Arturas Razinkovas

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Lithuanian Marine Science Integrating Into the
European Reaseach Area

• Arturas Razinkovas
• Coastal Research Planning Institute, Klaipeda
  University, Lithuania

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LITHUANIA

• 90 km of coastline one of the shortest
  coastlines of maritime EU states
• half of the largest coastal lagoon in Europe
  the Curonian lagoon another 100 km of
  coastline
• - still have a fishing fleet in Atlantic

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Marine science is extremely fragmented for such
a small countryInfrastructure use is not
optimized (e.g. 3 research vessels (RV Vejas,
ME, RV Darius, MA, RV Brabander, KU, none of them
meets the modern standards)No real reasearch and
education integration (except for Klaipeda
University)No links between traditionally
developed in Lithuania science branches (e.g.
biotechnology applied physics) and marine
research.Only Klaipeda University offers MSc
programmes in marine oriented research (including
ERASMUS MUNDUS European Master in Marine
Biodiversity)
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
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Marine biological diversity protection

• Klaipeda University
• Institute of Ecology, VU
• Marine Research Centre, ME
• Institute of Botany

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Global change and physical forcing

• Klaipeda University
• Institute of Ecology
• Vilinius University
• Marine Research Centre, Ministry of Environment
• Institute of Geology Geography
• Institute of Physics

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Eutrophication

• Klaipeda University
• Marine Research Centre, ME
• Institute of Botany

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Sustainable fishery and mariculture

• Institute of Ecology, VU
• Fishery laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture
• Klaipeda University

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Integration of science society

• Klaipeda University
• Marine Research Centre, Ministry of Environment
• Other organisations

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The total funding of marine research in Lithuania
as of 2004 was 0.4 million euros

• One of the lowest figures in the Baltic only
  comparable to Latvia Estonia

source BONUS publication No 3
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research projects in BONUS project database
Country EU-supported National NCM Total
DK 29 40 9 78 EE 14 28 3 45
FI 40 154 6 200 DE 47 76 0 123
LT 10 17 1 28 LV 8 5 2 15 PL
36 169 0 205 RU 2 63 0 65 SE 36
79 8 123 Total 222 631 29 882
source BONUS publication No 3
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EU funded projects

• MAST III BASYS (Baltic Sea System Studies) (3
  partners from Lithuania (Klaipeda University,
  Institute of Geology and Marine Research Centre)
  (1996-1999)
• Coastal Research Planning Institute was
  recognized as EU Centre of Excellence in coastal
  lagoon research (2002)
• Quite succesful in FP5 FP6
• Less succesful in FP7
• Other EU funding schemes (INTERREG, LIFE-MARINE,
  EEE-Norway grants)

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BONUS ERA-NET PLUS CALL

• 3 projects out of 16 funded with Lithuanian
  participation
• Topics
• Marine toxicology
• Habitat enginiering (benthos ecology)
• Climate change eutrophication

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LITHUANIA OTHER MARINE RESEARCH RELATED
ORGANISATIONS

• Member of IMO
• Lithuania was the last EU maritime state to
  become the ICES member
• No official representative in the European Marine
  Board
• Baltic Lagoon Network is the Lithuanian initiative

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THERE IS STILL A HOPE.....

• Integrated Marine Science, Studies, and Business
  Centre (Valley)
• (100 mln. Litas (30 mln EUR) for sci
  infrastructure, EU structural funds
• Programme is approved by the LT government,
  waiting for the funding)

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Logical structure
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Laboratories
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THANK YOU
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LAGUNA or MAR or
THANK YOU