Mr Gunnar Norén Executive Secretary to Coalition Clean Baltic

1. Best practices for Intensive Rearing of Animals-focus on resource-efficient use of manure fertilizers and minimizing nutrient run-off 31 March 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania Management of nutrient resources; HELCOM agreements-Prevention of pollution from agriculture related to Intensive rearing animals Mr Gunnar Norén Executive Secretary toCoalition Clean Baltic

2. Content of the Presentation ·What is CCB ? ·Baltic Sea eutrophication ·Nutrient management on farmland today ·Saving valuable Nutrient resources for fertilizers ·HELCOM regulations on agriculture nutrients ·Future directions for Fertilizers management *Recommended Nutrient surplus levels

3. Coalition Clean Baltic CCB – Joining forces for the Baltic • CCB is a network of Environmental NGOs, grass-root level, in 11 countries bordering the Baltic Sea • CCB was established in 1990 • CCB is environmental Citizens Organisations (ECO) in cooperation • CCBhas 20 member organizations, have 800 000 individual members • CCB has organisations in: Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine

4. CCB is working in the Baltic Sea catchment area and its membership represents about 0.8 million individual members in the Baltic Sea region

5. Member organisations Poland Green Federation, GAJA, Szczecin Polish Ecological Club, PKE Russia Friends of the Baltic, St. Petersburg Green World, St. Petersburg Neva River Clearwater, St. Petersburg GUIDE Environmental Group, Kaliningrad Sweden Swedish Society for Nature Conservation WWF-Sweden Ukraine The Western Centre of the Ukrainian Branch of the World Laboratory, Lviv, Ukraine Belarus Ecohome IPO Ecoproject Denmark Danish Society for Nature Conservation Estonia Estonian Green Movement Finland Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Finnish Society for Nature and Environment Germany Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland Latvia Environmental Protection Club of Latvia, VAK Latvian Green Movement Lithuania Lithuanian Fund for Nature Lithuanian Green Movement

6. 3 Priority Areas • Promotion of good ecological water status • Prevention of installations and transports harmful to the Baltic Sea environment and coastal areas • Development of sustainable Baltic Sea fisheries

9. AGRICULTURE and EUTROPHICATION Baltic agriculture – contribute with More than 50 % of the nutrient load (Nitrogen & Phosphorus) We are loosing from Baltic farmland soils 10 000 ton P / year 230 000 ton N / year Nutrient resources are wasted !

11. European Phosphorus useP – announced as one of 20 Critical Raw Materials of EU Lost P in European wastewater stream could cover 15 % of the European mineral P demand

12. Agricultural N and P balances • OECD countries submit annual calculations of soil N and P balance (also EUROSTAT) • N and P-application levels in Europé correlated to GDP and to population density • NOT correlated to fertilizer requirement(soil N and P status, or expected crop yield • Net P-application is justified if soil has low P, as is the case in much of Central-Eastern Europe

13. Soil phosphorus – negative correlation • Proportion of land withhigh P-status (good or verygoodsoil P supply) is over 50 % in Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden • The proportion of land withhigh P-status is verymuchlower in EU 12 ’accession’ statesthan in EU 15 • Comparisonofsoil P status to P fertiliserbalance shows a negative correlation:thatis, the oppositeofagronomiclogic – soilsneedinghigher P applicationare overall actuallyreceiving less, and soilswithverygood or excess P status, needing no mineral or organic P-application, receive the highestamounts

14. Cumulative balances and environmental impacts -Sinceintroductionof EU NitratesDirective (1991/676) total N surplusapplied on land, in Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark has exceeded 2000 kg N/ha • Cumulative Nitrogen balancesaresignificantlylower in the EU 12 ’accession’ states • Comparison shows – countrieswithhighercumulatives N balanceshaveHighlevelsofNitrategroundwater pollution • Countrieswithlowercumulative N balanceshavelowernitrate pollution

15. Estimated trends in Europeanreactive nitrogen emissions between 1900 and 2000 (EU-27) (European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

16. Conclusion • EU regulationsare not achievingtheirobjectives (Safegroundwater, No eutrophication ) regardingnutrientapplication and resulting pollution

17. Recommendationsfor Nitrogen fertilization • Limit N-application to take into account manure nitrogen, both as applied in same year and accumulated from previous years • Include soil N status and cumulative N balances in agro-environmnetal indicators

