Meanwhile, the international policy discussions have to a larger extent focused on marine issues as outlined in the Agenda 2030. The UN sustainable development goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) was highlighted through the UN congress Our Oceans Our Future in June 2017. Today, Agenda 2030 is the starting point for most policy processes. It stresses the need for research to be policy-relevant and to involve more cross-sectorial collaboration.
Further, to implement marine and coastal policies on national, HELCOM and EU scales we need to put forward and evaluate new indicators that can help us understand, monitor, and assess the environmental status of the Baltic Sea, especially in a new climate setting.
As the dialogue and exchange between different actors in the society working towards sustainable development is increasing and as relevant policy aspects are already part of research planning, we aim to bring science and policy closer together in this session so that policies are more and better informed by scientific developments.
Studies from various fields are welcome, including:
- Interdisciplinary research and approaches addressing governance and policy issues concerning the Baltic Sea ecosystem.
