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Mr Gunnar Norén Executive Secretary toCoalition Clean Baltic

31 March 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania

Management of nutrient resources; HELCOM agreements-Prevention of pollution from agriculture related to Intensive rearing animals

Best practices for Intensive Rearing of Animals-focus on resource-efficient use of manure fertilizers and minimizing nutrient run-off

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Content of the Presentation

·What is CCB ?

·Baltic Sea eutrophication

·Nutrient management on farmland today

·Saving valuable Nutrient resources for fertilizers

·HELCOM regulations on agriculture nutrients

·Future directions for Fertilizers management

*Recommended Nutrient surplus levels

Coalition Clean Baltic

CCB – Joining forces for the Baltic• CCB is a network of Environmental

NGOs, grass-root level, in 11 countries bordering the Baltic Sea

• CCB was established in 1990

• CCB is environmental Citizens Organisations (ECO) in cooperation

• CCB has 20 member organizations, have 800 000 individual members

• CCB has organisations in: Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine

• CCB is working in the Baltic Sea catchment area and its membership represents about 0.8 million individual members in the Baltic Sea region

Member organisationsBelarusEcohomeIPO Ecoproject

Denmark Danish Society for Nature Conservation

EstoniaEstonian Green Movement

FinlandFinnish Association for Nature ConservationFinnish Society for Nature and Environment

GermanyBund für Umwelt und NaturschutzDeutschland

Latvia Environmental Protection Club of Latvia, VAKLatvian Green Movement

LithuaniaLithuanian Fund for NatureLithuanian Green Movement

PolandGreen Federation, GAJA, SzczecinPolish Ecological Club, PKE

RussiaFriends of the Baltic, St. PetersburgGreen World, St. PetersburgNeva River Clearwater, St. PetersburgGUIDE Environmental Group, Kaliningrad

Sweden Swedish Society for Nature ConservationWWF-Sweden

Ukraine The Western Centre of the Ukrainian Branchof the World Laboratory, Lviv, Ukraine

Priority Areas

1. Promotion of good ecological water status

1. Prevention of installations and transports harmful to the Baltic Sea environment and coastal areas

2. Development of sustainable Baltic Sea fisheries

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AGRICULTURE and EUTROPHICATION

Baltic agriculture – contribute with More than 50 % of the nutrient load(Nitrogen & Phosphorus)

We are loosing from Baltic farmland soils

10 000 ton P / year 230 000 ton N / year

Nutrient resources are wasted !

European Phosphorus useP – announced as one of 20 Critical Raw Materials of EU

Lost P in European wastewater stream could cover 15 % of the European mineral P demand

Agricultural N and P balances

• OECD countries submit annual calculations of soil N and P balance (also EUROSTAT)

- N and P-application levels in Europé correlated to GDP and to population density

- NOT correlated to fertilizer requirement(soil N and P status, or expected crop yield

- Net P-application is justified if soil has low P, as is the case in much of Central-Eastern Europe

Soil phosphorus – negative correlation

- Proportion of land with high P-status (good or very good soil P supply) is over 50 % in Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden

- The proportion of land with high P-status is very much lower in EU 12 ’accession’ states than in EU 15

- Comparison of soil P status to P fertiliser balance shows a negative correlation:that is, the opposite of agronomic logic – soils needing higher P application are overall actually receiving less, and soils with very good or excess P status, needing no mineral or organic P-application, receive the highest amounts

Cumulative balances and environmental impacts

-Since introduction of EU Nitrates Directive (1991/676) total N surplus applied on land, in Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark has exceeded 2000 kg N/ha

-Cumulative Nitrogen balances are significantly lower in the EU 12 ’accession’ states

-Comparison shows – countries with higher cumulatives N balances have High levels of Nitrate groundwater pollution

-Countries with lower cumulative N balances have lower nitrate pollution

(European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

Estimated trends in European reactive nitrogen emissions between 1900 and 2000 (EU-27)

Conclusion

• EU regulations are not achieving their objectives (Safe groundwater, No eutrophication )

regarding nutrient application and resulting pollution

Recommendationsfor Nitrogen fertilization

• Limit N-application to take into account manure nitrogen, both as applied in same year and accumulated from previous years

- Include soil N status and cumulative N balances in agro-environmnetal indicators

Recommendations for phosphorus fertilization• Application limits for P, taking into

account crop P response

- Limit P-application , take into account P in manure applied during the year and accumulated over previous years

- Complete banning of P-application from manure over 22 kg P / ha (HELCOM Annex III-Prevention of pollution from agriculture)

- Banning P-application to soils which already have excess of P (No P-fertilization on P-saturated soils)(No manure on such soils)

- Including soil P status and cumulative P balances in agro-environmnetal indicators

For all Fertilizer use

• Among EU Member States-harmonization calculation methods for organic manure N and P contents and uptake over years; Maximum permissable (plant uptake organic + total mineral) N doses

• Undertaken in Nitrates Directive National Action Programs

• HELCOM has agreement(2013) to set up harmonized nutrient levels in various manure

Major reconstructuring of livestock production across Europé is essential

EU Policy failures

• EU environmental policies are not effective in reducing nutrient pollution if livestock density is market driven

- Up to 30-50 % of all European freshwaters have to high nutrient levels, creating eutrophication etc

- European regional sea areas, Baltic Sea & North Sea, have Eutrophication problems

Annual nitrogen flows (kg/ha) in a pig farming system

The role of the farmer is crucial – importance of individual farmers decisions. Farmers-businessmen, primary aim is to optimise their production system to the benefit of themselves

Potential for change for increased N efficiency (%) and that achieved in practice by skilled farmers (European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

Precision N-application, out from sensor maps

Nitrogen application ’map’ based on crop scanning by a tractor-mounted N-sensor

HELCOM regulations on agriculture nutrients

• HELCOM Annex III, part 2 - Prevention of pollution from agriculture (Helsinki Convention is legally binding)

- Request Nutrient-balanced fertilization – Application of fertilizer nutrient shall be balanced with the need of the crops - No overfertilization

- Controlled via ”Nutrient surplus on farmland” calculations

HELCOM Ministerial meeting, October 2013 decided

*WE AGREE applying by 2018 at the latest annual nutrient accounting at farm level taking into account soil and climate conditions giving the possibility to reach nutrient balanced fertilization and reduce nutrient losses at regional level in the countries

*With a view to fully utilize nutrient content of manure in fertilization practices and to avoid overfertilization WE ALSO AGREE to establish by 2016 national guidelines or standards for nutrient content in manure and to develop by 2018 guidelines/recommendation on the use of such standards;

Requirements on Baltic farmland

*Mandatory Nutrient bookkeeping (N & P) and Nutrient Surplus calculation (kg N & P/ha,y) at soil-field level

*Baltic countries develop National tolerable nutrient surplus limit values (max kg N/ha,y , kg P/ha,y) (HELCOM agreement 2013)

Nutrient application and Nutrient Surplus levels

• Nitrate Directive : max 170 kg N/ha,y

- Complete banning of N-surplus over 50 kg N/ha,y

- Tolerable N-surplus – crop production: 20-25 kg N/ha,y

- Tolerable N-surplus – animal production: 25-40 kg N/ha,y

--------------------------------------- Max P from manure: 22 kg P/ha,y (HELCOM

Annex III)- Tolerable P-surplus levels: 2-8 kg P/ha,y

Nutrient balancing needs on 3 levels

- Soil/field level

- Farm/neighbourhood/region level

- National level

(can also include manure nutrient export to outside fields/regions/nations)

Intensive Agriculture in Baltic catchment

• If most of the farmland in Baltic EU accession countries will apply

* Intensive agricultural practices with low-standard nutrient management

• Baltic Sea eutrophication will increase• Impossible to solve the Baltic

eutrophication problem without better Nutrient management on Baltic farmland

(European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

Estimated environmental costs due to reactive nitrogen emissions to air and to water in the EU-27

Environmental damage related to N effects from agriculture in EU-27

• Estmated to 20 – 150 billion Euro per year

- Can be compared with the benefits on N-fertilizers for farmers of 10 – 100 billion Euro per year

- With considerable uncertainty about long-term N-benefits for crop yield

(European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

Public money (Taxes) – for Public goods

• National CAP-subsidies should support – solving the overfertilization & Baltic Sea eutrophication problem

• Rural Development Plans & Agro-Environmental programmes

Feed the crop – Not the soil

Thanks for your attention!