Local Baltic Sea Action Plan Kalmar Municipality Contents Executive summary - our local blue strategy for securing an attractive local community and a prosperous Baltic Sea 1. The strategic background of the Baltic Sea City Accelerator 2. Municipal action in relation to the international and the local water management perspective 3. Local Baltic Sea Action plan - Municipality X 3.1 Overview of the local eutrophication challenges and opportunities 3.1.1 Summary of the Environmental, Social and Economic System 3.1.2 Major Local Sources of Nutrients 3.1.3 Important Geographical Target areas for restoration 3.2 Our local strategy for securing an attractive community towards 2021 3.2.1 A Mission Statement 3.2.2 A Vision Statement 3.2.3 Strategic objectives 3.3 Actions and measures for the period 2017-2021 3.3.1 Clear Coastal Waters 3.3.2 Clean and safe water traffic 3.3.3 Systematic Water Area Management 3.3.4 . Active Baltic Sea Citizenship 4. Summary of resources and solutions that need to be secured for the period 2017- 2021 4.1 Knowledge 4.2 Solutions and innovation 4.3 Cross sectoral collaboration 4.4 Finance 4.5 Monitoring and data 5. Summary of costs for implementing actions towards 2021 Executive summary – our local blue strategy for securing an attractive local community and a prosperous Baltic Sea Call for Local Action - investing in measures and capturing local benefits 1 1. The strategic background of the Baltic Sea City Accelerator The Baltic Sea City Accelerator is a platform for public and private actors to explore and co- create innovative approaches to local water and wastewater management challenges, and meet sustainability objectives. Together, we aim to develop new opportunities for growth and create attractive communities for citizens and businesses. During 2016–2017, a select group of municipalities from the Baltic Sea region joined forces with a broad range of international experts to co-develop cost-effective, smart and innovative solutions for local water and wastewater management challenges. Collectively, these efforts will improve local waters and increase competitiveness, and will contribute to an improved state of the Baltic Sea, securing future prosperity in this region. 2 2. Municipal action in relation to the international and the local water management perspective In 2007, the ministerial meeting of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) approved the Baltic Sea Action Plan, which determines the good ecological state of the Baltic Sea and its indicators, in terms of eutrophication, harmful substances, biodiversity and shipping. The aim of the Action Plan is to restore the good ecological status of the sea by 2021: a healthy marine environment with diverse biological components functioning in balance. HELCOM’s Action Plan was reviewed in a ministerial meeting towards the end of 2013, in terms of emission reduction targets. The European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) apply to all states around the Baltic Sea region. The aim of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is to create a common framework for those actions by member states of the EU that are necessary for the restoration and preservation of the good state of the marine environment by 2020. The European Union’s Strategy and Action Plan for the Baltic Sea Region were approved by the European Council in October 2009. This first internal macro regional strategy set out by the EU makes the balanced development of the region more effective, makes the actions taken by the EU, countries, regions, networks, and actors at a local level more unified, and promotes cooperation between these actors. The Action Plan related to the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region was updated in 2012, and the Commission published its first evaluation of the success of the strategy in the summer of 2013. According to the evaluation, the intensified cooperation has produced joint political decisions and hundreds of new projects and networks. However, to achieve permanent results, the strategy’s goals need to be further incorporated into the administration, funding, and political decision-making in the region. The joint Baltic Sea Action Plan between the cities of Turku and Helsinki promotes all of the more extensive programmes mentioned above, as well as implementing and supporting their goals. It also supports the commitment of the Finnish government to make Finland into a model country for the recycling of nutrients. Through this joint initiative, the cities act as active trendsetters and major actors in the Baltic Sea region. It is a municipality’s responsibility to govern the local environment and ensure that the 16 national environmental goals, which were established in 1999, are fulfilled. Kalmar Municipality initiated the Kalmar Sound Commission (“Kalmarsundskommissionen”) in 2007 that involves all municipalities around the Kalmar Sound. The Commission collaborates for a clean