Environmental issues in the coastal regions of the south-eastern Baltic Sea: A sensitive natural environment in the face of increasing anthropic pressures

Abstract

In recent years, Latvian, Lithuanian, and the Oblast of Kaliningrad coastal zones have been experiencing a particularly intense and rapid anthropisation of the coastline due to political, social, and economic changes at the end of the Soviet period. These pressures are exerting on a highly sensitive environment, which has remained relatively untouched by any major development due to the militarisation of the coasts. The human stakes increased considerably in the coastal zone of the south-eastern Baltic with tourism, industrial development, and urban expansion. The environmental impacts and issues of the post-soviet anthropisation are analysed in this article through a bibliographic compilation related to the evolution of the coastal management policies reconciling environmental protection and economic development.