Baltic Sea

Umwelt-Indikator

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

A graph shows the change in concentration of total nitrogen in all the main rivers which enter the North Sea and Baltic Sea in Germany. A distinction is made between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The concentration value is given as the moving average of the flows of the past 5 years in milligrams per litre.

To achieve the objectives for the protection of the marine environment, Germany has committed to comply with maximum concentrations of nitrogen at estuaries.On average for all rivers, these target concentrations are already met for the North Sea, but still exceeded for the Baltic Sea.Some of the North Sea and Baltic Sea tributaries still have very high concentrations.In order to fulfil the objecti... 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

Water

Germany’s HELCOM Chairmanship 2020 – 2022

Logo von HELCOM

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

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment