NURSECOAST-II participated at the 17th EUSBSR Annual Forum in Tallinn

Dedicated to the theme of resilience, the forum gathered governments, cities, researchers, policymakers, civil society leaders, and innovators to discuss the Baltic Sea Region’s most pressing challenges and strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation.

NURSECOAST-II was showcased in the Networking Village alongside other Interreg projects contributing to the EUSBSR Policy Area Nutri, which focuses on reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea and mitigating eutrophication. Selma Guyon from Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre presented the project’s newly published policy brief and highlighted key policy actions for strengthening small wastewater treatment plants facing seasonal pressure caused by tourism peaks.

Participation in the Networking Village provided an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with partners, stakeholders, and organisations working on sustainable water management across the Baltic Sea Region.

During the forum, discussions highlighted the importance of integrated and ecosystem-based water management approaches. As Orsolya Schulz from the Interreg Baltic Sea Region MA/JS noted during one of the sessions:

“What is emergent is a shift, towards managing water as one system across borders and across sectors, as part of this, we are looking at solutions that work with nature restoring wetlands, strengthening coastal ecosystems and using natural processes alongside technical approaches. At the same time water is what drives our economy, the blue economy. Shipping, tourism, aquaculture depend on it, but it also competes for the same space. So how do we protect and use these shared resources at the same time? We need these elements together: protection and use, land and sea, nature and economy. learning from each other, building capacity and finding ways to act across sectors and waters, not with a fix answer but with something we are continuing to shape here together .”

Reflecting on the event, Selma Guyon emphasised the strong interest in the innovative solutions demonstrated within the NURSECOAST-II project:

“The conference was an excellent occasion to present the innovative technologies tested in the project to tackle seasonal tourism peaks in wastewater. Participants showed great interest in the solutions being tested – from nanobubble technology to constructed wetlands and compact bioreactors.”

Read more about the NURSECOAST-II priority policy actions here.

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