The Baltic Sea ecosystem has an amazing ability to adapt. However, nearly a hundred years of severe human impact in the form of sea transport, fishing, physical exploitation and release of nutrients and harmful substances have weakened the sea's ability to meet new environmental challenges.

Recently, a study by researchers at Stockholm and Helsinki University showed that temperatures in some places in the Baltic Sea have risen by two degrees since the 1990s.

Other research has already shown in 2013 that climate change can lead to lower salinity, stronger algal blooms and lack of oxygen.

This is extremely worrying. Partly because many of the Baltic's most well-known species are hard hit by these changes. Partly because time is running out. The effects of climate change are already visible in the sea.

Therefore, the future of the sea is not just about limiting the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but also about helping the marine environment to increase its resilience.

If the Baltic Sea is to have a chance to meet climate change, it will take a lot of effort to reduce our human impact on the sea.

And these efforts must begin now. We at Stockholm University's Baltic Sea Center have identified a number of key measures that we believe are the most important to focus on in the coming years:

Reduce eutrophication

Agriculture is the most important source of waterborne nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the sea. Farmers have already made great efforts. But plant nutrient utilization must be improved, including better balance between plant cultivation and animal husbandry at the local level and improved use of manure. Increase the rural program's share of the EU's agricultural policy (CAP) and provide farmers with fair compensation for such measures.

Fishing sustainably

ICE's scientific recommendations on catch quotas must be followed for all fish stocks. Furthermore, the extensive pelagic industrial fishing for herring should be severely restricted in the southern and south-eastern Baltic to ensure cod feeding.

Along the east coast, one should also consider either placing all trawl fishing outside the trawl boundary, or alternatively allowing small-scale trawl fishing but moving out the large-scale.

Limit hazardous substances

Very long-lived chemicals must be prohibited in groups within the EU chemicals legislation REACH. The trait of persistence (high persistence) should be introduced as a separate criterion for the regulation of substances within REACH.

In addition, advanced treatment should be introduced at the largest sewage treatment plants in the Baltic basin.

Protect marine ecosystems

Allocate specific budget funds to strengthen the quality of marine area protection and increase government resources for this work. Establish reference areas free of human influence.

These areas make it possible to evaluate the marine protection as a whole and assess what the deterioration is due to.

From now on, climate change and its possible consequences must be included in all decision-making processes concerning the Baltic Sea - both at EU and national level.

Only then can we maintain a vibrant marine and coastal environment, which continues to deliver both recreation and important ecosystem services.