The European Biodiversity Strategy asks EU Member States for an assessment, mapping and valuing of Ecosystem Services (ES). While terrestrial ES concept is advanced and different tools are available, they are largely lacking for coastal and marine systems. We develop a stepwise methodological process to assess ES in coastal and marine systems which we name Marine Ecosystem Services Assessment Tool. We applied it to two large Baltic lagoons, the Szczecin and the Curonian Lagoons demonstrating a quantitative and qualitative assessment approach. Firstly, an initial status is defined reflecting, according to the European Water Framework Directive, a past situation when the ecosystems where in a so called good ecological state. In both Baltic lagoons, this refers to a situation around 1960. Secondly, a present state is defined, assessed and compared to the initial status. Increasing anthropogenic impacts in Szczecin Lagoon caused an overall decrease ecological status which may influence the system's ability to provide services. Assessing ES changes semi‐quantitatively via 39 indicators and 22 services, we show a decrease in provisioning and regulating and maintenance and an increase of cultural services’ provision. According to 15 expert valuations, the Curonian Lagoon displays no changes in provisioning but an increase in regulating and maintenance and cultural service provision. We discuss how these results can serve different marine management approaches and support different polices. Through our application we show how the tool can be used to assess ES changes over time and thus provide key information on sustainable use and ES for future generations.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by the year 2030. The study’s main objective is to identify the necessary conditions and potential for ensuring both the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism in seaside and marine resorts located in or at coastal and marine protected areas on the example of Karklė (Lithuania). Based on the results of a benchmarking study of five South Baltic resorts using the Delphi technique, the survey team identified the main deficiencies of Karklė as a seaside and marine resort of an international scale. We address the deficiencies by applying a geographical information system as a decision-support tool for the Littoral Regional Park where Karklė is located. We conclude that for ensuring both the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism in seaside and marine resorts, it is expedient to combine the Delphi-based tourism benchmarking with integrated coastal management and maritime spatial planning, for which GIS is an indispensable tool.

The objective of the article is to give a comprehensive assessment of the impact that physical geographical factors of the coastal environment have on the South Baltic seaside resorts in the way it is reflected in planning documents (comprehensive plans, regional and tourism development strategies) of South Baltic seaside territorial entities. The seaside resorts and the adjacent coastal protected nature areas, particularly coastal national parks and UNESCO biosphere reserves, are the main focus of this study. The contents of 141 valid documents of spatial planning, management and development has been analysed. The studied comprehensive development plans, tourism strategies and other documents demonstrate that virtually all seaside municipalities in the South Baltic Region express a strong concern in increasing risk of coastal erosion and sea level rise related to the global climate change.

The large southern Baltic lagoons (Curonian, Vistula and Szczecin Lagoon) face a similar challenge, the need for economic, especially touristic development. This development is hampered by poor water quality, namely eutrophication with regular algae blooms and low water transparency and often insufficient bathing water quality. Therefore, beaches and bathing sites, one precondition for tourist development, are often lacking. Using the Curonian Lagoon as case study, we apply a Systems Approach Framework (SAF) and especially an Ecological-Social-Economic (ESE) assessment to analyse, whether it is reasonable to establish new beaches, against the background of an improved sewage treatment. In this systematic, stepwise and participatory Integrated Coastal Zone Management approach, we guide and support municipalities from the issue identification towards the final implementation by developing alternative scenarios, using model simulations and carrying out tourist surveys as well as supporting socio-economic studies. The present state of bathing water quality does allow opening a new bathing site with a beach at the lagoon and one town decided to do so. The socio-economic analyses did show that lagoon water quality and the possibility to go for a swim is not sufficiently important for tourists on the Curonian Spit, that opening a beach would make sense from an economic point of view. However, high lagoon water temperatures may help to extend the summer bathing season and a beach is regarded as additional attraction for tourists. A systematic involvement of stakeholders was imperative in this case study and we provide lessons learnt for a successful participatory process.