A Clean and Global North - High-Level Event on Regional Cooperation in the North
Date: 28-29 November 2019 Venue: Finlandia Hall (Mannerheimintie 13 e, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland)
The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, together with the European External Action Service and the European Commission, will organize a high-level event focusing on regional cooperation in the North - ”A Clean and Global North” - on 28-29 November 2019 in Helsinki.
The event focuses on the challenges and possibilities of regional cooperation in the North. Main themes are climate change and connectivity. The event will also acknowledge the 20-year anniversary of the Northern Dimension.
The Northern Dimension Institute will host a back-to-back event “Fresh and Sustainable Experiments of the Global North” targeted for students and civil society in Helsinki on 28 November. More information coming soon.
Northern Dimension Institute Policy Brief 2 - January 2019 The curbing of black carbon emissions offers many benefits for the Arctic
Black carbon emissions are a global problem with special significance for arctic regions Temperatures in the Arctic are rising clearly faster than the global average temperatures. The main reason are increasing amount of greenhouse gases, but black carbon, emitted from incomplete burning, contributes to the warming. It may cause some 20-25% of the warming in the Arctic, both through warming of the atmosphere and by accelerating melting due to reduced reflection of sunrays reaching ice and snow. Important sources of black carbon include transport, residential burning of coal and biomass, oil and gas flaring, and open burning of biomass from wildfires or the open burning of agricultural waste.
The health effects of black carbon emissions are significant. Black carbon is a component of the fine particles that have serious adverse health effects globally. The combined effects on the climate and health have motivated the Arctic Council and the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership to pay special attention to ways of reducing emissions of black carbon. The actions to reduce emissions need to be replicated globally for the positive effects to take effect. Globally residential combustion and transport emissions dominate. In the Arctic region emissions from oil and gas production are also important.
Author Prof. Mikael Hildén, Finnish Environment Institute and the Strategic Research Council
NDI Lead coordinator: Prof. Riitta Kosonen
*The Northern Dimension Institute (NDI) organized the Northern Dimension Future Forum on Environment: Black carbon and climate change in the European Arctic on 19 November 2018 in Brussels. The event gathered researchers, top experts, decision-makers and NGOs to discuss the future challenges as well as solutions available to avert the black carbon impacts of future climate change.
The Northern Dimension Institute (NDI) organized the Northern Dimension Future Forum on Environment: Black carbon and climate change in the European Arctic on 19 November 2018 in Brussels. The event gathered researchers, top experts, decision-makers and NGOs to discuss the future challenges as well as solutions available to avert the black carbon impacts of future climate change. The event featured two knowledge arenas consisting of brief researcher presentations followed by comments and a moderated discussion. Ms. Cathy Smith from Speak-Easy moderated the event.
Professor Riitta Kosonen, Director of the Center for Markets in Transition, Aalto University, and the Lead Coordinator of the NDI gave an overview of the role of NDI in the Northern Dimension policy and supporting the work of the four Northern Dimension Partnerships. In November 2018, NDI organized four Northern Dimension Future Forums in close collaboration with the ND Partnerships focusing on the jointly selected topics. The work is planned to continue through a three-year-project on a Northern Dimension Think Tank.
Riitta Kosonen, NDI Lead Coordinator, opening the event
Ms. Ewa Manik, Associate Manager from EBRD, Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) described the NDEP as a successful cooperation model to tackle global climate challenges through real concrete cooperation actions. The partnership is extended to 2021 with over 342 MEUR already contributed to the NDEP Support Fund and over 353 MEUR (Russia 60 MEUR, EU 84 MEUR) pledged.
Ewa Manik, EBRD, NDEP
In her keynote speech, Ms. Yvon Slingenberg, Director of the DG Climate Action of the European Commission, underlined multilateral rules-based collaboration and diplomacy as key approaches to engage all the stakeholders in achieving the Paris Agreement long-term goals. EU fights climate change through both domestic actions and international cooperation aiming at ambitious goals on energy efficiency, transforming the industry, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, cleaner and more sustainable transport, cities and communities. EU envisages environmental cooperation with Russia in the G20 framework, through concrete climate action projects and people-to-people cooperation such as the Northern Dimension initiatives.
