Topics | Umweltbundesamt

Handling of fertilisers in German ports can cause nutrients to enter coastal waters. This can lead to oxygen depletion in the waters and have a severe adverse effect on living organisms. During transshipment, between 0.025 and 0.00000083 per cent of fertiliser can end up in the water. Protective covers between the ship and the quay wall and cleaning of the transshipment areas can counteract this. read more

Latvia will assume the two-year rotational chairmanship of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) on 1 July 2022. Germany’s Chair focused on biodiversity and climate, sought solutions for unexploded ordnance and underwater noise and extended measures to combat pollution of the Baltic Sea through eutrophication, hazardous substances and marine litter. read more

On 1 July 2020, Germany took over the chairmanship of the Helsinki Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea for two years. Selected pressures, the protection of species / habitats and climate change are among Germany's priority topics. The focus is on the revision of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, which will be adopted by a ministerial conference in October 2021. read more

Designers can also contribute to solving the problem of marine litter – with the right choice of materials when designing products, for instance. This was the topic of a workshop that was initiated by the UBA in June 2018 with approximately 30 participants from the Baltic Sea Region. The results and specific recommendations for action have now been published. read more

The “Recommendation on sewage sludge handling” as part of the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area entered into force in March 2017. It defines the principles for the sustainable handling of sewage sludge in the Baltic Sea region. read more