18. Recommendations for phosphorus fertilization • Application limits for P, takingintoaccountcrop P response • Limit P-application , takeintoaccount P in manureappliedduring the year and accumulated over previousyears • Complete banning of P-application from manure over 22 kg P / ha (HELCOM Annex III-Prevention of pollution from agriculture) • Banning P-application to soilswhichalreadyhave excess of P (No P-fertilization on P-saturatedsoils)(No manure on suchsoils) • Includingsoil P status and cumulative P balances in agro-environmnetalindicators

19. For all Fertilizer use • Among EU Member States-harmonization calculation methods for organic manure N and P contents and uptake over years; Maximum permissable (plant uptake organic + total mineral) N doses • Undertaken in Nitrates Directive National Action Programs • HELCOM has agreement(2013) to set up harmonized nutrient levels in various manure

20. Major reconstructuring of livestock production across Europé is essentialEU Policy failures • EU environmental policies are not effective in reducing nutrient pollution if livestock density is market driven • Up to 30-50 % of all European freshwaters have to high nutrient levels, creating eutrophication etc • European regional sea areas, Baltic Sea & North Sea, have Eutrophication problems

21. Annual nitrogen flows (kg/ha) in a pigfarming system

22. The roleof the farmer is crucial – importanceofindividual farmers decisions. Farmers-businessmen, primaryaim is to optimisetheirproduction system to the benefit ofthemselves Potential for change for increased N efficiency (%) and that achieved in practice by skilled farmers (European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

23. Nitrogen application ’map’ based on crop scanning by a tractor-mounted N-sensor Precision N-application, out from sensor maps

24. HELCOM regulations on agriculture nutrients • HELCOM Annex III, part 2 - Prevention of pollution from agriculture (Helsinki Convention is legally binding) • Request Nutrient-balanced fertilization – Application of fertilizer nutrient shall be balanced with the need of the crops - No overfertilization • Controlled via ”Nutrient surplus on farmland” calculations

25. HELCOM Ministerial meeting, October 2013 decided *WE AGREE applying by 2018 at the latest annual nutrient accounting at farm level taking into account soil and climate conditions giving the possibility to reach nutrient balanced fertilization and reduce nutrient losses at regional level in the countries *With a view to fully utilize nutrient content of manure in fertilization practices and to avoid overfertilization WE ALSO AGREE to establish by 2016 national guidelines or standards for nutrient content in manure and to develop by 2018 guidelines/recommendation on the use of such standards;

26. Requirements on Baltic farmland *Mandatory Nutrient bookkeeping (N & P) and Nutrient Surplus calculation (kg N & P/ha,y) at soil-field level *Baltic countries develop National tolerable nutrient surplus limit values (max kg N/ha,y , kg P/ha,y) (HELCOM agreement 2013)

27. Nutrient application and Nutrient Surplus levels • Nitrate Directive : max 170 kg N/ha,y • Complete banning of N-surplus over 50 kg N/ha,y • Tolerable N-surplus – crop production: 20-25 kg N/ha,y • Tolerable N-surplus – animal production: 25-40 kg N/ha,y -------------------------------------- • Max P from manure: 22 kg P/ha,y (HELCOM Annex III) • Tolerable P-surplus levels: 2-8 kg P/ha,y

28. Nutrient balancing needs on 3 levels • Soil/fieldlevel • Farm/neighbourhood/region level • National level (canalsoincludemanurenutrient export to outsidefields/regions/nations)

29. Intensive Agriculture in Baltic catchment • If mostof the farmland in Baltic EU accession countrieswillapply * Intensive agriculturalpracticeswithlow-standard nutrient management • Baltic Sea eutrophicationwillincrease • Impossible to solve the Baltic eutrophication problem withoutbetterNutrient management on Baltic farmland

30. Estimatedenvironmentalcostsdue to reactive nitrogen emissions to air and to water in the EU-27 (European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

31. Environmental damage related to N effects from agriculture in EU-27 • Estmated to 20 – 150 billion Euro per year • Can be comparedwith the benefits on N-fertilizers for farmers of 10 – 100 billion Euro per year • Withconsiderableuncertaintyabout long-term N-benefits for cropyield (European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge Univ. 2011)

32. Public money (Taxes) – for Public goods • National CAP-subsidies should support – solving the overfertilization & Baltic Sea eutrophication problem • Rural Development Plans & Agro-Environmental programmes Feed the crop – Not the soil

33. Thanks for your attention!