Ecosystems and Living Resources of the Baltic Sea

Ecosystems and Living Resources of the Baltic Sea PDF

Author: Evald Ojaveer

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-03-08

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 3319530100

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This volume presents a reconstruction of the formation of the environmental conditions and biota in the present-day Baltic Sea area during the last glacial cycle and thereafter under the influence of extra-terrestrial, climatic and geological factors. Abiotic conditions in the contemporary Baltic Sea (water salinity, temperature, oxygen and light conditions, currents and other water movements) are characterized and in this background the natural regional system of the sea has been generated. Important issues are considered such as life forms in the Baltic and their dependence on the natural environment (both in the conditions of the relative stable environment and during the regime shifts), as well as anthropogenic influences and the basic differences between the areas of the World Ocean and the brackish Baltic Sea. This book also equips readers with basic principles of assessments and management of ecosystems and fish resources (including the long-term assessment and forecast on ecosystems and fish resources) and provides information on the structures of international collaboration developed in the Baltic Sea.

Integrative Approaches Towards Sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region

Integrative Approaches Towards Sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region PDF

Author: Walter Leal Filho

Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 564

ISBN-13:

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The challenges of sustainable development require that everybody, every institution and every nation work towards long-term strategies in order to move away from unsustainable practices. The same line of thinking applies to all nations around the Baltic Sea. A general challenge for the Baltic Sea region is to broaden the interest of people in discussions of national approaches supporting sustainability. Finding effective instruments to support the process of sustainable development in countries in transition with an emerging and largely inexperienced entrepreneur community and economically fragile, is as important as the promotion of long-term integrated sustainability strategies in countries which have well established democracies. The knowledge of the ongoing changes and the driving social, economic and ecological factors essential for the implementation of sustainable development in countries in transition must be broadened. A special need seen in the three Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - as elsewhere in the Baltic region, is the need to avoid development patterns of - business as usual and to gain access to information and to advancements in sustainable development both in Europe and worldwide. The Baltic countries now joining the EU have to build capacity, for example by establishing teams of young researches to draw up sustainable development strategies at the national level, which are consistent with European strategies. A bottom-up flow from the grass-root level is required to change the pattern of development strategies in the Baltic countries. The Conference - Integrative Approaches Towards Sustainability, whose experiences are documented inthis book, was held on 26-29 March, 2003."

Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea

Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea PDF

Author: Michael Gilek

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-03-21

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 3319270060

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This edited volume presents a comprehensive and coherent interdisciplinary analysis of challenges and possibilities for sustainable governance of the Baltic Sea ecosystem by combining knowledge and approaches from natural and social sciences. Focusing on the Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM) and associated multi-level, multi-sector and multi-actor challenges, the book provides up-to-date descriptions and analyses of environmental governance structures and processes at the macro-regional Baltic Sea level. Organised in two parts, Part 1 presents in-depth case studies of environmental governance practices and challenges linked to five key environmental problems - eutrophication, chemical pollution, overfishing, oil discharges and invasive species. Part 2 analyses and compares governance challenges and opportunities across the five case studies, focusing on governance structures and EAM implementation, knowledge integration and science support, as well as stakeholder communication and participation. Based on these cross-case comparisons, this book also draws a set of general conclusions on possible ways of improving the governance of the Baltic Sea by promoting what are identified as vital functions of environmental governance: coordination, integration, interdisciplinarity, precaution, deliberation, communication and adaptability.

Regional Environmental Governance and Avenues for the Ecosystem Approach to management in the Baltic Sea Area

Regional Environmental Governance and Avenues for the Ecosystem Approach to management in the Baltic Sea Area PDF

Author: Sara Söderström

Publisher: Linköping University Electronic Press

Published: 2017-01-17

Total Pages: 61

ISBN-13: 9176856062

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This thesis explores the avenues for the ecosystem approach to management in the Baltic Sea Region. This region is one of the most contaminated water bodies in the world, although the first Regional Seas Convention was created here and theregion has a long history of cooperation and environmental protection. The current environmental governance arrangements are examined with specific focuson governance structures, cross-sectoral integration and ecological boundaries.The ecosystem approach to management as both a tool and vision of holistic management of natural resources is traced through the evolution of environmental governance, as well as its manifestation in contemporary environmental policies in the region. It is found that the major EU directives, as well as HELCOM polices, promote the ecosystem approach and that its presence has increased inrecent years; it is now the major guiding principle in European marine governance. However, the governance structures impede implementation indifferent ways. The environmental problem areas in the region all require different governance arrangements, thus obstructing a holistic approach. The environmental problems per se also affect each other, necessitating far-reaching sectoral integration and cross-border cooperation, which at present is the major obstacle regarding implementation. The contemporary trends combining solid regionalisation through HELCOM with increased Europeanisation and macro regionalisation by different EU initiatives offer some promise, but the cross sectoral impediments must be resolved if the ecosystem approach is to become apractical approach and not just a policy principle.

Governing a Common Sea

Governing a Common Sea PDF

Author: Marko Joas

Publisher: Earthscan

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1849771499

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�This is a very welcome volume, and it will reach a large audience and readership among those involved in these issues from a truly multidisciplinary perspective; in essence, a much needed book!�Erik Bonsdorff, professor of marine biology at �bo Akademi University, Finland�This timely volume provides a thorough account of how the highly advanced industrial societies seek to govern and manage the Baltic Sea. The way they proceed, and the degree to which they succeed, provide valuable lessons for riparian states seeking to avoid tragedies of their commons.�Lennart J. Lundqvist, professor of environmental policy and administration, University of Gothenburg, SwedenHow is a natural common pool resource such as a sea, which is shared by several countries, best governed? The potential for international conflict is immense, as each country may have different agendas with regard to issues such as exploitation and environmental protection.This book uses a case study of the Baltic Sea Region to examine this complex problem. The sea itself has been highly vulnerable to pollution and recently the bordering nations have begun to change their mode of cooperation to tackle this issue by establishing several new forums to manage the sea. Administrative and political structures developed in the region are reviewed and shown to provide a model that could be applied to other seas and natural resource systems elsewhere in the world.

Managing a Sea

Managing a Sea PDF

Author: Ing-Marie Gren

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 1134190492

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Marine resources and fish stocks are now high on the international and economic research agendas, and the management of highly complex marine ecosystems is increasingly important. The task is complicated by the number of interlinked factors to be taken into account, such as social impacts, drainage systems, marine currents and the ecosystems involved. This interdisciplinary volume presents a comprehensive blueprint for managing a sea. Focused on the Baltic Sea, it employs a range of methods and techniques, including nutrient budgets and simulation models, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), economic valuation and policy analysis, to arrive at an assessment of causes and consequences of pollution in the sea and the management of its resources. From the analysis of data on land use, population, costs of nutrient reductions and associated impacts, it presents significant and highly practical empirical and policy results. It diagnoses the causes of marine degradation, identifies through the use of simulation models cost-effective strategies for remediation and sets out the policies to be pursued collectively by the countries around the sea to restore and manage their common resource. This is an exemplary study in the application of ecological economics to complex natural resource systems. It will be of interest to students, researchers and professionals working on any aspect of marine ecosystem management.