Countries make few binding commitments at Baltic Sea summit

Poland to ban phosphate detergents by 2014, Finland to seek closed agricultural cycles

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Finland’s commitment to work for closed cycles of nutrients in agriculture and Poland’s promise to ban phosphates in detergents were seen by Seppo Knuuttila, a scientist at the Finnish Environment Institute, to be the most far-reaching measures to come out during the Baltic Sea Action Summit in Helsinki on Wednesday.
      Although countries made few commitments, Knuuttila was nevertheless pleased with the outcome of the meeting.
      “The focus here has been mainly on repeating the core parts of programmes that have been previously agreed upon, and promising to fulfil the commitments. If this is what happens, it is good. With these targets it has been estimated that the Baltic Sea will be in good shape by 2021", Knuuttila says.
      The previous promises are linked with the Baltic Sea Action Plan approved by the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, or Helsinki Commission, in 2007.
     
Missing from the commitments of the countries were concrete actions to restrict agricultural emissions, for instance.
      “Poland’s commitment to ban phosphates in detergents by 2014 is a big matter. In spite of it, the commitments of foundations and organisations that were made public last week have contained many more concrete goals and actions”, Knuuttila said.
     
“Don’t look so grim. Things went well, didn’t they?” said President Tarja Halonen to Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Ilkka Herlin, the chairman of the Baltic Sea Action Group after the meeting.
      Halonen praised the initiative shown by private companies. “One good ting about the promises was that the business world seems to be dynamically involved. Wise entrepreneurs - and there are quite a few of them - keep up with the times, feel responsibility, and notice that it is a good idea to be involved at an early stage.”
      Promises by states were at “very different levels”, Halonen said. She characterised Germany’s input as being “at a lower level”.
     
President Halonen expects the promises to turn concrete some day.
      “This was the beginning, and I have very much confidence in the tripartite cooperation here at home, and in cooperation with the Nordic Countries, the Baltic countries, and the Russians.”
      “I am not disappointed. After Copenhagen I was disappointed”, Halonen added.
     
Baltic Sea Action Group chairman Ilkka Herlin underscored the importance of Poland’s commitment. Another welcome announcement was the promise by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to continue work on a wastewater treatment plant in Kaliningrad. The project is an important one, because at present, the sewage of about 400,000 residents goes straight into the Baltic Sea.
      Vanhanen also praised Putin for promoting the Kaliningrad treatment plant. In addition to issues directly related to the Baltic Sea, Putin and Vanhanen took the opportunity to discuss economic cooperation between Finland and Russia.
     
The aim is to monitor compliance with the promises that were made. “It will require much work”, Herlin emphasised.
      He was pleased with a number of innovative projects, such as measures aimed at increasing the recycling of agricultural nutrients, thereby reducing runoff into the sea, and reducing algae growth. He would have liked to see more initiatives from national governments, as the commitments to action programmes that have already been approved are not enough.
      “The biggest problem for the Baltic Sea are the extensive areas on the sea bottom where oxygen is depleted. So far there is no solution to that”, Herlin said.
      Even if the commitments are fulfilled rapidly, it will take time for the Baltic Sea to recover.
      “I won’t see it, but my grandchildren might”, Herlin said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Baltic Sea Action Summit to convene in Helsinki on Wednesday (8.2.2010)
  Summit planned in Helsinki to save Baltic Sea (22.9.2009)
  Cold winter takes toll on Baltic Sea (10.2.2010)
  Baltic Sea commitments contain something old, something new, and something borrowed (9.2.2010)

See also:
  Nearly all St. Petersburg sewage to be treated within five years (7.5.2007)

Links:
  Baltic marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM

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