Eutrophication: Influence on Sustainable Development of the Baltic Region
Rybalchenko Elena
Summary
The present paper is the final part of the course “Sustainable
Development in the Baltic Region”. I used my previous expirience for creating
this paper, Swedish EPA report, HELCOM report and information taking during
the classes. The problem of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea is the main one
nowadays in this region. This assetment contains discription of interconnections
between nutrients and phosphorus input and ecosystem services and
furethermore sustainable development. In the second part of the paper I give
some examples of previous expirience of countries in the Baltic region for
priventing the eutrophication process increasing and even more decreasing it.
And I also analysed boundaries which restrain the work in this field.
“Sustainable development - development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs” - "Our Common Future"
World Commission on Environment and
Development report, 1987, chaired by Mrs Gro
Harlem Brundtland
Sustainable development of any society depends on ecosystem services
which the environment can provide. According to the Swedish EPA report from
February 2009 there ere four main kinds of such services: provisioning services,
regulating ecosystem services, supporting ecosystem services and cultural
ecosystem services. During this paper I’d like to make clear linkages between
eutrophication and these services and as a result between eutrophication and
sustainable development on example of the Baltic region.
As all we know, the problem of over input of the nutrients and
phosphorus to the Baltic Sea is mainly a result of ineffective industrial
technologies, agriculture and fossil fuel combustion from energy production and
transport.
Influx of sewage water, fertilizers causes enormous increase of shortlived microalgae and phytoplankton that reduce water transparency, oxygen
concentration.
Speaking on provision ecosystem services it’s necessary to say that most
kinds of fish spices are very vulnerable to depleting of oxygen in water. For
example, cod cannot spawn in such conditions or even can die. Low
transparency can be a reason of death of some kinds of algae on the bottom
which are using as health food, ingredients for cosmetic industry or fertilizers.
Water which contains a lot of algae is needed to be cleaned by more complicated
measures and can cause clogging of water filters on water cleaning stations.
Sedimentation of dead algae will have influence on depth in the sea and
furthermore on shipping.
Influence of eutrophication on supporting ecosystem services is not so
obvious as on previous ones. But still there’s a big impact on them. For
example, enormous increase of phytoplankton population maybe reason for
changes in the dominance of various species groups and quality of their habitats.
Biogeochemical cycles will be also changed from the equilibrium to constant
decreasing some components (as oxygen) and to increase of another ones (like
phosphorus). Generally natural resilience of marine ecosystem will not able to
manage so high anthropogenic influence.
Input of N2O as a result of decomposition of organic compounds will
make its contribution to process of climate change and also air quality. This is
one of the simplest examples of eutrofication influence on regulation ecosystem
services.
Of course linkages with cultural ecosystem services can be imagined
fairly clear. Nobody wants to swim or fish in the sea which full of microalgae
and have a poor biodiversity. This sea is not able to inspire any artist or painter.
And also historical coastal communities and fishing villages will have to change
their life trying to adapt for new environment.
Summarizing all these different kinds of impact I must conclude that
changing of their quantity and quality will be seen clearly in the economic
situation of the region, one of the visual indicator of sustainable development.
For example, a decrease of fishery stocks will reduce revenue from fishery, less
quantity of tourists will bring less money to the budget and so on.
Most of the Baltic Sea countries are working for preventing negative
consequences of eutrophication. During last decades many projects and plans
were implemented for achieving this purpose and even more of them are
implementing now. According to HELCOM Thematic Assessment in 2006 since
the 1970’s HELCOM has adopted several recommendations to reduce pollution
by nutrients in all sectors, including industry, municipal wastewater treatment
and agriculture. Swedish EPA developed plan for protection the Baltic region
(the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) for the Marine Environment). And also
other Scandinavian countries are developing their activities in that direction.
But still the question what measures and how exactly must be
implemented is unsolved and it doesn’t look easy to find answer it in nearest
future. There’re many reasons for this situation.
One major problem is that we have not yet fully understood the sources
for nutrients high concentrations.
Another problem is that visible effects from implementation of measures
will not be discernible for decades. So it’s complicated to estimate consequences
of any measures.
And also a warmer climate towards the end of century might exacerbate
eutrophication and make impossible achieving to some strategic goal.
One more is political and legislation boundaries, differences in
countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Sometimes it’s even difficult to get
information from another state about level of nutrients and phosphorus input.
Different indicators of achieving strategic purposes in some countries
make also difficult to estimate human influence on the Baltic Sea or benefits
from any strategy implementation.
Even we stop input of nutrients and phosphorus to the Baltic Sea it will
be still a problem what to do with compounds which are already in the water.
The reason is inability of marine ecosystem to stop the process of eutrophication
itself when this process is already started.
And definitely there’re a lot of technical boundaries. For example, we
still don’t know how to achieve 100% cleaning effect on the water cleaning
stations.
In the conclusion I’d like to say that results of this small assessment
show the importance of developing integrated work of all countries in the Baltic
region for future decreasing eutrophication of the Baltic Sea in fields of science
researchs, ecosystem management, legislation and so on.