ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of global environmental change on the Baltic Sea. As a consequence of very complex ecological and societal characteristics, the Baltic Sea is a case study of multilevel and ‘network-type’ systems of marine environmental governance. As such, it can offer not only lessons for improved local management but also experiences that may be transferrable to other regions and ecosystems. In addition to describing the threats that global environmental change presents to the Baltic Sea, the chapter looks at regulatory institutions for the sea and explores the evolution of the region’s multilevel environmental governance system. It asks how approaches to marine environmental governance for this regional sea are challenged by climate change combined with existing ecological threats, notably eutrophication caused by pollutants entering the sea from the surrounding riparian system. The chapter highlights the potential utility and adaptability of existing management systems for regional seas in a future characterised by global environmental change.
