Baltic Sea

Umwelt-Indikator

Indicator: Eutrophication of the North Sea/Baltic Sea by nitrogen

A graph shows the change in the concentration of total nitrogen in all major rivers that discharge into the North and Baltic Sea in Germany and indicates the target value of 2.8 or 2.6 mg/L total nitrogen for North and Baltic Sea, respectively. The concentration value is calculated as the 5-year moving average of the flow-weighted mean concentration of all major rivers in milligrams total nitrogen per litre (mg/L).

To achieve the objectives for the protection of the marine environment, Germany has committed to achieve target values for total nitrogen at the limnic-marine transition points.For the flow-weighted 5-year moving average of all rivers, these target values are achieved for the North Sea, but are still exceeded for the Baltic Sea.Some of the North and Baltic Sea tributaries still have very high conc... read more

Economy | Consumption

NonHazCity 3 Interreg Project

Logo NonHazCity3

Reducing substances in the construction sector that are hazardous to health and the environment and supporting circular construction – these are the goals of NonHazCity 3, a European project in the EU Interreg Program for the Baltic Sea Region. The project team involves 21 partners from all eight EU countries around the Baltic Sea, including the German Environment Agency (UBA). read more

News on Economy | Consumption and Water

Environmentally friendly handling of fertiliser in ports

ship while handling fertilisers

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

News on Air, Water and Transport

Scrubber discharge bans would protect oceans

5 laboratory bottles with differently coloured liquid from transparent to brown-black.

The German Environment Agency has commissioned a project to study the effects of discharge water from exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) of ships on the marine environment. Scrubber discharge contains pollutants such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are classified as extremely hazardous. Discharge bans - at least regional - are recommended. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment