSP. The joint HELCOM-VASAB Working Group has gathered unique experience in transboundary spatial planning at sea which will also benefit, and allow for pro-active contribution, to the work the EU countries have to conduct according to the Directive. Targets and indicators for the objective ‘Save the Sea’
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