Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive - basis approach and restoration strategy to achieve the good ecological status for coastal waters

The aim of the EU Water Framework Directive is to reach a "good ecological status" of all water bodies until the year 2015. The reason and effects of the degradation of the coastal waters are well known, but knowledge about management activities to reverse the actual impact is sparse. Present activities for improvement are aimed at reducing the external nutrient input. With the implementation of the HELCOM agreement the input of phosphorus and nitrogen was reduced by 61 % and 23 % respectively along the German Baltic Coast. Today the internal P pool of most coastal waters is much higher than the external P load. Therefore a good ecological state cannot be achieved within the next 10 years without the reduction of the internal P load. Since little is known about restoration strategies in coastal waters, the development of suitable management plans must start as soon as possible to guarantee the good ecological state in 2015.