Controle e auditoria da gestão de segurança dos transportes de derivados de petróleo em modal fluvial no estado do Amazonas / Control and audit of the safety management of transportation of oil derivatives in river modal in the state of Amazon

A indústria de transporte fluvial na Amazônia, especialmente no estado do Amazonas, possui uma extensa rede de rotas navegáveis, portos e terminais fluviais, em muitos casos ainda rudimentar. Este trabalho tem por objetivo propor um modelo de avaliação do sistema de gestão de segurança de transporte de derivados de petróleo no estado do Amazonas a partir de um inventário de interesses ambientais/logísticos. Inicialmente, foi avaliado o contexto da pesquisa através da identificação das empresas que fornecem o serviço de transporte de derivados de petróleo no estado do Amazonas. Em seguida, foram selecionados representantes de quatro empresas para a coleta de dados a partir da visão dos colaboradores. Para isso, utilizou-se um guia de entrevista, baseado no método Focus Groups, seguido de uma entrevista aberta. A partir da opinião dos entrevistados, realizou-se a construção do processo decisório e a análise SWOT, que permitiu a identificação das oportunidades, ameaças, forças e fraquezas institucionais mais relevantes. Baseado nos resultados obtidos, apresentou-se uma proposta de aplicação de um modelo de avaliação de desempenho à gestão de transporte de derivados de petróleo no estado do Amazonas, a fim de integrá-los aos indicadores da cadeia logística já existente

Implementing Bayesian networks for ISO 31000:2018-based maritime oil spill risk management: State-of-art, implementation benefits and challenges, and future research directions

The risk of a large-scale oil spill remains significant in marine environments as international maritime transport continues to grow. The environmental as well as the socio-economic impacts of a large-scale oil spill could be substantial. Oil spill models and modeling tools for Pollution Preparedness and Response (PPR) can support effective risk management. However, there is a lack of integrated approaches that consider oil spill risks comprehensively, learn from all information sources, and treat the system uncertainties in an explicit manner. Recently, the use of the international ISO 31000:2018 risk management framework has been suggested as a suitable basis for supporting oil spill PPR risk management. Bayesian networks (BNs) are graphical models that express uncertainty in a probabilistic form and can thus support decision-making processes when risks are complex and data are scarce. While BNs have increasingly been used for oil spill risk assessment (OSRA) for PPR, no link between the BNs literature and the ISO 31000:2018 framework has previously been made. This study explores how Bayesian risk models can be aligned with the ISO 31000:2018 framework by offering a flexible approach to integrate various sources of probabilistic knowledge. In order to gain insight in the current utilization of BNs for oil spill risk assessment and management (OSRA-BNs) for maritime oil spill preparedness and response, a literature review was performed. The review focused on articles presenting BN models that analyze the occurrence of oil spills, consequence mitigation in terms of offshore and shoreline oil spill response, and impacts of spills on the variables of interest. Based on the results, the study discusses the benefits of applying BNs to the ISO 31000:2018 framework as well as the challenges and further research needs.Peer reviewe

Preparing for the unprecedented : Moving towards quantitative understanding of oil spill impacts on Arctic marine biota

