Cross-REalm modelling and assessment of Aquatic ecosystem services: Towards a science-based design of Nature-based solutions to tackle Eutrophication (CREATE), No. ES RTD/2025/06

Project No. ES RTD/2025/06
Project title: „Cross-REalm modelling and assessment of Aquatic ecosystem services: Towards a science-based design of Nature-based solutions to tackle Eutrophication“ (CREATE)
Project duration: from 2025-03-01 to 2028-02-29
Project coordinator: University of Eastern Finland (UEF)

Project manager in MRU: dr. Miguel Ângelo Raposo Inácio, miguel.inacio@mruni.eu
Other partners: University of Latvia (Latvia), University of Tartu (Estonia), Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania), Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland)

Summary:

CREATE addresses knowledge gaps currently hampering the efficient implementation of NBS targeting eutrophication in the Baltic Sea catchment area. The project will identify, assess, and map key ecosystem services (ES) affected by eutrophication, revealing their interconnections. It will then prioritize and spatially align Nature-based Solutions (NBS) to optimize ES supply, minimizing trade-offs and enhancing synergies. CREATE also ensures policy uptake by promoting NBS integration into management practices across the freshwater-coastal-marine continuum.

Aims and objectives:

CREATE aims at tackling several of the knowledge gaps currently hampering the efficient implementation of NBS targeting eutrophication in the Baltic Sea basin.

CREATE will develop, in close collaboration with key stakeholders, a toolkit to:

1. Unveil the interlinkages between eutrophication and ES through the science-based identification, assessment, and mapping of key provisioning, supporting, and regulating ES that are impacted by eutrophication processes, or that may play a key role in mitigating eutrophication across aquatic realms in the eastern Baltic Sea region.
2. Target and prioritize eutrophication mitigating NBS tailored for the Baltic Sea region environmental conditions, while ensuring its spatial coherence with ES supply. Spatial prioritization will be driven by ES supply optimization algorithms, seeking to minimize trade-offs and enhance synergies.
3. Ensure policy uptake of the proposed NBS by promoting their integration into river basin management, rural development, and maritime spatial planning through the definition of clear guidelines for their effective consideration in decision-making processes and implementation in management strategies.

The project will involve close collaboration with stakeholders, including national and local authorities, agriculture and aquaculture sectors, environmental NGOs and local communities, promoting the practical application of research results and the adoption of nature-based solutions

 The project is funded by the European Commission, Water4All 2023 Joint Transnational Call “Aquatic Ecosystem Services” and AKA (Fnland) / LZP (Latvia) / ETAG (Estonia) / LMT (Lithuania) / NCBR (Poland)