Sustainable use of marine areas

Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) processes underwater natural data to support decision-making and develops research-based multidisciplinary solutions to promote the sustainable use of seas. We conduct multisectoral research in marine ecosystem services, blue economy, climate change and the biodiversity of marine nature. We are also involved in international cooperation to support the sustainable use of seas in other marine areas than the Baltic Sea.

We are responsible for the expert work and research required by the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Nature Directive and we explore various options for collecting, analysing and presenting marine data from the perspective of societal influence.

Photo: Ilkka Lastumäki

Key projects

Underwater marine biodiversity and its protection

• The Finnish Inventory Programme for Underwater Marine Diversity, VELMU (environment.fi)
• SEAmless Maps and Management of the northern BOTHnian Bay (SEAmBOTH)
• Elävä Itämeri

Sustainable use of marine areas and training

• Heawater
• Education for sustainable Water Use (EDUWATER)
• GET READY
• Knowledge Flows in Marine Spatial Planning - Sharing Innovation in Higher Education

Marine ecosystem services and ecosystem accounting

• Key underwater habitats and their ecosystem services – from functionality to valuation (MERIAVAIN)
• Mapping and Assessment for Integrated ecosystem Accounting (MAIA)
• From Marine Ecosystem Accounting to Integrated Governance for Sustainable Planning of Marine and Coastal Areas (MAREA)

Blue economy and protecting the biodiversity of marine nature in a changing climate

• SmartSea
• Climate Change and Future Marine Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (FutureMARES)

Publications

Underwater marine biodiversity and its protection

• The Finnish ecologically significant marine underwater areas (EMMA) 
• Assessing long term change of Fucus spp. communities in the northern Baltic Sea using monitoring data and spatial modeling
• Salinity effects on egg production, hatching, and survival of Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda, Calanoida)
• Marine connectivity in spatial conservation planning: analogues from the terrestrial realm
• A retrospective assessment of marine biodiversity: a critical analysis of integration and aggregation rules
• Evaluation, Gap Analysis, and Potential Expansion of the Finnish Marine Protected Area Network
• Identifying areas prone to coastal hypoxia – the role of topography
• Integrating experimental and distribution data to predict future species patterns
• The Baltic Health Index (BHI): Assessing the social–ecological status of the Baltic Sea
• Identifying biotic drivers of population dynamics in a benthic–pelagic community

Sustainable use of marine areas and training

• Cormorants have negligible seascape-scale impacts
• Nutrient compensation for aquatic coastal environment — legal, ecological and economic aspects in developing an offsetting concept 
• Marine environmental vulnerability and cumulative risk profiles to support ecosystem-based adaptive maritime spatial planning
• The role of place-based local knowledge in supporting integrated coastal and marine spatial planning in Zanzibar, Tanzania
• MSPglobal: international guide on marine/maritime spatial planning

Marine ecosystem services and ecosystem accounting

• Extensive Coverage of Marine Mineral Concretions Revealed in Shallow Shelf Sea Areas
• Our natural capital is shrinking-the trend can be turned

Blue economy and protecting the biodiversity of marine nature in a changing climate

• Impacts of Climate Change on the Ecosystem of the Baltic Sea

Tools

• MarineFinland.fi
• VELMU Map Service