The risk of a major oil spill in the Arctic has become a matter of global concern, since climate change is extending the ice-free period and bringing more shipping to the area. The Arctic is already under great pressure from climate change, and an oil spill in this unique and sensitive environment could be a catastrophe for its biota. Fortunately, no major oil spill has happened in the true Arctic yet, but as the probability of one is increasing, we need to prepare for the potential consequences. Understanding the likely impacts of Arctic oil spills could greatly benefit conservation of the area as, for example, spatially and temporally varying risk could be taken into account when selecting shipping routes. Hence, comprehensive knowledge about the impacts of oil spills on Arctic ecosystems is needed. So far, however, knowledge about the likely impacts of oil on Arctic biota is scarce and insufficient for comprehensive risk assessment. The thesis constructs and applies a probabilistic framework for assessing the environmental risk oil spills pose for marine biota in the data-poor Arctic. The work consists of the summary and four research papers. Paper I brings together the current understanding about Arctic oil spills and their environmental impacts, and conceptualizes that knowledge as a probability-based framework that can guide further risk assessment. It further identifies the key Arctic marine functional groups that environmental risk assessment should focus on. Paper II carries out an expert elicitation to quantify the acute oil spill -induced mortality of adult and offspring individuals belonging to each functional group. Paper III develops a vulnerability index describing the acute mortality and the longer-term recovery potential of the functional groups based on scientific and grey literature. Paper IV uses the information collected in papers I–III and combines it with estimates of oil spreading and species distributions to compare the spatiotemporally varying mortality risk for polar bears, ringed seals and walrus in a case study area, the Kara Sea. The results of the thesis suggest that, in general, polar bears and marine birds are most at risk from spilled oil in the Arctic, but there is great variation in the risk depending on the timing of the spill and the type of oil spilled. Moreover, the distribution of biota in relation to shipping routes can have a major impact on the risk the spilled oil poses to them. Furthermore, the amount of ice present at the spill site can alter the risk to biota, as ice cover affects both the spreading of oil and the abundance of species in the vicinity of the oil spill. On an acute scale, medium density oil spilled when ice concentration are relatively low seems to be the worst-case accident scenario when considering the joint impact on all biota, but determining the safest shipping route may prove to be challenging. This thesis offers new insights into the risk that oil spills pose to Arctic biota, and is a step on the way towards a comprehensive understanding of the impact of Arctic oil spills. However, there are still great knowledge gaps, which this thesis both identifies and aims to minimize by suggesting different methods for efficient data collection to benefit risk management related to Arctic shipping. Additional research is needed to evaluate the longer-term impacts of spilled oil and the persistence of oil in cold environments in particular. Furthermore, the need for a valuing method to guide both risk assessment and management