This book explores environmental challenges in the Baltic region from an economic perspective. Featuring contributions from regional experts from Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European countries it addresses the response to eutrophication caused by increased loads of nutrients to the sea from agriculture, wastewater, industry and traffic, and cost-effective solutions to reach the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) targets, set up through the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). Contributions also explore the environmental impacts of rural landscape change during the post-communist period in the Baltic Sea region and a review of the ex-post evaluations of the costs and benefits generated by Baltic Sea nutrient abatement policies. Public policies towards marine protection, wind power establishment, and attitudes to paying for environmental protection, environmental resilience and the international cooperation in the Baltic region are also discussed.

Eight countries are used as templates for an examination from an economic perspective of the environmental and resource problems in the Nordic and Baltic region. Specific environmental issues assessed include international environmental cooperation, political debates that affect policies, and the impact of international financial assistance. Chapters consider such topics as fish stocks, geothermal power, and desertification in Iceland and nuclear power, pollution, and restructuring in Lithuania. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

�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.

On cover: Secondary education. On title page: A secondary education for Europe

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.

​This book is an update of the first BACC assessment, published in 2008. It offers new and updated scientific findings in regional climate research for the Baltic Sea basin. These include climate changes since the last glaciation (approx. 12,000 years ago), changes in the recent past (the last 200 years), climate projections up until 2100 using state-of-the-art regional climate models and an assessment of climate-change impacts on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. There are dedicated new chapters on sea-level rise, coastal erosion and impacts on urban areas. A new set of chapters deals with possible causes of regional climate change along with the global effects of increased greenhouse gas concentrations, namely atmospheric aerosols and land-cover change. The evidence collected and presented in this book shows that the regional climate has already started to change and this is expected to continue. Projections of potential future climates show that the region will probably become considerably warmer and wetter in some parts, but dryer in others. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have already shown adjustments to increased temperatures and are expected to undergo further changes in the near future. The BACC II Author Team consists of 141 scientists from 12 countries, covering various disciplines related to climate research and related impacts. BACC II is a project of the Baltic Earth research network and contributes to the World Climate Research Programme.