Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Marine Spatial Plan Proposal for the Baltic Sea

Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Marine Spatial Plan Proposal for the Baltic Sea

Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Marine Spatial Plan proposal for the Baltic Sea Consultation document Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 2018 Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management Date: 10/04/2018 Publisher: Björn Sjöberg Contact person environmental assessment and SEA: Jan Schmidtbauer Crona Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management Box 11 930, SE-404 39 Gothenburg, Sweden www.havochvatten.se Photos, illustrations, etc.: Source Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management unless otherwise stated. This strategic environmental assessment (SEA) was prepared by the consulting firm COWI AB on behalf of the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM). Consultant: Mats Ivarsson, Assignment Manager, COWI Kristina Bernstén, Assignment Manager, SEA Selma Pacariz, Administrator, Environment Ulrika Roupé, Administrator, Environment Emelie von Bahr, Administrator, Environment Marian Ramos Garcia, Administrator, GIS Morten Hjorth and others Strategic Environmental Assessment Marine Spatial Plan – Baltic Sea Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 2017 Preface In the Marine Spatial Planning Ordinance, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) is given the responsibility for preparing proposals on three marine spatial plans (MSPs) with associated strategic environmental assessments (SEA) in broad collaboration. The MSPs shall provide guidance to public authorities and municipalities in the planning and review of claims for the use of the marine spatial planning area. The plans shall contribute to sustainable development and shall be consistent with the objective of a good environmental status in the sea. In the work on marine spatial planning, SwAM prepared a current status report (SwAM report 2015:2) and a roadmap (SwAM 2016-21), which included the scope of the SEA. On 15 February 2018, the Agency published three MSP drafts for the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea, and Skagerrak and Kattegat. The associated SEAs and sustainability assessments were published on 10 April 2018. The SEA for the MSP draft for the Baltic Sea in the dialogue phase was prepared by the consulting firm WSP Sverige AB. Comments submitted during the dialogue phase were worked into the MSP proposals prior to the consultation phase between 15 February and 15 August 2018. A revised SEA for the three revised MSPs was prepared by the consulting firm COWI AB. Together with new documentation from the environmental assessment tool Symphony, analysed by the consultants Medins Havs- och Vattenkonsulter, comments submitted during the dialogue phase were worked into the SEA. Symphony contributes to a more detailed spatial analysis of the nature values, their sensitivity, and the impact from the plan proposals. The revision was done in collaboration with SwAM, where COWI AB provided the assessment of environmental effects and consequences along with comparisons with environmental objectives. The results from the SEA will be included in the continued planning work and will constitute input for revision of the plan proposal prior to the review phase in the spring of 2019. Gothenburg, 10 April 2018 Björn Sjöberg, Director, Department for Marine and Water Management 4 Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 2018 CONTENTS 1 SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 7 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 16 Background: National marine spatial planning with associated environmental assessment ..................................................................... 16 MSP’s purpose and objective ................................................................. 17 The MSPs’ relations to other plans and programmes ............................ 18 Strategic environmental assessment ..................................................... 20 Guiding objectives ................................................................................. 20 Sustainability assessment ...................................................................... 21 3 MARINE SPATIAL PLAN - BALTIC SEA ................................................. 22 Summary of the Baltic Sea MSP ............................................................. 23 Northern Baltic Sea and Södra Kvarken ................................................ 24 Central Baltic Sea ................................................................................... 25 South-eastern Baltic Sea ........................................................................ 26 Southern Baltic Sea ............................................................................... 28 South-western Baltic Sea and Öresund .................................................. 29 4 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT METHOD............................................ 31 Purpose of the environmental assessment ............................................. 31 Scope ...................................................................................................... 31 Symphony............................................................................................... 33 Environmental assessment method ....................................................... 35 5 BASIC CONDITIONS ........................................................................... 39 General ................................................................................................... 39 Physical and chemical conditions .......................................................... 39 Biological conditions .............................................................................. 43 Protected areas ....................................................................................... 53 6 CURRENT SITUATION ........................................................................ 64 Sectors and themes ................................................................................ 64 Cumulative effects - present situation.................................................... 73 7 ZERO ALTERNATIVE .......................................................................... 88 Sectors and themes ............................................................................... 88 Outlook towards 2050 ............................................................................ 94 Cumulative effects - zero alternative ...................................................... 97 5 Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 2018 8 PLAN ALTERNATIVE ........................................................................ 113 Sectors and themes ............................................................................... 113 Outlook towards 2050 .......................................................................... 118 Cumulative effects - plan alternative ................................................... 118 9 COLLECTIVE ASSESSMENT .............................................................. 140 Environmental impact ......................................................................... 140 Evaluation of the plan – sustainability and goal attainment ................. 149 10 MONITORING AND AUDIT ................................................................. 162 Continued planning process and environmental assessment .............. 162 Evaluation and follow-up ..................................................................... 162 11 REFERENCES ................................................................................ 163 12 APPENDICES .................................................................................. 168 Glossary ................................................................................................ 168 6 Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 2018 1 Summary Background, objectives and purpose The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) was assigned by the Swedish Government to prepare marine spatial plans (MSPs) for the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea, and Skagerrak and Kattegat. For each MSP, an environmental assessment and associated environmental impact assessment, the strategic environmental assessment (SEA), are also being done. This report is the SEA for the Baltic Sea marine spatial planning area. It constitutes a consultation document together with the proposals on the MSP that were prepared by SwAM for consultation in the spring and summer of 2018. In this SEA, the MSP’s five marine sub-regions have been analysed – the Northern Baltic Sea and Södra Kvarken, the Central Baltic Sea, the South- eastern Baltic Sea, the Southern Baltic Sea, and the South-western Baltic Sea and Öresund. The objective of the SEA is to integrate environmental aspects in the planning and decision-making so that sustainable development is promoted (Chapter 6 Section 1 of the Environmental Code). With the help of the planning method Symphony, the cumulative environmental impact within the marine spatial planning area has been estimated and analysed with the aim of assessing the result of the MSP in relation to the zero alternative for 2030. Symphony is presented in the SwAM report 2018:1. In parallel with the SEA, a sustainability assessment was also done. The sustainability assessment is based on the three sustainability dimensions: Economy, Ecology, and Social aspects. Through the sustainability assessment, an expanded perspective is added to the SEA by also covering the plan’s socio- economic and social impact. The sustainability assessment is presented in a separate report.

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