is recognized.Arktinen öljyonnettomuus on globaali huoli. Kun ilmastonmuutos pidentää pohjoisen jäätöntä kautta, lisääntyy alueen meriliikenne. Ilmastonmuutos itsessään aiheuttaa suurta painetta arktiselle luonnolle, ja öljyonnettomuus tällä ainutlaatuisella ja herkällä alueella voi johtaa ympäristökatastrofiin. Alueella ei ole toistaiseksi sattunut suurta öljyvuotoa, mutta koska sellaisen todennäköisyys kasvaa laivaliikenteen lisääntyessä, myös seurauksiin tulee varautua. Öljyonnettomuuden seurauksien ymmärtäminen voi hyödyttää arktisen luonnon suojelua jos esimerkiksi ajallisesti ja alueellisesti vaihteleva öljyvuodon aiheuttama riski voidaan huomioida laivareittien valinnassa. Tämä kuitenkin vaatii kattavaa tietoa öljyvuodon vaikutuksista arktiselle ekosysteemille. Toistaiseksi tieto on hajanaista ja riittämätöntä kattavaan riskianalyysiin. Väitöskirja rakentaa todennäköisyyspohjaisen viitekehyksen, jonka avulla voidaan tutkia arktisten öljyvuotojen aiheuttamaa riskiä arktiselle merilajistolle tilanteessa, jossa kovaa dataa on vähän eikä perinteisiä öljymalleja siten voida käyttää. Väitöskirja myös käyttää rakentamaansa viitekehystä riskin kvantifioimiseksi. Työ koostuu tiivistelmästä ja neljästä tutkimusartikkelista. Artikkeli I koostaa nykyisen tiedon arktisista öljyonnettomuuksista ja niiden ympäristövaikutuksista, sekä rakentaa viitekehyksen, jota voidaan käyttää riskianalyysissä. Lisäksi artikkeli identifioi tärkeimmät funktionaaliset lajiryhmät, joihin meriympäristöön keskittyvän riskianalyysin tulisi kohdistua. Artikkeli II suorittaa asiantuntijaelisitaation kvantifioidakseen öljyvuotoihin liittyvää merilajiston akuuttia kuolleisuutta. Artikkeli III kehittää haavoittuvuusindeksin, joka kuvaa sekä merilajiston akuuttia kuolleisuutta että populaatioiden pidemmän aikavälin elpymistä. Artikkeli IV käyttää artikkeleissa I–III kerättyä tietoa ja yhdistää sen arvioihin öljyn leviämisestä sekä lajien levinneisyydestä. Tulosten perusteella verrataan merinisäkkäisiin kohdistuvaa, ajallisesti ja alueellisesti vaihtelevaa riskiä tapaustutkimusalueella, Karanmerellä. Väitöskirjan tulokset osoittavat, että jääkarhut ja merilinnut ovat suurimmassa riskissä öljyonnettomuuden sattuessa, mutta riski vaihtelee suuresti riippuen vuodon ajoituksesta ja vuotaneen öljyn ominaisuuksista. Lisäksi lajien levinneisyys suhteessa laivareittien sijaintiin vaikuttaa riskiin suuresti. Myös jään määrä vuotokohdan läheisyydessä muokkaa eliöstölle kohdistuvaa riskiä koska se vaikuttaa sekä öljyn leviämiseen että lajien levinneisyyteen. Akuutilla aikavälillä vaarallisin onnettomuus näyttäisi olevan keskitiheän öljyn vuotaminen jääpeitteen ollessa kohtalaisen pieni. Turvallisimman laivareitin määrittäminen voi kuitenkin olla vaikeaa, koska eri reitit ja onnettomuusskenaariot aiheuttavat erilaisen riskin eri lajeille. Väitöskirja tuottaa uutta tietoa öljyonnettomuuksien aiheuttamista riskeistä arktiselle eliöstölle, ja on askel kohti öljyvuotojen ympäristövaikutusten kokonaisvaltaista hahmottamista. Aiheeseen liittyy kuitenkin vielä paljon epävarmuutta, ja väitöskirja sekä tunnistaa näiden epävarmuuksien lähteitä että ehdottaa erilaisia keinoja tiedonkeruun tehostamiseksi ja riskinhallinnan parantamiseksi. Tulevaisuudessa lisätietoa tarvitaan erityisesti öljyn pidemmän aikavälin ympäristövaikutuksista sekä öljyn säilymisestä luonnossa kylmissä olosuhteissa. Lisäksi väitöskirja tunnistaa tarpeen arvonmääritysmenetelmälle, joka voi auttaa päätöksentekijöitä vertaamaan ja arvottamaan eri lajeihin kohdistuvaa riskiä

Knowledge-based marine conservation in oil spill risk management

Maritime transport is an efficient way to ferry goods, oil, and chemicals but shipping poses a threat to marine ecosystems. Oil spills have a potential to extinguish or debilitate fish and wildlife populations and habitat types important to the marine ecosystem. In this thesis, I study the resources and methods for collecting data and knowledge about the adverse impacts of oil on sensitive species and habitat types. Furthermore, I study how ecological knowledge could be passed to decision-makers and how the risks should be communicated. Finally, I discuss future policy improvements and scientific needs for ecological knowledge in oil spill risk management. This forms a synthesis of what kind of ecological information is required for the environmental risk management and conservation of marine ecosystems under oil spill threat. The thesis includes five papers, where we develop methods to assess the environmental impacts of oil spills and the effectiveness of management practices to mitigate their adverse ecological effects. Improved strategies combine theoretical disciplines, such as population biology with practical oil spill response. The results demonstrate that environmental risk assessment models can be used to structure problems, integrate knowledge and uncertainty, and persuade decision-makers by visualizing the results. Since the objective of risk assessment is to synthesize information for environmental management and policy design, which should rely on the extensive use of scientific evidence, communication between academia and decision-makers is of great importance. The use of Bayesian networks would improve the current oil spill risk management in the Baltic Sea, since all the variables affecting oil spill risk can be presented in one framework in a transparent manner. Many geospatial services work as tools of informative policy instruments, as they deliver ecological data and knowledge for oil spill risk management. Researchers could also participate more often in the contingency planning or practical management of oil spills as experts. Thus, all the relevant knowledge could be integrated into the decision-making process. This thesis offers new insights into oil spill risk management in the Baltic Sea and provides examples showing how evidence-based management actions should be chosen and carried out in order to minimize the risks. Policy recommendations are also provided. First, in oil spill risk management, the marine ecosystem should be prioritized based on its conservation value, recovery potential and protection effectiveness. Second, because preventive measures against oil accidents are considered cost-effective, maritime safety should be increased, with stricter and regional ship inspection practices. The effects of policy innovations should be assessed using probabilistic policy-support tools.Rannikon luonto tulee priorisoida sen suojeluarvon, öljyn aiheuttaman tappion, lajien ja luontotyyppien palautumiskyvyn ja suojattavuuden perusteella. Meriliikenne on tehokas tapa kuljettaa tavaroita, kemikaaleja ja öljyä. Merenkulku kuitenkin uhkaa meriekosysteemejä, sillä alusonnettomuuksista aiheutuvat öljyonnettomuudet voivat heikentää tai hävittää lajeja ja niiden elinympäristöjä. Karttapohjaiset sovellukset voivat toimia neuvoa-antavina työkaluina suojelutoimien kohdistamisessa. Väitöskirja arvioi öljyonnettomuuksien aiheuttamia haitallisia vaikutuksia Itämeren luontoon ja tarkastelee millaisilla toimintamalleilla niitä voidaan pienentää. Työn viisi osajulkaisua pyrkivät vastaamaan kysymyksiin siitä, millaisin menetelmin öljyonnettomuuksien haittoja voidaan tutkia, miten tieto saaduista tuloksista voidaan siirtää päätöksentekoon ja kuinka riskinarviointia kannattaa kehittää. Väitöskirjatutkimuksessa on erityisesti arvioitu rannikon uhanalaisten lajien ja luontotyyppien palautumiskykyä ja suunniteltu työkaluja riskinhallintaan. Tulokset osoittavat, että todennäköisyyspohjaisten verkkomallien avulla tehty riskinarviointi voi auttaa jäsentämään ongelmia, huomioimaan epävarmuutta ja vakuuttamaan päätöksentekijöitä. Öljyonnettomuusriskien hallintaan tulee luoda uusi viestintäkulttuuri, jossa tutkijat voivat osallistua entistä enemmän torjunnan suunnitteluun. Tämä edistää merkittävästi tietoon perustuvaa päätöksentekoa. Onnettomuusriskiä tulee myös hallita entistä tiukemmilla ja paikallisilla keinoilla. Itämeri on ainutlaatuinen ekosysteemi. Sen pohjoinen sijainti, pieni vesitilavuus, hidas veden vaihtuvuus ja pohjan hapettomuus tekevät alueesta herkän öljyn vaikutuksille. Suomen rannikon mataluus ja saariston rikkonaisuus lisäävät öljyn haitallisia vaikutuksia: matala vesisyvyys lisää eliöiden altistumistodennäköisyyttä ja öljyn pitoisuutta meressä, ja rannikon muoto tekee siitä haasteellisen öljyntorjunnalle. Itämeressä monet lajit elävät sopeutumisensa äärirajoilla ja ovat siksi herkkiä ympäristömuutoksille kuten öljyonnettomuuksille. Kansainvälinen merenkulkujärjestö onkin nimennyt Itämeren erityisen herkäksi merialueeksi

