EU steunt watermilieu in Baltische Zee met 3 miljoen euro (en)
The European Commission today announced it will support a new 4-year project to improve environmental and sustainable development of the Baltic Sea. The EU contribution amounts to more than € 3 million. The Baltic Sea is Europe's largest internal water basin, but joint planning of its nine bordering countries' research programmes has never taken place (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland and Germany). The European Union BONUS project will help to better address issues such as pollution, regional development, protection of natural resources and marine sciences. The BONUS project brings together ten key research funding organisations from 8 of the countries around the Baltic Sea as well as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). It will create a forum for joint oversight of national or international research programmes through the pooling of resources and the consistent planning of projects to complement policies.
"Borders can be drawn on a map, but waves, currents and sea creatures go where they please. The marine environment is oblivious to territorial waters, so its protection and sustainable development will always require international co-operation", says European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. "The BONUS project will substantially improve the effectiveness of environmental and sustainable development policies for the entire Baltic region. This industrialised region needs decisive action based on solid scientific knowledge. A coherent transnational strategy is essential to ensure that research is cost-effective, of high scientific quality, and addresses the real needs of policy-makers and of the Baltic region's economy and citizens".
Need for strategic planning
Marine science in the Baltic Sea would particularly benefit from a co-ordinated approach of this kind. Nine countries surround this 377.000 km2 body of water, and eight of these are either EU Member States or will shortly join the EU (four member states, four new member states). Recent debates over fishing rights and the pollution of coastlines by oil spills have highlighted the need for more international scientific collaboration to support decision-makers.
Although scientists from countries bordering the Baltic have a long history of co-operation and several international bodies and associations have brought marine scientists together to share their findings and knowledge, the strategic planning of national research programmes is still not co-ordinated between countries. None of the ongoing research projects, for instance, have included any common agreement between funding agencies; grants have been awarded to individual scientists exclusively by national funding bodies.
The BONUS network
The BONUS network brings together 11 organisations involved in the funding and organisation of Baltic marine science to pool their research funding and co-ordinate the use of infrastructures. Sharing good practice in programme management and removing administrative barriers will pave the way for joint research programmes. New structures created by the BONUS consortium will be responsible for fully integrated programme funding and management.
Following a number of preparatory activities in the first years, the project will direct the creation of joint research programmes and establish agreed procedures for the management and shared use of research facilities, and will set up a joint postgraduate training programme. Ultimately, the project will define management and decision-making systems for long-lasting cooperation at programme level.
The ERA-NET scheme
The BONUS project is funded under the new ERA-NET scheme as part of the EU Sixth Research Framework Programme (FP6 2002-2006). The ERA-NET scheme is designed to encourage the creation of close, long-term links between national research programmes with shared goals. It will contribute to the creation of the European Research Area by facilitating concrete initiatives to co-ordinate regional, national and European research programmes in specific fields, and to pool scattered human and financial resources to improve both the efficiency and the effectiveness of Europe's research efforts.
For further information on the BONUS project, please contact:
Dr. Kaisa Kononen, Academy of Finland,
Fax: +358 9 77488395
Email : kaisa.kononen@aka.fi
For further information on the ERA-NET scheme, please visit:
http://www.cordis.lu/coordination/home.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/coordination/era-net_en.html
ANNEX
Full title:
BONUS for the Baltic Sea science network of funding agencies
Research field: Marine Science
Co-ordinator: Finland: Academy of Finland
Partners:
Denmark: Danish Natural Science Council
Estonia: Estonian Science Foundation
Germany: Forschungszentrum Jülich Projekttraeger Jülich
Latvia: Latvian Council of Science
Lithuania: Ministry of Education and Science
Poland: Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology
Sweden: Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research; Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning Foundation; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
International: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
A further seven funding organisations are associated with BONUS as observers.
Further information:
Dr. Kaisa Kononen, Academy of Finland
PO Box 99, Vilhonvuorenkatu 6, Helsinki, FIN-00500 Finland
Fax: +358 9 77488395
Duration: 4 years
EU Funding : €3.03 million