Transcript swdedish objectives2

Objectives for the Swedish
Environment
Seminar 5
Zero Eutrophication and
A balanced marine environment
Outline
• Introduction to the process of eutrophication
• Zero eutrophication and necessary changes
• The interim targets to be met with zero eutrophication
• A balanced marine environment and necessary changes
• The interim targets to be met with the marine environment
• Shared responsibility
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is an accelerated growth of algae on higher forms of
plant life caused by the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially
compounds of nitrogen and/or phosphorus and inducing an undesirable
disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the
quality of the water concerned
Heavy eutrophication entails a distinct reduction in the number of plant
and animal species in the water. A few species benefit, but at the
expense of all the others
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Eutrophication
Regions with eutrophic waters
Most minor lakes in the green
areas marked on the map have
total phosphorus concentrations
exceeding 25 µg/l.
From Monitor 14, Swedish
Environmental Protection
Agency
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The Process of Eutrophication
Cause
Supporting factor
High nutrient
Top layer
Direct effect
Supporting factor
High phytoplankton
biomass
Bottom layer
Indirect effects
Oxygen depletion,
flora/fauna changes
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Causes of eutrophication
The enrichment of water by nutrients can be of natural origin but it is
often dramatically increased by human activities.
• Main sources of anthropic nutrient input
• Runoff
• Erosion and leaching from fertilized agricultural areas
• Sewage from cities and industrial wastewater
• Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (from animal breeding and
combustion gases) can also be important.
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Nutrient leakage from agriculture
Nutrient emissions from agriculture are the main reason why
eutrophication has remained a serious problem in many Swedish inland
and coastal waters
Phosphorus in artificial fertilizer and manure (tonnes/year)
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Nutrient leakage from agriculture
Nitrogen compounds, unlike phosphorus, are highly mobile in the soil
and crops are seldom able to absorb all of the fertilizer nitrogen
Nitrogen in commercial fertilizer and manure (tonnes/year)
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Nitrogen in the ground water
• Concentrations of nitrogen in nitrate form have gradually risen in
many wells in the agricultural areas of Central and Southern Sweden,
presenting a health hazard to people who depend on such wells for
their drinking water
• Infants are sensitive to nitrate, which can be converted into
carcinogenic substances in the body
• More than 100,000 people in Sweden are depending on drinking
water which contains nitrate concentrations in excess of the Swedish
health limit (10 mg/l expressed as nitrate nitrogen)
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Marine eutrophication
Emissions of nitrogen to the sea through
Swedish watercourses underwent a
noticeable increase during the 1970s,
due above all, probably, to increased
nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere
and the increasing use of nitrogen
fertilizer in agriculture. In spite of
several different measures, no long-term
reduction of this nitrogen load on the sea
has so far been observed
Nutrient supply to the Baltic Sea proper and Öresund
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Marine eutrophication
• The eutrophication of seawater has entailed a significant increase in algal
bloom and other vegetation growth in the coastal and sea areas concerned
• Concentrations of nutrients in these waters have recently started to decline
again, but the sharp drop detected at the Gotland Deep in the winter of
2000/01 is most likely a temporary phenomenon
Nutrients in winter in the Baltic proper (Gotland
Deep station)
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Marine eutrophication
• At the depth of 70 meters in the Baltic there is a salinity discontinuity
between the surface water and the appreciably saltier bottom water, which
impedes the vertical water exchange preventing highly oxygenated surface
water from penetrating downwards. Consequently there is a permanent
oxygen deficiency
• Roughly one-third of the Baltic is practically dead
• The deepest basins of the Baltic contain hydrogen instead of oxygen
Oxygen deficiency near the sea bed
Oxygen trends in the Bothnian Sea and the
Baltic proper
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Monitoring of eutrophication
The main reasons for monitoring a water body for eutrophication are,
• to prevent the occurrence of eutrophication
• early warning purposes
• public health authorities need to know when eutrophication is likely to
start in order to allow them to implement preventive actions
• to know the level of development of the process
• to have a precise picture of the quality of the water.
This is mostly relevant for water companies, which have to deal with
eutrophic waters
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Zero eutrophication
Nutrient levels in soil and water must not be such that they adversely
affect human health, the conditions for biological diversity or the
possibility of varied use of land and water.
This objective is intended to be achieved within one generation
The environmental state described in this objective will be difficult to
bring about by 2020
Vigorous action needs to be taken without delay if the objective is to be
attained
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Necessary changes
• The release of nitrogen and phosphorous to soil and water must be
reduced
• Atmospheric deposition must be decreased to levels below the critical
loads (deposition of south-western Götaland needs to decrease to
between a half and a third of its levels in 1995)
• Research is required to be able to estimate the critical loads for
phosphorous and nitrogen in different sea areas
• Levels of plant nutrient substances mainly phosphorous need to
decease in about 100 extremely nutrient-rich lakes and watercourses
in Southern Skåne, the lake Mälar Region, Östergötland and the area
of Lake Vänern
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Interim targets
By 2009 programs of measures as provided for in the EC Water
Framework Directive will be established, specifying how good
ecological status is to be achieved in lakes and streams and in coastal
waters.
