Seminar: Binding contracts needed in protection of Baltic Sea

"Cost of protection to be divided evenly between surrounding nations”

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The present Baltic Sea protection agreements are not adequate, it was established at the concluding meeting of a series of seminars on the present state and the future of the Baltic Sea.
      The problem is that the surrounding nations are not under any real obligation to adhere to the agreed regulations.
      In the expert discussions of the seminar series organised by Finland’s environmental administration, there has been criticism in the past two years that the protection activities defined by the Convention for the Protection of the Baltic Sea are mere recommendations, the neglecting of which does not lead to sanctions of any kind.
     
For one thing, many Baltic Sea countries still discharge their cities’ effluent into water systems untreated.
      The protection of the Baltic Sea is problematic, as the cost of cutting emissions places the greatest burden on the poorer countries.
      This is because they have the most room for improvement in their adherence to the emission restrictions. The environmental detriments, however, affect all the surrounding nations.
      “Achieving a protection contract that would genuinely bind all the Baltic Sea countries requires that the cost and the benefits from the protection are divided evenly between the nations. This means that Finland will continue to take part in the protection activities in other countries in the future as well”, stated Markku Ollikainen, Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at the University of Helsinki.
     
The EU will publish its own Baltic Sea area strategy on June 10th.
      The stronger presence of the EU in the future decision-making regarding the Baltic Sea can have a positive effect on adherence to the protection clauses, the seminar concluded.
      “The deciding on the protection activities, however, cannot just happen in the EU, for Russia also has to be included in the agreements”, reminded Ministry of the Environment senior advisor Saara Bäck, who acted as the chair of the seminar discussions.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Assessment: limited impact of gas pipeline on Baltic Sea (10.3.2009)
  Environmental assessment of proposed undersea gas pipeline to be assessed by adjacent countries (27.1.2009)
  New obstacles emerge to Baltic Sea protection (3.8.2007)

See also:
  High dioxin levels in sea trout in Baltic Sea (19.5.2009)
  Poor oxygen situation threatens Gulf of Finland - once again (26.3.2009)

Links:
  Helsinki Commission
  Finland´s environmental administration

Helsingin Sanomat