Assessing oil spill risks in the northern Baltic Sea with Bayesian network applications

Coastal and marine ecosystems across the globe are heavily impacted by various anthropogenic stressors, which has led to a significant loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in recent decades. In order to find means to counteract this trend, there is a need to develop methods for assessing the environmental impacts of human activities and the effectiveness of management practices to mitigate the harmful effects. However, this is a challenging task due to the complex interactions within and between the ecosystems and human components, and various uncertainties related to them. Bayesian networks (BNs) are graphical models for reasoning under uncertainty. A BN consists of a set of probabilistic variables connected with links describing causalities within the system. As the states of the variables are described with probability distributions, uncertainty can be described in an explicit manner. BNs also enable integration of qualitative and quantitative knowledge from various sources such as observational data sets, models and expert knowledge. In this thesis I have developed BN models to study environmental risks related to anthropogenic stressors in the Gulf of Finland and the Finnish Archipelago Sea. The main aim is to quantify human impacts on the environment, and to assess the ability of different management measures to lessen these impacts. I focus especially on oil spills resulting from potential tanker accidents and I set out to fill various information gaps related to this recently emerged threat. The thesis includes five papers. In paper I, the main aim is to assess the spatial risk posed by oil spills in the Gulf of Finland and the Finnish Archipelago Sea, and identify species and habitat types with the highest risk. In paper II, I focus on the effectiveness of different oil combating methods to mitigate the negative impacts of oil spills on the ecosystem, and paper III widens the approach to a probabilistic cost-benefit analysis of preventive and post-spill measures. Paper IV deals with multiple risks as, in addition to oil spills, eutrophication and harvesting of species are studied. Paper V reviews and discusses various methods that can be applied to evaluate the uncertainty related to deterministic models, which could increase their usefulness in decision-making. The results suggest that risks related to tanker accidents are distributed unevenly between areas, habitats and species. Furthermore, the results support the current Finnish strategy to base oil combating primarily on offshore recovery vessels instead of chemical dispersants. However, as the efficiency of mechanical recovery is dependent on several factors, there is also a need to develop preventive measures. Although major oil accidents are estimated to be rare events, the costs can be very high, if a spill occurs. The work offers new insights to the oil spill risks in the study area and provides examples how Bayesian networks can be applied in environmental risk assessment. The thesis is a part of the work needed in order to develop comprehensive decision support tools related to environmental risk management in the northern Baltic Sea.Ihmistoiminta vaikuttaa monin haitallisin tavoin merien ja rannikkoalueiden ekosysteemeihin, mikä on johtanut luonnon monimuotoisuuden vähenemiseen ja monien ekosysteemipalveluiden heikkenemiseen. Mikäli tämä kehityskulku halutaan pysäyttää, tarvitaan työkaluja, joilla voidaan tarkastella ihmistoiminnan vahingollisia vaikutuksia ympäristöön ja eri toimenpidevaihtoehtojen kykyä vähentää haittoja. Tämä ei ole kuitenkaan yksinkertaista johtuen ekosysteemien ja ihmisvaikutusten monimutkaisista vuorovaikutussuhteista ja niihin liittyvistä suurista epävarmuuksista. Väitöskirjatyössä on kehitetty malleja Suomenlahden ja Saaristomeren ympäristöriskien arviointiin. Työssä sovelletaan Bayes-verkkoja eli graafisia malleja, joissa kuvataan tutkimusongelmalle keskeiset muuttujat ja niiden väliset syy-seuraussuhteet todennäköisyysjakaumien avulla. Todennäköisyyspohjaisten mallien avulla voidaan ilmentää myös epävarmuutta luontevasti. Bayes-verkot mahdollistavat niin määrällisen kuin laadullisen tiedon käytön samassa mallissa, ja tietoja voidaan yhdistellä monista eri lähteistä kuten tilastoista, muista malleista ja asiantuntija-arvioista. Väitöskirjassa keskitytään erityisesti alusöljyonnettomuuksien ympäristöriskeihin. Työssä arvioidaan öljyonnettomuuksien seurauksia tutkimusalueella esiintyvien lajien ja elinympäristöjen kannalta sekä eri toimenpiteiden tehokkuutta vähentää mahdollisia haittoja. Lisäksi työssä tarkastellaan todennäköisyyspohjaisen kustannus-hyötyanalyysin avulla onnettomuuksien ennaltaehkäisyä ja jälkitorjuntaa sekä esitellään malli, jossa riskitekijöinä ovat öljyonnettomuuksien lisäksi rehevöityminen ja kalastus. Tulosten mukaan öljyonnettomuusriski vaihtelee niin alueiden, lajien kuin elinympäristöjenkin välillä. Tietyt alueet rannikolla ovat suuremmassa vaarassa öljyyntyä kuin toiset, ja alueiden välillä on eroja myös öljylle alttiiden luontoarvojen suhteen. Tulokset myös tukevat Suomen nykyistä öljyntorjuntastrategiaa, joka perustuu mekaaniseen öljynkeruuseen kemiallisten torjunta-aineiden sijaan. Mekaanisen öljyntorjunnan tehokkuus riippuu kuitenkin monesta tekijästä, minkä takia olisi tärkeää kehittää edelleen myös onnettomuuksia ennaltaehkäiseviä toimenpiteitä. Suuret öljyonnettomuudet ovat harvinaisia, mutta tapahtuessaan onnettomuus voi aiheuttaa hyvinkin mittavat kustannukset. Työssä kehiteltyjä malleja ja tuloksia voidaan käyttää päätöksenteon tukena ja kehitettäessä kokonaisvaltaisia työkaluja ympäristöriskien arviointiin ja hallintaan

Human and environmental exposure to hydrocarbon pollution in the Niger Delta:A geospatial approach

