Already half a year Marmoni project team has been working and implementing the project activities.  It’s time to come together, evaluate the process, get the overview to what has been done, what is going successfully and have any problems already appeared? Also we will plan the further activities and time table by working in the separate, action based, working groups.

The Project aimed at contributing into successful marine monitoring by raising qualification and motivating stakeholders from public and private sector. Throughout the whole project duration various stakeholders were gathered in each target country to discuss different aspects of marine environment and required monitoring actions. The MARMONI project aimed at taking an important facilitation role among stakeholders and integrating them into the new concept of marine biodiversity monitoring developed by the project and providing international experience exchange as additional qualification.

In order to establish a network of active “monitorers” for the future, trainings with theoretical knowledge transfer and outdoor exercises for practical training and testing of methods had been carried out.
The target group for trainings is twofold:
1. state institutions and scientific institutes performing marine biodiversity monitoring;
2. amateurs (ornithologists) from local communities near the pilot project areas.

The first group trained how to monitor nature values at sea and also how different institutions can share data and information for better biodiversity monitoring. The second group received training on coastal bird counts.

Results:

• Clear picture of data and information on marine nature values and its collecting party;
• Experience exchange at international level and input received for the particular national needs;
• Concept/recommendations for data management of scattered information and different institutions/sectors holding the information;
• Stakeholders from public sectors and amateurs were trained and motivated for participation in the project activities.

in 2012 the brochure „Towards a resilient Baltic Sea ecosystem” (in 5 langugaes) has been prepared with the aim to introduce readers with the international legal frame for the protection of marine biodiversity.

Ceļā uz stabilu Baltijas jūras ekosistēmu_LAT

Tavoitteena terve ja toimiva Itämeri_FI

Mot ett långsiktigt hållbart ekosystem i Östersjön_SWE

Läänemere hea tervise nimel_EST

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

The spatial component of biodiversity descriptions is often neglected even though it is essential for understanding and planning the marine environment. Monitoring data is usually only covering small fractions of the area of interest, but with spatial modelling techniques this problem is approached. Mapping of the marine environment is emphasized by the HELCOM BSAP and modelling species and habitat distributions is the only cost-effective solution for this task. Maps describing the marine environment open a possibility for marine spatial management.

MARMONI provided species distribution maps for a full scale demonstration case in the Swedish study area, Hanö Bight, free for anyone to use. The maps of habitat and species distributions were used to map conservation values and for producing scenarios of effects on the marine ecosystem caused by changes in eutrophication status and by different types of construction methods for the production of a fictive wind farm. An ecosystem approach to management was used by combining maps of benthic species, fish, birds and mammals with spatially described wind farms, shipping, fishery efforts and other socio-economic activities in order to optimize nature conservation and minimize disturbance. This was done interactively with planning authorities, e.g. through an ocean zoning process, using the decision support tool Marxan with Zones. The Project demonstrates how species and habitat maps dramatically can increase the possibilities for spatial planning.

Fyhr F. et al (2013) A review of Ocean Zoning tools and Species distribution modelling methods for Marine Spatial Planning has also been produced to provide an overview of the many available technical solutions for both tasks.  The usefulness of different decision support tools to support Marine Spatial Planning demonstration in MARMONI was discussed.

Report Fyhr F. et al. 2014: Marine mapping and management scenarios in the Hanö Bight Sweden (Annexes 1-2, Annex 3-4)has been produced. The field data and maps have further been used to identify areas with high conservation values, test scenarios of the impact of a fictive wind farm and for altered Secchi depth on various conservation values, and draft proposals on marine protected areas (MPAs) through a zoning process.

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

Well-designed monitoring programmes are the tool that may help to provide high quality information about the status of biodiversity in the Baltic Sea. The present biodiversity monitoring methods do not provide a full picture and are in many cases not appropriate for indicator based biodiversity assessment. A harmonized biodiversity monitoring programme for the Baltic Sea is also lacking, and the monitoring methods need both development and harmonization.

Marmoni analysed existing monitoring methods and tested and developed new innovative and cost-effective monitoring methods and prepared methodological descriptions/guiding tools for new monitoring methods. In total 17 new innovative methods were tested in the study areas. The project also provided complex information on marine biodiversity necessary for assessment of the conservation status of habitats and particular species of community interest following requirements of the Habitats and Birds Directives as well marine ecosystem as such in relation to monitoring requirements under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The report Wijkmark et al. 2014: Field, laboratory and experimental work within the MARMONI project – report on survey results and obtained data. is a comprehensive report on the extensive field works, method testing and development as well as spatial modelling that have been performed within MARMONI. This report also contains an extensive map material providing an overview of the field works performed and models created in the study areas in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden.

The report Veidemane K., Pakalniete K. 2015: Socio economic assessment of indicator based marine biodiversity monitoring programmes and methods presents approaches and results of the socio-economic assessment of marine biodiversity monitoring programmes which are developed to deliver data for new biodiversity indicators with the purpose of assessing good environmental status.

