Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus emphasized that the same clear principles on land must be applicable for maritime area planning. “Just as is the case when building on land, in the case of building at sea the area must be examined as a whole, not according to individual, compartmentalised projects,” explained the Minister. “The maritime area is sensitive, and any planning therein must be approached as responsibly as the planning of construction on land,” stated Keit Pentus. In her words, the result of the University of Tartu project, having received co-financing from the Environmental Investment Centre, will be an efficient and innovative tool. “This project creates the necessary methods and also provides us with data on the key species and habitats of several pilot areas. In the future, the same methods can be applied in the charting of larger areas. In turn, information obtained in this way is of critical importance in allowing for correct, factually based and environmentally friendly decisions to be made during maritime area planning, the permitting or refusal to allow construction at sea,” found the Minister of the Environment. Even with the help of remote monitoring the assessment of the sea floor is a rather difficult task, considering the optical characteristics of the Baltic Sea, although it is possible due to the development and supplementation of certain methods. It significantly increases our opportunities to receive reliable information about natural values located on the sea floor. Eco-systems of coastal waters are seriously threatened around the world. In order to reduce the further deterioration of ecological conditions resulting from human impact, especially in coastal waters and island regions, the improved spatial planning of human activities is of critical importance. |