Yvon Slingenberg, DG Clima
In the Knowledge Arena 1, researchers focused on highlighting the policy arenas for reducing black carbon. Professor Mikael Hildén, Director of the Climate Change Research Programme in the Finnish Environment Institute and Program Director of the Strategic Research Program on a Climate-Neutral and Resource-Scarce Finland, Academy of Finland, introduced the Arctic Council actions in reducing black carbon emission. In case the good experiences and innovations are replicated efficiently, the recommended collective goal of 25 - 33 % reduction by 2025 is achievable. Ms. Seita Romppanen from UEF Law School University of Eastern Finland featured the legal dimensions of reducing black carbon emissions. National Emissions Ceiling Directive is so far the only EU legal instrument addressing directly black carbon emissions. In order to ensure proper legal regulation on black carbon, better policy coordination, synergies and specific measures are needed at both EU and global level. In his presentation, Mr. Russel Shearer, representing Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) of the Arctic Council, highlighted the EU Action on black carbon in the Arctic. In his presentation Mr. Shardul Agrawala, Head of the Environment and Economy Integration Division, OECD, focused on economic consequences of outdoor air pollution. Based on the OECD estimations, health impacts and costs of inaction to reduce the black carbon are significant in the Arctic with premature deaths as the most dangerous consequences.
In the moderated discussion, the commentators Ms. Marie-Anne Coninsx, Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs of the EU and Ms. Susanne Lindahl from DG Environment underlined that the challenge is to bridge the available knowledge and implementation of the needed actions. There is still need for better coordination of the legal regulation addressing black carbon, adopting new technologies into use, applying measurements, monitoring and concrete actions.
Knowledge Arena 1: Shardul Agrawala, Russel Shearer, Mikael Hildén, Seita Romppanen, Marie-Anne Coninsx and Susanne Lindahl
In the Knowledge Arena 2, speakers focused on actions in practice. In his presentation, Associate Professor, Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen from the Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki and Strategic Research Program on Security, Academy of Finland, indicated that reducing gas flaring of the Russian oil and gas industry has critical role in curbing black carbon emission in the Arctic. He underlined e.g. environmental certificates and more reliance on soft means to influence environmental investments and international cooperation in the renewable energy. Ms. Patti Bruns, from the Arctic Council, Executive Secretary for the Working Groups of Arctic Contaminant Action Program (ACAP) and Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response (EPPR) gave on overview of practical actions and lessons learnt in reducing environmental risks and prevent pollution of the Arctic environment. These include for example an Arctic Black Carbon Case Studies Platform and concrete actions on community based black carbon and public health assessments. Cases studies are a «one stop shop» for best practices and lessons learned from black carbon demonstration projects from across the Arctic region. Ms. Soffia Gudmundsdottir, from the Arctic Council, the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment working group (PAME), introduced the key achievements and projects underway including the first comprehensive Arctic shipping activity database. Mr. Jaakko Henttonen, Special Adviser on the Arctic Environment for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, underlined the NDEP as a successful platform bringing together the key stakeholders to discuss and find concrete solutions in environmental projects in North-West Russia.
The Knowledge Arena 2 ended with a moderated discussion with the commentators. Ms. Stine Svarva, Counsellor for Environment, Mission of Norway to EU pointed out that reducing black carbon emissions are high in the agenda in Norway. Mr. Jari Vilen, Senior Advisor for Arctic Policy, European Commission, emphasized need for urgent measures globally and ensuring that the Arctic is included in the EU mainstream policy. Mr. Dennis Moskalenko from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Russia commented that the challenges and interests are common for all the countries and the Northern Dimension framework provides a good platform for sharing new ideas and finding joint solutions in reducing black carbon also in the future.
Knowledge Arena 2: Cathy Smith, Soffia Gudmundsdottir, Patti Bruns, Jaakko Henttonen, Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, Jari Vilen and Stine Svarva.
