Protecting the Baltic Sea: Reducing Seabed Pressures and 'Ghost Gear' with New Governance Strategies

The Baltic Sea is the youngest but one of the most intensely used seas on the planet. Pressures on the Baltic Sea have increased over the years, largely driven by human activities on land and at sea. Seabed habitats and marine life are endangered by seabed disturbance, pollution and ghost nets, aka Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG).

New governance strategies are needed to address these issues and make the Baltic Sea healthy again. In this episode, Riku Varjopuro and Ben Boteler discuss how change and innovation can be achieved in the governance of the Baltic Sea.

Riku Varjopuro works as a senior research scientist at Finnish Environment Institute. He is a social scientist specialised in the research of marine policies and governance, including marine planning. He finds his work at a government research institute and earlier work at an intergovernmental organisation, HELCOM, rewarding, because it provides opportunities also for a practical policy development work.

Ben Boteler is a Senior Research Associate at RIFS, the Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ in Potsdam, Germany. His research focuses on how innovative governance strategies can help to underpin transformative action towards overcoming global challenges such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. His current research focuses on the implementation and performance of EU marine policies to reach the goals set out in the EU Green Deal.