BSEP116B Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea - Helcom

Figure 6.3.3. Left: concrete-stone coastal protection on some parts of the Hel Peninsula in Poland. Right:
planned route of the Nord Stream pipeline (www.nord-stream.com).
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and seals do not seem to avoid wind farms at all (see
also Chapter 6.8, Noise pollution).
Power cables (132 kV) from wind farms may have
a harmful effect on migration patterns of eel and
other fish, but the results from existing studies are
not clear and further studies are needed to assess
possible effects (Elsam Enginreering & ENERGI E2
2005). Migrating birds avoid wind farms, showing
similar or lower collision frequencies than to other
objects (Desholm 2006). However, white-tailed
eagles have been found to be vulnerable to wind
mills. Wind power farms clearly also change the
appearance of the original landscape/seascape
(DONG Energy et al. 2006).
Wind farms affect biodiversity by introducing a
hard substratum that facilitates the development
of communities of sessile organisms through the
so-called ‘reef effect’. As a result, wind power
farms enhance local biodiversity (e.g., macroalgae,
invertebrates and reef fish) (Elsam Engineering &
ENERGI E2 2005, DONG Energy et al. 2006).
Coastal defense barriers
The construction of numerous coastal defense
barriers (sea walls) and beach nourishment
projects occurs in the southern part of the Baltic
Sea, mainly in Denmark, Germany, Lithuania
and Poland. These types of construction usually
involve massive dredging, physically affecting
benthic organisms, and landfill causing disruption
of coastal dynamics and loss of coastal habitats
(Figure 6.3.3, left). The scale of environmental
effects of these structures depends on the type
and size of construction and the construction
area. Coastal habitats and wetlands, with associated
species, currently show a decreasing trend
in Europe (EEA 2006). Coastal defense measures
under the conditions of HELCOM Recommendation
16/3, however, may be necessary in view of
sea level rise and the associated increased risks of
flooding of settlements.
Gas pipelines
Currently, there are at least three planned gas
pipeline routes in the Baltic Sea: ‘Baltic Gas Interconnector’
from Germany to Sweden, ‘BalticPipe’
from Denmark to Poland and ‘Nord Stream’ from
Russia to Germany. The largest of the three, the
Nord Stream construction (Figure 6.3.3, right),
will consist of two pipelines, both 1 200 km long,
with a diameter of 122 cm and under a pressure
of 220 atm. The size and length of the Nord
Stream gas pipes pose a number of environmental
safety concerns related to: i) effects of construction
on bottom habitats and bottom organisms,
ii) effects of possible contacts with chemical
weapons dumped in the Baltic Sea, iii) effects
of the mobilization of nutrients and hazardous
substances deposited in sediments, iv) effects of
discharged toxic test waters into the sea, and v)
effects of a possible pipeline breakage.
6.3.3 Major international frameworks
that regulate physical alterations
Exploitation of marine bottom substrates, the
dumping of dredged spoils, and the construction
of coastal and offshore installations cover