Mediating integrated actions for sustainable ecosystem services in a changing climate (MIRACLE)

MIRACLE approaches ecosystem services by policy instruments that acknowledge interlinkages between eutrophication, flood management, biodiversity, coastal water quality & human health.

The objective is to identify, measure and recommend cost-efficient solutions in the Baltic Sea region, through modelling, visualisation, stakeholder dialogues and social learning.

MIRACLE also identifies how institutional settings have shaped governance structures and policy instrument choices and provides road maps on opportunities for improved integration of agricultural, environmental and risk management policies adapted to a changing climate.

By creating a forum for dialogue between researchers and stakeholders in case study areas in Latvia, Poland, Sweden and Germany, consensus building and priority settings are used to develop roadmaps and new models of governance from trade-offs between different objectives. Cost-benefit analyses of priority measures are linked to interactive modelling of sources and the magnitude of eutrophication and floods in a changing climate. Impact scenarios of measures suggested by stakeholders to reduce floods and eutrophication are modelled, and the impact on, e.g., biodiversity, human health and biosecurity assessed.

Finally, recommendations for innovative governance structures and instruments are formulated, including payment for ecosystem services, in order to improve incentives for provision of sustainable ecosystem services.