Threatened Biodiversity in the German North and Baltic Seas : Sensitivities towards Human Activities and the Effects of Climate Change

Bonn

Bundesamt für Naturschutz

2012

628 S.

978-3-7843-4017-3

175250

Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt, 628 S.

The seas off Germany's coasts are under pressure from human induced pollution and, increasingly, from direct human activities in the area - notably fischeries, resource exploration and extraction, and the erection of offshore installations such as wind farms. Furthermore, the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on marine ecosystems are already apperent. in 2004, ten marine protected areas covering a total of more than 10.000km2 were designated in the German Exclusive Economic Zones of the North and Baltic Seas as a contribution to the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. However, the statutory protection afforded by such designation does not suffice by itself. In response to this challange, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) is now preparing comprehensive management plans for the protected areas that take all relevant human pressures into account.