There are several diving methods                                      A new grab method for monitoring of zoobenthos
for monitoring of marine biodiversity                                was developed

©  Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology                          © AquaBiota Water Research

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

Marine biodiversity indicators are tools that enable following the changes in biological components of marine ecosystems, to link those changes with pressures as well as to assess the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce the pressures on different geographical scales, providing thereby a basis for informed decision making and adaptive management. However, a common understanding of indicators for assessing the biodiversity status of the Baltic Sea according to existing European legislation and international agreements does not exist yet. Quality objectives as well as aspirational indicators have been determined in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and the EU legislation, but precise indicators and their methodology still need to be developed. Currently several projects and working groups are dealing with this issue, including the MARMONI project who reviewed the existing sets of marine biodiversity indicators and elaborated a new set based on targets for good environmental status according to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The Indicators elaboration in the MARMONI project

At first: MARMONI project experts elaborated (in 2012) a draft set of innovative marine biodiversity indicators. A narrative report about project’s indicator work is available here. It contains a text file and the indicator tables on 225 pages and is a protected PDF file which cannot be edited and printed until the indicator list is finalized.

Then: all further changes were inserted only in the indicators data base (2012-2014) : MARMONI Indicator Database.

Cercopagis pengoi is being investigated                       Mytilus trossulusr is investigated in the

in the context of zooplankton indicators                      context of benthic habitat biodiversity

© Estonian Marine Institute                                                    © Estonian Marine Institute

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

Good quality background data sets are important precondition for further analyses and producing assessments. Many data sets related to marine biodiversity already do exist, but they are scattered and maintained in different institutions. Part of data is stored in scientific institutions, part is collected under various international and national obligations and stored in agencies responsible for reporting.

The MARMONI project gathered information on available biodiversity related data sets, as well as sea uses and related pressures in common metadatabases that serve for supporting indicator development, defining targets for good environmental status, developing new monitoring methods and producing biodiversity assessments.

The Project team has produced  reports on data availability on marine biodiversity and sea uses and pressures in the MARMONI project countries:

• Klein L. 2011: Availability of sea use and pressure data in Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Sweden
• Bojārs E. 2012: “Availability of marine biodiversity data in Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Sweden for the MARMONI project needs”

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

Assessment of the biodiversity status is required by several international obligations (HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, EU Habitats and Birds Directives, Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Currently, there are no commonly agreed procedures and methods for assessment of marine biodiversity and there is a little experience on assessment of conservation status of marine species and habitats. Comprehensive, indicator based, integrated assessment scheme for assessment and monitoring of status of marine biodiversity is currently missing on both national and international levels, and this is the gap that the project aimed to fill.

The Project developed a proposal for integrated, indicator based marine biodiversity assessment scheme as well as carried out demonstration of biodiversity assessment in the pilot areas. Data obtained from monitoring activities within the Project, as well as background data on marine biodiversity and sea-use impacts had been used for assessment. Based on results of the biodiversity assessment of the project areas, conclusions on the state of biodiversity of the north-eastern part of the Baltic Sea had been drawn.

The MSFD Marine Biodiversity Assessment Tool developed in the framework of MARMONI project by the Estonian Marine Institute with contribution of other MARMONI project experts is available at http://www.sea.ee/marmoni/index.php.

The Tool is a web-based application that calculates an integrated assessment result based on different indicators. The demo-version on Gulf of Riga allows to make acquaintance with the Tool. Everyone can use the Tool for making an assessment but for that a work group needs to be registered (the members of the group can then access the assessment with help of user name and password).

The demonstration of biodiversity assessment of the project pilot areas includes the assessment of the conservation status of species and habitats of Community importance (using the principles of conservation status assessment developed for assessment according to Art. 17 of the Habitats Directive) as well as the integrated biodiversity assessment (using the developed MSFD Marine Biodiversity Assessment Tool). Auniņš A. et al (2013): Methodological guidelines for the demonstration of biodiversity assessment has been produced to demonstrate a complex approach to assessment of marine biodiversity showing the interactions between different marine features and human/ sea-use impacts.

A report of the assessment of the conservation status of species and habitats of community importance had been prepared: Auniņš A., Martin G. 2014: Biodiversity assessment of MARMONI project areas

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

There is a lack of knowledge and understanding on how the integration of HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) will be carried out. The assessment of the marine environment under the MSFD is dependent on monitoring and interlinked to reporting obligations under the other directives as well as to the HELCOM monitoring and assessment strategies and practices. The results of the action helped authorities as well as other stakeholders in understanding the reporting requirements, and provide a basis for establishing cost-effective monitoring and assessment procedures.

Within the Project, a desk study of the EC, HELCOM and UN marine nature conservation policy documents and their reporting requirements was performed. Consultations with competent authorities on their reporting experiences, data gaps, shortcomings of the applied approaches, etc.  helped developing proposals for integration and improvement of national reporting systems and joint assessment procedures.

The Project team has produced  report on reporting requirements of different international policy documents: Fleming-Lehtinen V. 2011: Biodiversity-related requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Below you can download various international biodiversity related policy documents:

EC Marine Strategy Framework Directive

EC Directive on conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

EC Directive on the conservation of wild birds

HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre

Click on the link to see the publication:
Publication