This study undertook an integrated geospatial assessment of human and environmental exposure to oil pollution in the Niger Delta using primary and secondary spatial data. This thesis begins by presenting a clear rationale for the study of extensive oil pollution in the Niger Delta, followed by a critical literature review of the potential application of geospatial techniques for monitoring and managing the problem. Three analytical chapters report on the methodological developments and applications of geospatial techniques that contribute to achieving the aim of the study. Firstly, a quantitative assessment of human and environmental exposure to oil pollution in the Niger Delta was performed using a government spill database. This was carried out using Spatial Analysis along Networks (SANET), a geostatistical tool, since oil spills in the region tend to follow the linear patterns of the pipelines. Spatial data on pipelines, oil spills, population and land cover data were analysed in order to quantify the extent of human and environmental exposure to oil pollution. The major causes of spills and spatial factors potentially reinforcing reported causes were analysed. Results show extensive general exposure and sabotage as the leading cause of oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Secondly, a method of delineating the river network in the Niger Delta using Sentinel-1 SAR data was developed, as a basis for modelling potential flow of pollutants in the distributary pathways of the network. The cloud penetration capabilities of SAR sensing are particularly valuable for this application since the Niger Delta is notorious for cloud cover. Vector and raster-based river networks derived from Sentinel-1 were compared to alternative river map products including those from the USGS and ESA. This demonstrated the superiority of the Sentinel-1 derived river network, which was subsequently used in a flow routing analysis to demonstrate the potential for understanding oil spill dispersion. Thirdly, the study applied optical remote sensing for indirect detection and mapping of oil spill impacts on vegetation. Multi-temporal Landsat data was used to delineate the spill impact footprint of a notable 2008 oil spill incident in Ogoniland and population exposure was evaluated. The optical data was effective in impact area delineation, demonstrating extensive and long-lasting population exposure to oil pollution. Overall, this study has successfully assembled and produced relevant spatial and attribute data sets and applied integrated geostatistical analytical techniques to understand the distribution and impacts of oil spills in the Niger Delta. The study has revealed the extensive level of human and environmental exposure to hydrocarbon pollution in the Niger Delta and introduced new methods that will be valuable fo

Fate, transport and risk of potential accidental release of hydrocarbons during arctic shipping

Arctic shipping may present risks to the Arctic marine ecosystem. One of the potential sources of risk is accidental oil spills which require mitigation. In order to reduce this risk, there is a need to respond to oil spills in a timely manner. This requires models to evaluate the fate, transport and risk of oil spills in ice-covered waters. Modeling the fate and transport of oil spills is difficult, and the presence of ice makes it complicated. The focus of this study is the application of the models to potential oil spills during Arctic shipping. This study is carried out through a scenario based analysis of potential accidental releases during Arctic shipping accidents. The main application of the work in this thesis is for contingency planning and providing guidance to policies for Arctic shipping operations. This thesis presents a series of studies that review oil weathering and transport models for open and ice-covered waters, update current open water weathering and transport algorithms to make them ice-covered water capable, develop a fugacity based partition model, integrate aforementioned models as well as source models in an ecological risk assessment framework, and develop an accident forecasting methodology. The review shows that current oil spill models are inadequate for predicting the behaviour of oil in ice-covered waters. It also highlights missing algorithms for encapsulation and de-encapsulation processes which are very critical for oil behaviour in ice-covered waters. A refined weathering and transport model is applied to a hypothetical case study involving a potential Arctic shipping accident. The outcome shows that the predictions of the refined models agree reasonably well with oil in ice data from the area under study. The partition model presented is also applied to a hypothetical case study of a shipping vessel passing through the North-West passage. The results predict the level of contamination of the different compartments. The compartments include air, water, ice and sediments. The ecological risk assessment framework developed is applied to a case study in the Kara Sea. The Kara Sea was chosen mainly to draw attention to a potential site for Arctic shipping accidents. The results show acceptable level of risk in the water column since the Risk Quotient (Ratio of predicted concentration and predicted no effect concentration from ecotoxicological studies) is less than 1. An accident forecasting methodology based on the Bayesian approach is presented. This is illustrated with a ship-ice-berg collision scenario. The fate and transport models are used for assessing the consequences of a potential oil spill, while the Arctic shipping forecasting methodology is used for the probability of occurrence. The methodology may also be useful for choosing potential scenarios for the application of the fate and transport models developed. A sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most critical parameters of the occurrence of the scenario. This information is useful for prioritization of resources during mitigation

The Gulf of Finland assessment

This assessment on the environmental state of the Gulf of Finland in 1996 – 2014 was produced by together over 100 scientists from Estonia, Finland, and Russia in the context of the Gulf of Finland Year 2014. The thematic year aimed at – and succeeded in – giving additional value for the protection and restoration of the Gulf of Finland environment by enhancing political presence and interaction between the private sector, decision-makers, and citizens. This assessment concentrates on the past development and the current state of the Gulf of Finland environment and pressures affecting it. The themes include climate in the Gulf of Finland area, Gulf of Finland physics, geology and geodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances, biodiversity, fishes and fisheries, nonindigenous species, marine litter, underwater soundscape, maritime traffic and its safety, and environmental valuation. Each chapter also delivers expert opinions and recommendations for the future