Eutrophication beyond 2020: Rewriting the old fairy tale – new pathways to a happy ending

 

A proposal of the H2020 project ResponSEAble to add ocean literacy to EUSBSR

Seminar on 4th June 2018, 13:30 – 18:30 (Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel)

Accompanying the 9th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR, Tallinn, 4-5 June 2018

In the current EUSBSR eutrophication has been looked at from a bio-physical context: farming causing nutrient pressure, nitrogen and phosphorus load, waste water treatment and innovative technologies for resource use etc. But a view on the socio-economic drivers around farming and a critical analysis of the policy responses is mostly missing. We do not deny that technological developments for more effective use of resources are important but are these enough?

The H2020 project “ResponSEAble” wants to contribute to the debate with some aspects that the EUSBSR 2020+ could more focus on:

  • Shared responsibilities
  • Complexity of the issues
  • Role of the value chain
  • Relationship of man and sea
  • We all have room for action

We want to put on the table of the seminar what is NOT common knowledge and break people’s preconceived views, to set a different picture on eutrophication to nourish the debate and contribute to making ocean literacy an important corner stone of the forthcoming EUSBSR.

Our ResponSEAble goal wasn’t to actually change behaviour, but to systematically determine how to achieve the desired behaviour change through increasing literacy of the most influential actors. It is this process that we want to discuss with key organisations that produce Baltic Sea literacy and invite or a review of their processes, policies and campaigns with new eyes and a new system.

We want to invite YOU:

  • Policy makers – all people involved in making and designing eutrophication abatement policy;
  • Science communicators – ranging from NGOs to teachers to government people;
  • Experts on eutrophication – who want to convey the topic to elicit behaviour change;
  • Representatives from the agriculture sector value chain.

We want to share with you the ResponSEAble information tools and will prepare in spring a set of background material. We also will engage with you in interviews about your Baltic Sea literacy products and would like to invite you to present a short case of review a campaign of yours – let’s create an interesting agenda together!

Limited financial support is available for travel/accommodation for speakers and participants from NGOs. Please contact us for more information if you would like to apply for it.

ResponSEAble will be an actor on the PA NUTRI´s seminar at the Forum “`Welcome to Dragon`s den“ – Pitching ideas for a Clean Baltic Sea” which will take place on 5th June. We scheduled our seminar the day before to give you all a chance to participate in both events and to create synergies with the PA NUTRI flagships and HELCOM activities.

Further information on registration and cooperation possibilities will come soon!