in Brief 2013 DECEMBER CONTENTS PEKKA TUURI Looking back, 1 moving forward Looking back and Celebrating the first 2 year of implementation of BONUS in moving forward the European Parliament in Brussels by Kaisa Kononen, Executive Director, BONUS Guest column: 3 Member of the European Parliament Ms. Satu Hassi BONUS strategic 4 research agenda updated BONUS call 2012: 5 Viable ecosystem projects announced BAMBI - Baltic Sea 5 marine biodiversity BIO-C3 - Biodiversity 6 changes BLUEPRINT - Biological 6 lenses using gene prints In many ways this autumn has been for BONUS a turning point: the first year of implementation of CHANGE - Changing we have looked back on the now closed BONUS+ phase, decided BONUS (see next page). The pro- 7 cess concerning the other part of antifouling practices and negotiated a set of new projects as well as moved forward to for leisure boats the call, Innovation, is still con- in the Baltic Sea consider the BONUS future beyond 2017. tinuing, and the outcome will be announced in early 2014. COCOA - Nutrient 8 he two years since the and directly addressed the ob- of summaries’ will be published For BONUS, the thematic cocktails in end of the 16 BONUS+ jective. An impressive amount as AMBIO special issue in the be- content of the programme is not coastal zones projects have been a of new knowledge that supports ginning of next year. written in stone. The first stra- INSPIRE - Ecosystem 8 period of intensive implementation and development Selection of projects of the tegic research agenda was de- models for sustainable summarising and of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Ac- BONUS call 2012: Viable ecosys- veloped in 2006, then mainly utilisation of fish publishingT of the scientific work tion Plan in particular, and other tem and Innovation parts were focusing on the marine environ- resources done. In order to get an overview environmental governance and made already last summer. The ment. In 2011, the second re- Soils2Sea - Reducing 9 on how well the BONUS+ call re- decision making processes in the amount of funding, total of ca. search agenda included not only nutrient loadings from sponded to its objective to fund Baltic Sea context, had been pro- EUR 33 million, comes from al- the marine environment but also agricultural soils research projects that focus ”on duced. together 18 national funding the catchment and innovation. supporting an ecosystem-based Among the topics addressed institutions in nine countries This autumn, the agenda has been Baltic Sea Science 10 approach to management of are e.g. scenarios on how effective surrounding the Baltic Sea and updated again to ensure it re- Congress 2013 and human activities” BONUS asked the Baltic Sea Action Plan will from the European Union. It has sponds better to the rapidly devel- public engagement the project coordinators to write be within the changing climate, been an administrative challenge oping policy landscape. News room 11 summary articles of the projects’ what is the impact of the nutri- to put all the needed financial BONUS is currently consider- outcomes. It was a delight to ob- ent abatement measures in catch- and contractual arrangements in ing its future after the end of the BONUS Steering 12 serve that all projects had so well ment, how well the multinational place so that the projects could current stage in 2017, then possi- Committee Chair, and multilevel governance works, start in the beginning of 2014. As bly within Horizon 2020. At the Dr. Eugenijus Butkus as well as how should maritime regards the ‘Viable ecosystem’ the EU level, the target included in BONUS members 12 activities be located in order negotiation and decision process Horizon 2020 is to foster smooth to reduce environmental risks. has been finalised, and thus the progress from basic scientific Within the BONUS+ projects, seven champions of an extreme- findings to innovative market- altogether 60 PhD theses were ly competitive selection process able products, which in the ma- defended - as important as pro- can now be announced (see pages rine/maritime context has been duction of new knowledge is the 5-9), grant agreements signed and formulated as the target of ‘blue upbringing of a new generation of the projects started. BONUS an- growth’. It is obvious that in the Baltic Sea scientists who under- nounced the projects in the high- future BONUS, when its next stand from the very beginning of est possible European forum, strategic research and innova- their career, that science has during the event organised in the tion agenda is drafted, sustain- to benefit the society. The European Parliament, Brussels, able development, including blue articles and a ‘summary on 26 November 2013 to celebrate growth, will be in focus. Kaisa Kononen participated in a panel discussion “How jobs and ecology go together” at the Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region on 11 November 2013 in Vilnius, Lithuania In this column we publish invited opinion articles by experts of their fields, BONUS guest column featuring particular perspectives on a freely chosen topic relevant to the BONUS community and the knowledge-based governance of the regional seas. Celebrating the first year of implementation of BONUS in No recovery the European Parliament in Brussels of the Baltic Sea without EU action S The high profile event held in the U European Parliament on 26 November BON In the European Parliament – and in other EU institutions as well, I guess 2013 celebrated the first year of – most people seem to think that in Northern Europe everything is fine: implementation phase of BONUS and Northern EU member countries are wealthy, people are law abiding, Ms. Satu Hassi, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and the convening co-host of announced the first projects to receive societies well organised, nature is clean and environmental policy is fine. the BONUS event in the European Parliament, shares her views about funding within the domain of the Against this image it comes as a surprise and a shock to many that the the role of research and the value of political will in the protection action of the vulnerable Baltic Sea. BONUS call 2012. Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted sea areas in the world. n his welcome address, the on this foundation can contribute Lithuanian Minister of Educa- substantially to environmental n the map the Baltic Sea been crystal clear that EU deci- to reduce wasting of valuable re- scientist, Seppo Knuuttila, be- The plastic waste will sooner tion and Science, Mr. Dainius actions required in the efforts to looks blue and nice. The sions are the key for improving sources, nitrogen and phospho- came almost a national hero in or later degrade to smaller pieces, Pavalkis on behalf of the cur- protect the Baltic Sea. Omap does not tell that its the ecological state of the sea. But rus, was that too many people Finland. He found out that there micro waste, which is a problem Irent Presidency of the Europe- “The action of BONUS is quite average depth is less than 60 me- everybody has not yet realised misunderstood what should be is a huge flow of phosphorus to for many reasons. One of them an Council, highlighted BONUS unique: it is creating an ecosys- ters, and that it takes around 30 this. done. Too many people believed the Baltic Sea from a waste moun- is the fact that plastic attracts or- to be, at the time of pressure on tem among all Baltic Sea states, years for the water to be changed. Among all economic sectors reducing the flow of nutrients to tain of the Fosforit fertilizer plant ganic pollutants; the concentra- public investments, a good ex- including Russia, and their re- Both facts make the sea extremely agriculture is by far the biggest the waterways means banning or in Kingisepp, Russia. When de- tion of these harmful substances From l. to r. José Palma Andrés, Carla Montesi, Minister Dainius Pavalkis, ample of successful international searchers, innovators and busi- vulnerable. source of eutrophication of the limiting agriculture. tected, the phosphorus leak was on the surface of plastic pieces in Kurt Vandenberghe, Marianne Wenning research coordination and coop- nesses in order to have an It is also not visible on the sur- sea, because of the nutrients, ni- Of course we cannot ban agri- actually quickly fixed, and with a the sea can be up to million times eration that does not limit itself integrated ecosystems-based ap- face that there is a big dead zone trogen and phosphorus leaking culture in the catchment area of low cost. This year a leak of simi- bigger than in the seawater itself. S just to marine and maritime is- proach to tackling significant U in the bottom of the Baltic Sea, from the farming fields. This is the Baltic Sea. Instead we must lar kind was detected near Gda- Recently I also learned that there sues but also covers agriculture challenges such as the Baltic Sea’s BON caused by lack of oxygen, a result the case especially after the recent develop a smarter, more modern, nsk in Poland. are not yet standards on how to and other human induced issues eutrophication. BONUS is cut- of eutrophication. From a report improvements in the waste water and more resource efficient way Similar stories that make big measure micro waste. The sci- relevant to the fragile Baltic Sea. ting across scientific disciplines, by EEA, European Environment treatment of the city of St. Peters- of producing food. And probably headlines in the press come rather entists are still developing the Also marking the celebration economic sectors, policy agendas Agency, I learned that this is the burg, which used to be the biggest we need to be smarter on what is rarely out from research.