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To the Swedish Minister for the Environment, Andreas Carlgren

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To the Swedish Minister for the Environment, Andreas Carlgren Foreword The Marine Environment Inquiry was appointed by the Swedish Government. The Inquiry’s final report was submitted to the Minister for the Environment, Andreas Carlgren, on 9 May 2008. This English edition contains a selection of the chapters included in the Inquiry’s entire final report in Swedish. The aim is to present to an English-speaking audience those proposals in the report that primarily have an international dimension. These mostly concern intergovernmental cooperation focusing on the Baltic Sea (Chapter 3) and marine spatial planning (Chapter 4). Furthermore, key aspects that should be included in a Swedish national marine environment strategy are presented in Chapter 2. The summary presents all the Inquiry’s proposals, even those which are not otherwise dealt with in the English version. Stockholm in June 2008 Göran Enander Thomas Nilsson Head of the Inquiry Principal Secretary To the Swedish Minister for the Environment, Andreas Carlgren On 13 July 2006, the Swedish Government decided to appoint a one-man inquiry to investigate how research and environmental monitoring can be used to better effect to recreate a good marine environment in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat and Skagerrak areas of the North Sea. Director-General Göran Enander was appointed to lead the inquiry on the same day. On 16 May 2007, the Government adopted supplementary terms of reference for the inquiry relating to issues such as international management of the Baltic Sea and the planning of Swedish sea areas. The inquiry has called itself the Marine Environment Inquiry. On 20 November 2006, Desk Officer Rolf Carman was appointed chief expert to the inquiry and Senior Advisor Johan Appelberg, Deputy Director Erik Arnberg, Deputy Director Ingela Byfors, Senior Advisor Sverker Evans, Senior Advisor Stellan F Hamrin, Chief of Staff Maria Hellsten and Desk Officer Sofia Karlsson were appointed as additional experts. On 12 March 2007, Water Conservation Director Dea Carlsson, Director Ingemar Cato, Associate Professor Bertil Håkansson and Professor Lena Kautsky were also appointed to the inquiry. On 15 August 2007, Investigator Bengt Larsén was also appointed. Thomas Nilsson was appointed Principal Secretary on 18 September 2006. Katarina Vrede (9 October 2006) and Josefin Dahlander (16 July 2007) were appointed as inquiry secretaries. The interim report “A Swedish Marine Environment Institute” (Official Government Report SOU 2006:112) was submitted in December 2006. SOU 2008:48 I hereby submit the inquiry’s final report “Better management of the marine environment”, thereby completing my assignment. Stockholm, 9 May 2008 Göran Enander Thomas Nilsson Josefin Dahlander Katarina Vrede Content Summary .......................................................................... 11 1 Introduction............................................................... 23 1.1 The assignment ........................................................................ 23 1.2 Implementation and working methods .................................. 24 1.2.1 Assignments to consultants and researchers .............. 24 1.2.2 Meetings with the expert group................................... 26 1.2.3 Hearings ........................................................................ 26 1.2.4 Visits to other countries............................................... 26 1.2.5 Other visits and meetings ............................................ 27 1.2.6 Consultation with other government inquiries/commissions.................................................. 27 1.3 Sweden’s surrounding sea areas .............................................. 27 1.3.1 Marine environmental problems.................................. 31 1.3.2 The sea as a resource..................................................... 37 1.4 The regulatory framework....................................................... 37 1.4.1 International law of the sea.......................................... 37 1.4.2 Special rules governing the sea areas near Sweden...... 38 1.4.3 Regional conventions and organisations for the protection of the marine environment........................ 39 1.4.4 EC legislation governing the marine environment..... 40 1.4.5 Swedish legislation........................................................ 43 1.5 The difficulties society faces in dealing with environmental problems.......................................................... 46 1.5.1 Achieving international agreements and regulations at the political level ................................... 47 1.5.2 Underlying political causes of marine environmental problems............................................... 49 7 Content SOU 2008:48 1.5.3 Perspectives on change .................................................54 1.5.4 Reflections.....................................................................56 2 A fifteen-point strategy for the marine environment........59 3 Intergovernmental cooperation on the marine environment and a Swedish marine authority.................65 3.1 The EU Marine Strategy Directive (MSD) ............................65 3.1.1 The objectives and purpose of the directive................65 3.1.2 Marine regions and programmes of measures.............66 3.1.3 The implementation process ........................................67 3.1.4 Joint international management strategy ....................68 3.1.5 Option of creating pilot projects under the EU Marine Strategy Directive (MSD)................................68 3.2 Relation to other policy areas..................................................68 3.2.1 The principle of subsidiarity and the MSD .................70 3.2.2 Preparations prior to the MSD in other Baltic Sea countries ........................................................................71 3.3 A Swedish central authority responsible for implementing the EU Marine Strategy Directive (MSD) .....72 3.3.1 Background ...................................................................72 3.3.2 The authority’s remit....................................................73 3.3.3 Feasible competent authorities ....................................74 3.3.4 A specific authority as competent ...............................77 3.4 Cooperation between intergovernmental bodies and conventions to implement the MSD.......................................78 3.4.1 Significance of intergovernmental environmental cooperation....................................................................79 3.4.2 HELCOM as an intergovernmental actor ..................80 3.4.3 OSPAR as an intergovernmental actor .......................85 3.4.4 Analysis and conclusions..............................................86 3.5 The Baltic Sea as a pilot project for marine environment work ..........................................................................................87 3.5.1 The implications of a pilot project...............................89 3.5.2 Financing of measures in the pilot project..................90 3.5.3 Analysis and conclusions..............................................94 8 SOU 2008:48 Content 3.6 Swedish action plan for regional cooperation on the Baltic Sea environment ............................................................ 97 3.6.1 Areas for common action............................................. 98 3.6.2 Consideration of the marine environment in the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) .............. 99 3.6.3 Consideration for the marine environment within the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) .............................................................. 102 3.6.4 Other areas for cooperation....................................... 104 3.6.5 Analysis and conclusions ........................................... 106 3.7 Funding and consequences.................................................... 111 4 Planning of Swedish sea areas................................... 113 4.1 Legislation of relevance for marine spatial planning............ 113 4.1.1 Application of the Environmental Code in sea areas ............................................................................. 113 4.1.2 The application of the Planning and Building Act in sea areas................................................................... 114 4.1.3 The Continental Shelf Act......................................... 116 4.2 A planning system for Swedish sea areas.............................. 117 4.2.1 The problems .............................................................. 117 4.2.2 Planning aspects.......................................................... 120 4.2.3 Analysis and conclusions ........................................... 121 4.3 A government authority competent for marine spatial planning .................................................................................. 124 4.3.1 National responsibility............................................... 125 4.3.2 Responsibilities of authorities in the sea area ........... 125 4.3.3 The competent authority for marine spatial planning....................................................................... 127 4.3.4 Analysis and conclusions ........................................... 129 4.3.5 Instructions for the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning ................................................ 131 4.3.6 Statutory review.......................................................... 132 4.4 Regional responsibility for marine spatial planning in the territorial sea and within the base-line .......................... 133 4.4.1 The present regional organisation for planning.......
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