Kalmar Sound and Baltic Sea. Fundamental to the Commission are the grass root activities carried out by local NGOs and municipalities. Collaboration is sought whenever and wherever action in 3 different municipalities can be combined and enhanced. By joining forces, larger projects can be carried out and actions can be located where the benefits for the Baltic Sea are the greatest, regardless of municipal boundaries. The Kalmar Sound Commission’s aim is to take its share of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. For Kalmar Municipality this means reducing 72.1 tonnes nitrogen/year and 6.7 tonnes phosphorous/ year by 2021. Kalmar Municipality has an additional goal to get good status on all water bodies according to the national Water Framework Directive by 2021. Mission: Kalmar Municipality will, together with the other municipalities in the Kalmar Sound Commission, work for a cleaner Kalmar Sound and Baltic Sea, while simultaneously achieving growth in its tourism and food production industries. Vision: Kalmar Municipality will by 2021, together with the other municipalities in the Kalmar Sound Commission, take its share of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. Kalmar Municipality will also get good status on all water bodies, according to the national Water Framework Directive. 4 3. Local Baltic Sea Action plan – Kalmar Municipality 3.1 Overview of the local eutrophication challenges and opportunities The Swedish municipality of Kalmar has a population of 67,000 and approximately 47 km of coastline on the Baltic Sea. The Municipality’s two main industries are tourism and food production (poultry farms). One of the main attractions of Kalmar is its proximity to the sea. There are several beaches in the city center that are frequently used in the summer and Kalmar harbor is popular with boat tourists. The tourism industry has blossomed recently and the number of hotel nights in Kalmar increased by 9% from 2015 and 2016 to a total of 405 653 hotel nights. One reason for the increase is the number of water-related sporting events which are attracted to Kalmar for its location on a clean Baltic Sea, such as the IronMan, a mini-triathlon and Kanalsimmet (Channel Swim). The Kalmar region leads the nation in egg and chicken production and, as a result, there density of livestock in the region is high. 44% of the 3,188 farms in the Kalmar County host livestock and 17% (193 602 ha) of all the land area in Kalmar County is used for food production (considerably higher than the national average of 7%). While there are no calculations on how much manure is produced annually due to food production in Kalmar, at present more manure is produced than can be handled locally. Several food producers in Kalmar pay considerable amounts to have excess manure transported to other regions in Sweden. If this excess manure cannot be handled in the future, food production in the region will stagnate or be forced to decrease. This situation merits consideration in a larger context; on the global level, food production is forecast to increase 20% by 2030 to meet the demands of a growing population. It is likely that food production will increase in areas that already have the requisite infrastructure – such as Kalmar. Given this scenario, Kalmar will experience an increase in the amount of livestock (and thus manure) in a region where the amount of area to spread manure remains the same. Therefore, one of the municipality’s main challenges going forward will be to ensure that nutrients from its food production industry – primarily poultry-related – do not enter and pollute the Baltic Sea. In short, Kalmar faces the challenge and opportunities of working for a cleaner Kalmar Sound and Baltic Sea, while simultaneously achieving growth in its tourism and food production industries. 5 Map of Kalmar Municipality. With its narrow inlet and being surrounded by fertile land, the Kalmar Sound is a miniature version of the Baltic Sea. The problems that arise with eutrophication are greatest in shallow coastal bays, where nutrients have accumulated in the sediment for decades. Nutrients that come from land and the nutrients that are trapped in the sediment enhance the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea and have led to an increase of algae and stickleback while decreasing zooplankton and predatory fish. One of the causes for the decrease in predatory fish, such as bass and pike, are the man-made changes on land and in water bodies that impact the fish’s ability to reproduce. While the extent of the problem is not fully known, the man-made changes have been carried out for over a century. Many of the region’s ditches, streams and agricultural land have been greatly altered for drainages. Not only has this resulted in a decrease in breeding grounds for predatory fish, it also leads to water rushing to the sea rather than being held for a longer period in the landscape where nutrients could settle.