Mr. Alistair Clark, Managing Director, Environment & Sustainability, EBRD, NDEP, underlined that the joint projects under the NDEP consist of true partnerships between financial partners, donors, countries and local stakeholders, and are easily scalable for other partnerships.
Alistair Clark, EBRD, NDEP
According to the concluding remarks by Ms. Sannamaaria Vanamo (Deputy Director General, Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) the forum proved that collaboration, direct discussions and people-to-people communication between decision-makers, civil servants and researchers are important and particularly in the politically challenging situation today. ND partnerships provide an excellent opportunity for the equal footing partners EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland to make a difference and clean the air together.
Sannamaaria Vanamo, MFA, Finland
The event was organized by the Northern Dimension Institute together with the Northern Dimension Partnership on Environment and financed by the European Commission/DG NEAR and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Northern Dimension Institute is a an open university network, which is coordinated by the Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, as the Lead Coordinator in cooperation with the Northern (Arctic) Federal University and the St Petersburg State University of Economics in Russia.
Webcasts from the ND Future Forum on Environment and the ND Future Forum on Transport are available below:
The webcast is available until 20 May 2019.
Presentations made in the forum are available below (pdfs).
Knowledge Arena 1: Developing Policy Arenas for Action Arctic Council actions in reducing black carbon. Mr. Mikael Hildén, Professor, Director, Climate Change Program, Finnish Environment Institute; Program Director, Strategic Research Program on A Climate-Neutral and Resource-Scarce Finland, Academy of Finland The Legal dimension of reducing black carbon emissions, Ms. Seita Romppanen, Senior Lecturer in International Environmental Law CCEEL, UEF Law School University of Eastern Finland The EU Black carbon initiative, Mr. Russel Shearer, Project Manager, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Arctic Council The Economics of air pollution control, Mr. Shardul Agrawala, Head of the Environment and Economy Integration Division, OECD
DATE: Monday 19 November 2018, at 13:00 – 17:00 VENUE: Thon Hotel EU, Rue de la Loi 75, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Northern Dimension Future Forum on Environment: Black carbon and Climate Change in the European Arctic brings together European decision-makers and top experts to discuss the challenges and solutions available to tackle climate change by reducing black carbon emissions.
Temperatures in the Arctic are rising clearly faster than the global average temperatures. Black carbon, that may cause some 20-25% of the warming in the Arctic and has also detrimental health impacts, has received special attention by intergovernmental bodies, national governments, NGOs and academia. For example, the Arctic Council, Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 all aim at reducing black carbon emissions.
The Forum will showcase solutions-oriented initiatives and actions underway to reduce black carbon emissions and inspire deeper collaboration between research and governments for evidence-based policy-making and actions. The event features two knowledge arenas consisting of expert interventions followed by decision maker comments and a moderated discussion. The Forum will underline the opportunities and potential to reduce black carbon emissions fast by adopting already existing effective technological solutions and policies, thus mitigating climate change globally, and particularly in the European Arctic regions.
Participants will include representatives of national governments, EU institutions, European Parliament, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions as well as business, academia and civil society.
The Northern Dimension Future Forums will focus on issues, trends and challenges that will shape the future developments in the Northern Dimension (ND) priority themes (environment, transport & logistics, culture, and health & social wellbeing) throughout the ND area and need to be somehow addressed in all the ND countries and beyond. Such issues include, for example, role of creative industries in renewing innovation and industries, role of renewable energy, automatization of transport, increasing antimicrobial resistance of bacteria, and digitalization as an overarching theme to name just a few relevant examples. The ND Future Forums will facilitate decision makers in tackling future challenges and pinning down future potential thereby contributing to sustainable economic progress in the ND area.
Northern Dimension Future Forums in 2018:
Creating a better world through cultural and creative crossovers DATE: Thu 15th Nov 2018, at 12.00-16.00 VENUE: Hotel Radisson Sonya, Liteyny Prospekt 5/19, St. Petersburg, Russia
Registration is open and can be found here (link).
