© MEKUN
Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature
As a state between two seas – the North Sea and the Baltic Sea – the state of Schleswig-Holstein has a special responsibility for marine conservation. The Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature organizes and promotes the protection of nature, the environment, oceans, coasts and the climate.
Ministry for marine protection
With marine protection-minister Tobias Goldschmidt at the helm, the ministry and its subordinate state authorities, such as the State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Park and Marine Protection (LKN.SH) and the State Office for the Environment (LfU), ensure that the seas on our doorstep are both protected and used sustainably. And they do this while addressing a wide variety of marine issues.
Protection efforts for important marine habitats with their characteristic communities and species have already been successful for 40 years in the North Sea with the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. The country has achieved an important milestone in marine protection for the Baltic Sea. The “Baltic Sea Protection Action Plan 2030” aims i.a. to place several areas under strict protection in order to better protect the various habitats, such as seagrass meadows, algae forests and mussel beds, and their inhabitants.
Marine conservation in Schleswig-Holstein faces various challenges. These include eutrophication, inputs of waste and pollutants – from industry but also from dumped munitions – and the loss of biodiversity. They must all be tackled together in order to achieve an effective improvement in the condition of the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The Ocean Race, Boris Herrmann and his team Malizia, and MEKUN are united by one goal: to effectively protect our oceans, actively counteract climate change, inspire people to explore the fascinating underwater world and identify solutions. We work on this every day.