Sustainable use of Baltic Sea natural resources based on ecological engineering
A project working with a system analysis of all stages from harvest of algae in the Baltic Sea to biogas production have been iniated in co-operation with the municipality of Trelleborg in Southern Sweden. The project are dealing with the ecological, social and technological aspects in the production chain. Comparisons with other biomasses such as reed and blue mussels are also studied in the project. The project started during the summer of 2009 and will continue until 2011.
Sustainable use of Baltic Sea natural resources based on ecological engineering. The project will investigate if the construction of wetlands, the harvesting of reed and algae and mussel farming in the coastal zone and blue green algae in the open sea may form the basis for the sustainable use of natural resources in an area of the Baltic Sea. The project aims to assess the sustainability from an environmental, economic and social perspective and analyze both the technology and how much natural resources there are in the area. The project will be done in close cooperation with a municipality in southern Sweden, Trelleborg and companies operating in the municipality. There are few scientific studies that evaluate the sustainability of a project that tries to take a holistic approach. To develop technological solutions to environmental problems is a high priority research field in today’s society. If the project is successful, it can serve as a model on how to solve sustainability problems in coastal areas. The project is supported by Formas. The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning.
Contact:
Ass. Professor Fredrik Gröndahl
Ass. Prof. Nils Brandt and Ass Professor Maria Malmström from Industrial Ecology are also involved in the project.