Black Carbon and Climate Change in the European Arctic DATE: Mon 19th November 2018, at 13.00-18.00 VENUE: Thon Hotel EU, Rue de la Loi 75, Brussels, Belgium
Registration is open and can be found here (link).
Emerging trade routes between Europe and Asia – Impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Northern Europe DATE: Tue 20th November 2018, at 9.00 - 14.00 VENUE: Thon Hotel EU, Rue de la Loi 75, Brussels, Belgium
The ND Future Forums will be organized by ND Institute in cooperation with the ND Partnerships. The events are organized with support of the European Commission and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Forums are free of charge and open to everyone interested in the topic.
Do you work in the field of bioeconomy and are you interested in how to integrate youth perspectives into your everyday work? Are you looking for innovative solutions to foster the necessary transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based society and economy? Are you a member of a youth organisation with a strong engagement in the field of bioeconomy and sustainability?
The Baltic Leadership Programme on Youth and Bioeconomy addresses the need to better integrate younger generations into the field of bioeconomy. Youth (up to 30 years of age) are vital for renewing and innovating the sector, which is necessary in the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based society/economy. Today, however, there is a lack of necessary links and methods for attracting and involving youth.
In response to this, the Swedish Institute, together with its cooperation partners, is developing a training programme to tackle the challenges of youth participation in the bioeconomy sector.
Main cornerstones of the programme
Inclusion and cooperation
Peer learning and mentoring
Network building
Crosscutting themes
Stakeholder involvement and multi-actor participation
Complex thinking (sustainability and stakeholder models – setting up interlinkages)
Communicating complex ideas
How do I register?
The application period is 29 June–22 August 2018. Follow the link to submit your application. For more information contact Gabor Schneider, gabor.schneider(at)si.se, Tel: +46-8-453 78 59, Mobile: +46-732-318521
Is my organisation eligible?
The programme is targeting representatives of youth organisations as well as those of organisations working with bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea Region. We look forward to receiving applications from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Iceland as well as the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg.
Programme timeline
Digital Kick Off: 24 October 2018, (13–14.30 CET) Module 1: 21–23 November 2018 in Stockholm Online Session: 10 January 2019 (13.30–16.30 CET) Module 2: 21–23 January 2019 in Vilnius
Information and networking days on the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2018-2020, Challenge "Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency & Raw Materials" - 2019 calls - will take place on 11 and 12 September 2018 in Brussels in the European Commission's Charlemagne building, rue de la Loi 170.
The event targets potential applicants to the 2019 calls for project proposals under the Horizon 2020 Challenge 5 "Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials".
Finland’s Chairmanship of the Baltic Sea Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission HELCOM) started in the beginning of July. The key task of the two-year Chairmanship is to update the Baltic Sea Action Plan launched in 2007. Measures should be included that enable to achieve a good environmental status for the Baltic Sea by 2030.
On the Finnish initiative HELCOM will prepare a regional nutrient recycling strategy for the Baltic Sea. The aim of the strategy is that valuable nutrients are in efficient use and prevent them from being lost to waters. Practical measures will be included in the Action Plan to reduce nutrient inputs.
Climate change will maintain, or even increase, eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. It will also have impacts on the distribution of living organisms and attaining the objectives set for the protection. The work of HELCOM must be further strengthened to understand the impacts and minimise harm and damage. Climate change and adaptation will be one of the key issues in updating the Action Plan. HELCOM activities are to be linked to a wider context for work on sustainable development, i.e. implementing of the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Council of Ministers Secretariat have published the Nordic Bioeconomy Programme: 15 Action Points for Sustainable Change, which combines environmental, social and economic ambitions for a more sustainable Region. The bioeconomy is of fundamental importance to the national economies of the Nordic countries, and especially important for rural development in large parts of the Region. The programme aims to create new industries and value chains and to facilitate and guide the transition of bio-based industries into technology advanced industries, and to optimise the production and value creation of biomass. The programme sets out a vision for the Nordic bioeconomy based on four pillars:
competitive bio-based industries
sustainable resource management
resilient and diverse ecosystems
inclusive economic development
To reach this vision, the programme defines 15 action points under three thematic areas: Innovate – Accelerate – Network. The focus is on development of new policies on regional, national and Nordic level, for increased funding, better education, labelling and certificates, bioeconomy clusters and several other areas. The programme also contains an appendix with sustainability principles that can be seen as a step towards developing common ground and good practices for a sustainable bioeconomy in the Nordic Region.
