Abstract
BackgroundThe Baltic Sea ecosystems supply many benefits to society, termed ecosystem services. These depend upon a healthy marine environment requiring marine and relevant land-based policies integrated with public health policies. Until recently marine environment protection policies have largely focussed on human impacts on the environment and have not taken into account impacts of ecosystems on human health beyond the direct impacts of hazardous substances, such as those present in seafood. Whilst endeavours have been made to integrate human health and well-being into marine policies, interviews with key stakeholders through a participatory process revealed that the linkages were not sufficiently strong to inform policymaking. The existing evidence base urgently needs to be identified and synthesised to support relevant policy updates of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) 2008/56/EC and the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) (2007) as well as to help direct future research priorities.MethodThe protocol is based on the primary question, “What linkages have been researched between Baltic Sea ecosystems and the positive and negative impacts to human health and well-being?” Using systematic mapping, this study will identify and map the state and the geographical distribution of the existing research evidence linking human health and well-being with the Baltic Sea ecosystems. The types of ecosystem services supplied by the Baltic Sea and the associated health and well-being impacts will be categorised and presented in a graphical matrix, illustrating ecosystem service type and the types of health and well-being outcomes. The systematic mapping procedure will result in a narrative report published with a searchable database, which will contain a descriptive summary of the information from all of the eligible studies. The systematic map and database will be displayed on the website of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
Highlights
The Baltic Sea ecosystems supply many benefits to society, termed ecosystem services
Recently there has been an upsurge of interest in the impacts on human health and well-being and the role played by the marine environment [1, 12, 21]
Ability to pursue what you value doing and being review for smart decisions” arose from a call from the BONUS secretariat [6] to address these challenges. This synthesis focuses on the existing knowledge of the Baltic Sea ecosystems impacts on human health and wellbeing and seeks to make this an accessible resource for policymakers
Summary
There has been an upsurge of interest in the impacts on human health and well-being and the role played by the marine environment [1, 12, 21]. Ability to pursue what you value doing and being review for smart decisions” arose from a call from the BONUS secretariat (the legal management organisation of BONUS—joint Baltic Sea research and development programme) [6] to address these challenges This synthesis focuses on the existing knowledge of the Baltic Sea ecosystems impacts on human health and wellbeing and seeks to make this an accessible resource for policymakers. The benefits from the sea contribute to the health and well-being of individuals and communities through provisioning services such as food, medicines, fertilisers; regulatory services such as the regulation of harmful substances and clean water; and cultural services such as the traditional activities like ice-sea fishing or the spiritual/religious beliefs associated with the Baltic Sea maritime and coastal ecosystems These services depend upon a healthy environment and the Baltic Sea countries have worked towards an integration of marine policies to ensure the health of the Baltic Sea ecosystems. An open dialogue with the stakeholders is enabled by sending updates of the review progress to the key stakeholders (e.g. HELCOM GEAR working group)
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