The Living Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is home for unique species but only a third of the most diverse underwater environments are currently protected. The Living Baltic Sea project raises awareness on marine biodiversity. It also makes the marine protection process easier for the owners of biologically diverse water areas.

The Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU), led by the Finnish Environmental Institute, has identified the Baltic Sea’s shallow coastal waters as especially rich in species and habitats. Most of these water areas are privately owned. Therefore, it is important to inspire private landowners to protect the sea’s biodiversity and act responsibly in their water areas.

Increasing the amount of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Baltic Sea makes a difference: the current level of protection could be doubled by a one percent increase in MPAs, if the new MPAs are situated correctly.

The Living Baltic Sea project offers landowners instructions on establishing an MPA in their water area.

As a pilot, the project has established a private marine protection area, covering 4800 hectares, around the Gullkrona island in the Archipelago Sea. The area hosts a variety of important species, including bladder wrack, blue mussels and eelgrass, which are all essential for the Baltic Sea. The protection process in Gullkrona was carried out in collaboration with the area’s over 20 landowners. The protected area was established in the October of 2022.

Read more: https://www.bsag.fi/en/projects/the-living-baltic-sea/