Nordic Council of Ministers has published a reprint of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ State of the Nordic Region 2018 about the Nordic Bioeconomy.
Authors:
Refsgaard, Karen
Teräs, Jukka
Kull, Michael
Oddsson, Geir
Jóhannesson, Torfi
Kristensen, Iryna
Abstract: The Rapidly Developing Nordic Bioeconomy is a reprint of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ State of the Nordic Region 2018. The new bioeconomy, and the general shift from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy, is an area with vast potential for the entire Nordic Region, although it is more relevant to some geographical areas than to others.
The publication maps the scale and distribution of bio-based industries, such as forestry, fisheries, aquaculture and biogas production and contains informative and concise description of the Nordic Bioeconomy.
The report Baltic 2030: Bumps on the Road provides an overview of the 2030 Agenda implementation in the Baltic Sea Region, aimed at informing strategy and prioritisation discussions for national and regional collaboration. For each of the region’s eleven countries, performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is examined and five selected SDGs are discussed at the indicator level. Based on this analysis, the authors recommend seven avenues for action where greater collaboration in the region can support SDG achievement. The report was commissioned by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and is jointly published by CBSS and the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). It was drafted by the advisory firm Nordic Sustainability and follows the previous Bumps on the Road to 2030 report published by the NCM in 2017.
Raising awareness of climate change and its impacts among young people of Northern Dimension regions - 2018 Call for Proposals
Contributing to the environmental education of young people in the Northern Dimension regions , thus increasing awareness of the population in the environmental issues and ensuring thoughtful handling of the environmental challenges
Deadline: 21/05/2018 at 15:30 (Brussels date and time)
HELCOM released in March 2018 the most comprehensive assessment of maritime activities in the Baltic Sea region currently available – covering distribution of activities at sea, developments over time, related environmental issues as well as future perspectives and scenarios. The vast number of activities addressed include operational and accidental pollution from maritime traffic, fisheries, aquaculture, offshore energy production, cables and pipelines, submerged hazardous objects, and leisure boating.
The first shipment of spent nuclear fuel left the base in Andreeva Bay in June 2017, marking a crucial milestone in overcoming the legacy of the former Soviet Northern Fleet and its nuclear-powered submarines.
Under an international initiative financed by the Nuclear Window of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) over 22,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies, which are currently stored at Andreeva Bay, will be retrieved, packaged and removed from the site. The process is being carried out by SevRAO, part of Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom.
The Nuclear Window is part of the NDEP’s Support Fund, which was set up in July 2002 by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to pool contributions from donors for the improvement of the environment in north-west Russia.
The spent nuclear fuel comes from over 100 reactors from more than 50 nuclear submarines and has been stored at Andreeva Bay for the past 35 years. The radioactive material is currently held in dry storage units, some of which are damaged and leaking. The base was closed in 1992 and poses a serious environmental risk.
The strategy for removing the spent fuel from the dry storage units was developed by Russia and international experts under funding from the United Kingdom in 2002, and included building an enclosure over the dry storage units, retrieval of the spent fuel using a machine to provide protection for staff at all times, and repacking the spent fuel into new canisters. The canisters are subsequently transferred to specialised 40-tonne casks for further transportation.
The casks will be stored in the so-called accumulation pad and then transported to the pier by a purpose-built 50-tonne trolley. A specially designed pier crane will load them onto the Rossita, a ship built in – and financed by – Italy and designed to standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel.