This target will be met, as EC legislation requires Sweden to prepare programs
of measures to achieve good ecological status in its lakes, streams and coastal
waters
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Interim targets
By 2010 Swedish waterborne anthropogenic emissions of phosphorus
compounds into lakes, streams and coastal waters will have decreased
continuously from 1995 levels
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1,000 tonnes
Phosphorus emissions to water fell by
15% between 1995 and 2000. Provided
that additional action is taken, they
should continue to decline.
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1995
2000
It is difficult to assess whether this interim target will be met, however, owing
to incomplete emission statistics for certain sources, and also because it is
unclear what is meant by ‘decreased continuously ’.The Swedish EPA has been
asked to define the target more precisely by 2004
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Interim targets
By 2010 Swedish waterborne anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen into
sea areas south of the Åland Sea will have been reduced by at least 30%
compared with 1995 levels, to 38,500 tonnes
70
1,000 tonnes
50
Target 2010: 47
Target 2010: 38.5
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The period 1995–2000 saw a marked
reduction of point-source emissions.
As yet, though, there has been no
clear decrease in diffuse emissions
from agriculture
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1995
2000
If emissions and leaching and thus inputs to the sea continue to decrease
according to plan, it should be possible to meet this interim target
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Interim targets
By 2010 emissions of ammonia in Sweden will have been reduced by at
least 15% compared with 1995 levels, to 51,700 tonnes
70
1,000 tonnes
Target 2010
50
Ammonia emissions have
fallen by almost 13% since
1995
30
10
95 96 97
98 99
00
01
The prospects of achieving the interim target by 2010 seem good
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Interim targets
By 2010 emissions of nitrogen oxides to air in Sweden will have been
reduced to 148,000 tonnes
1,000 tonnes
350
250
150
Target 2010
50
90
92
94
96
98
00
Swedish emissions of nitrogen
oxides have been reduced by
25% since 1990. With the
decisions now taken, emissions
are projected to fall to around
160,000 tonnes by 2010.
Provided
that
additional
measures are introduced
The target should be met. One source of uncertainty is the development of road
traffic, with freight transport accounting for a particularly large share of
emissions
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A balanced marine environment
The North Sea and the Baltic must have a long-term sustainable
productive capacity and biological diversity must be preserved. Coasts
and archipelagos must have a high degree of biological diversity and a
wealth of recreational, natural and cultural assets. Industry, recreation
and other utilization of the seas, coasts and archipelagos must be
compatible with the promotion of sustainable development. Particularly
valuable areas must be protected against encroachment and other
disturbances.
This objective is intended to be achieved within one generation
Attainment of this environmental quality objective is dependent
on the objectives Zero Eutrophication and A Non-Toxic
Environment being achieved.
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Necessary changes
• The development of shallow sea areas and other coastline waters that
are important for biological production must be prevented
• The shoreline must be protected. Exploitation of areas that are especially valuable for nature conservation
• Fishing must be adjusted to suit the size of fish stocks to ensure the
preservation of long-term production capacity and biological diversity
• For naturally occurring species in coastal areas and the sea to be
preserved sufficiently, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions as well as
the load from toxic substances must be reduced and the discharge of
oil from ships must be prevented
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Interim targets
• By 2010 long-term protection will be provided for at least 50% of
marine environments of high conservation value and at least 70% of
coastal and archipelago areas with significant natural and cultural
assets.
• By 2005 another five marine areas will be protected as reserves, and
the competent authorities will have decided which other areas in the
marine environment are in need of long-term protection
There are currently about 140 areas of national interest which incorporate coastal
and archipelago environments, but the areas selected need to be reviewed.
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Interim targets
• By 2005 a strategy will have been adopted for the
preservation and use of the cultural heritage and
agricultural landscapes of coastal and archipelago areas.
• By 2005 action programs will have been prepared and
introduced for threatened marine species and fish stocks that are
in need of targeted measures.
• By 2010 total annual bycatches of marine mammals will not
exceed 1% of each population. Bycatches of sea birds and
undesired fish species will have been reduced to levels that have
no adverse effect on the populations concerned.
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Interim targets
• By 2008 catches of fish, including bycatches of juveniles, will not
exceed recruitment, enabling fish stocks to survive and, where
necessary, recover
• By 2010 noise and other disturbance from boat traffic will be
negligible in particularly sensitive and designated archipelago
and coastal areas.
• By 2010 discharges of oil and chemicals from ships will be
minimized and reduced to a negligible level by stricter legislation
and increased monitoring
• By 2009 programs of measures as provided for in the EC Water
Framework Directive will be established, specifying how good
surface water status can be achieved.
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Shared responsibility
• Farmers, the Swedish Board of Agriculture and agricultural
organizations
• Energy and transport sectors
• Households, tourist organizations, trade and industry and municipalities
• Regional authorities
• The national board of fisheries, fishing organizations and fishermen
• Shipping lines, the National Maritime Administration and the Swedish
coast guard
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