ARTWEI

Action for the Reinforcement of the Transitional Waters Environmental Integrity

Transitional waters (TW) link adjacent river basins and marine areas and are critically important for the ecological health of the Baltic Sea.
The European Water Policy and the EU Water Framework Directive set the guidelines for managing river basins, while marine areas are managed within the EU Maritime Spatial Planning framework. ARTWEI aims to strike an operational balance between EU requirements for Maritime Spatial Planning framework, Water Framework Directive and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, which do often overlap or contradict each other. This aim will be achieved by establishing the South Baltic Transitional Waters’ partnership network of the key institutions based on the long-term cooperation agreement and supported by the regional activity network of EUCC – The Coastal and Marine Union. Thus, the cross-border cooperation of local and regional interest groups, citizens and politicians is crucial.
ARTWEI project will be based on existing experiences from the EU and international Baltic Sea cooperation networks and develop local and regional methods for effective management ofTWs from two perspectives: Cross-border cooperation and Environmental integrity of basins – TWs – open sea.
ARTWEI project has four cross-border TW regions of the South Baltic Area as target areas:

• Curonian Lagoon (LT/RU),
• Vistula Lagoon (RU/PL),
• Odra Lagoon (PL/DE),
• Oresund Lagoon (DK/SE).

ARTWEI project is part of the South Baltic Programme 2007 – 2013. The lead partner is the Klaipėda University and the partnership comprises other five partners from Lithuania, Germany, Poland and Sweden.