Minija River Basin case study, Lithuania

Purpose of the case study: Minija river is one out of six case studies in Baltic Sea Region describing environmental problems and conflicts of river/lagoon basins and supporting sustainable development to create a water resources management plan according to the requirements of WFD. The aim this case study is to evaluate the impact of the hydrotechnical and recreational activities in the Minija river drainage area to the nature protected areas, migratory fish stocks, water quality and biodiversity. The results should be important for the sustainable development recommendations as well as to mitigate the negative consequences.

Geographical description:

The Minija river is the right tributary of Atmata, the northern branch of the Nemunas Delta and has a length of 201,8km. Its whole basin is located in Lithuanian territory and occupies 2942 km². There are aproximately 1360 tributaries in the Minija river basin, where most of them are less than 30km in length.

The annual average water discharge in the mouth of the Minija river is 39m³/s, i.e. an average runoff coefficient of 13 l/s/km².

The Minija River discharges to two locations.The major flow discharges to the Nemunas River (Atmata), the remainder flows direct to the Curonian Lagoon (via Upaitis) or to Klaipeda harbour via Klaipeda channel.

The river basin is largely occupied by forests and agriculture. The share of forested area is about 21 % and the agricultural land occupies approximately 52%.

Ecological status, main pressures on the watercourse:

The biodiversity and natural landscape of Minija River basin is protected through the national nature protection network. A number of protected areas are established in the river basin where the most important are:

Zemaitija National Park.
Regional Park of Salantai
Regional Park of Nemunas’ delta (Ramsar protected area).
Minija and Veivirzas river ichtiological reserves (Reproduction areas for salmon, sea trout and vimba. Minija river is index river in ”Baltic salmon action plan 2010”, by IBSFC and HELCOM).

The importance of this river for the reproduction of migratory fish species, especially wild Baltic salmon and sea trout create here conflicts between EU requirements on protection of biodiversity, water quality and use of removable energy sources.

The following issues are important and may influence water qualities and habitats for

wildlife in Minija river basin:

agriculture;
recreational activity;
hydrotechnical activities (damming of river for hydropower stations);
waste water from Minija river drainage area;
oilfield exploitation.

Hydrochemical conditions in the area means that the amount of leaching of chemical elements is larger than elsewhere in Lithuania, especially from cultivated soils. Depending on type of soil and agricultural practices, the leaching of nitrate nitrogen ranges from 10 to 140 kg/ha/year.

The tools and methods: In this case study preliminary estimation of an impact and pressures matrix for the Minija river drainage area is presented. The report also gives a discussion of the most important laws and regulations in Lithuania and EU.

Results and outcomes: The main conflicts in the area have been identified as:

• Protection of biodiversity and recreational development.

• Protection of migratory fish species and development of use of hydroenergy.

• Drinking water quality in rural areas and agricultural development.

Interactive map

Click here to view an interactive map of the Minija area.

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Attributes included in the layers on the SVG map

Settlements
- Name of settlement (Name)
Railway stations
- Name of station (Name)
Turism information center
- Address, phone number and name.
Energy sector objects
- Type, either gas pipeline or electricity line (Type)
Railways
Roads
Altitude
Bogs
- Name of the bog (Name)
- Type of bog (Type).
Rivers:
- Name of the river (NAME)
- Width of the river in meters (WIDTH_m)
Administrative areas
- Name of the area (Name).
- Number of inhabitants (Inhabitant).
Landuse
- Name
- Type

Additional information

Pdf document with more details on the case area can be found here.

Contact information: Linas Kliucininkas, linas.kliucininkas@ktu.lt