From Andreeva Bay the casks will be shipped by the Rossita to Murmansk. Here the cargo will be moved to purpose-built railway wagons and transported to its final destination, the nuclear reprocessing plant Mayak in Chelyabinsk near the Ural Mountains. Mayak has the necessary infrastructure and skilled resources for the final handling of the spent nuclear fuel.
This video tells the story of EBRD's and NDEP's work to help Russia overcome the legacy of the Soviet nuclear fleet.
The long-awaited wastewater treatment plant in Kaliningrad started operations on 7 June 2017 at full capacity. The construction work of the plant was completed in 2015, and since then the plant has been taken into use step-by-step. The handling and disposal of wastewater sludge that was a condition for the operations was ready in May 2017.
The construction of the wastewater treatment plant was started as early as the 1980s. The project has been delayed for years, it has met with many obstacles, and the construction work was been suspended several times. It was not until December 2007 when the Russian Federation confirmed its funding for the project and the Financing Agreement of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership was signed. The project also includes the drinking water treatment plant in the eastern part of the city (EUR 35 million), which should be completed in 2018.
Kaliningrad wastewater treatment plant is very good news for the Baltic Sea, because until very recently, this city of almost half a million people was pouring 150,000 cubic meters of raw sewage into the sea every day. What has been in the making for more than forty years is now up and running.
Sources: Ministry of the Environment and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Nordic Investment Bank.
We invite you to take part in the 14th International Conference of the Russian Society for Ecological Economics “Ecological and economic problems of development of regions and countries (sustainable development, management of natural resources)”
Date: 3.7.2017-7.7.2017 Place: Petrozavodsk, Russia Webpage: http://RSEE.org
RSEE-2017 Conference continues the tradition of the Russian Society for Ecological Economics (RSEE) to organize meetings of scientists, graduate and post-graduate students and professionals, where they discuss the results of basic and applied research on ecological economics.
The 14th conference in Petrozavodsk will be devoted to the discussion of topical issues in the field of sustainable development of countries and regions, methodology and practices of establishing and developing the economic mechanism of nature management and environmental protection, including payments for the use of natural resources and environmental impact, assessment and elimination of accumulated environmental damage, development of environmental target programs, management of ecological and economic systems, the problem of interactions between authorities, business and civil society, environmental safety.
Prospective thematic areas of the conference: • environmental policy in Russia and around the world; • economic instruments for regulating the use of natural resources and environmental protection; • ecological and economic problems of development of northern and border regions; • development of methods for estimation of economic damage from environmental pollution; elimination of accumulated environmental damage; • interactions between authorities, business and the civil society in dealing with ecological and economic problems; • environmental and economic problems of Karelia; • the problem of resource- and energy-saving; • the effectiveness of nature conservation activities; • ecological-economic modeling in the field of sustainable development; • economic environmental impact assessment and expert review.
Conference languages - Russian and English. Interpretation will be provided during sessions.
Important Dates April 15: Submission of Abstracts (200 words) and Application Form (see below) May 1: Acceptance notification and Second Announcement-Invitation with the rules for submission of Extended Abstracts (up to 4 pages) for publication. May 20: Submission of Extended Abstracts, and Early Registration June 15: Preliminary Program
Adviser Jaakko Henttonen (ND Environmental Partnership), what does the future of the Northern Dimension area look like in terms of environmental conditions?
Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) grant agreements to improve wastewater treatment in the Belarusian cities of Lida and Polotsk were signed on 19 December in Minsk.
Delegations representing all Baltic coastal states as well as the EU meet this week at HELCOM headquarters to discuss and decide on the best measures for improving the Baltic marine environment.
The meeting participants will face major decisions required for completing HELCOM State of the Baltic Sea report Draft Recommendations on sewage sludge and conservation of underwater biotopes and habitats are expecting agreement. The 2-day meeting will also discuss the final plans for the HELCOM high-level segment on ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals, taking place on 28 February 2017.
Read more on the meeting, its targets and future work on HELCOM website.
The Gulf of Finland has the highest risk of oil spills in the Baltic Sea. Working under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the Working Group on Risks of Maritime Activities in the Baltic Sea focuses on developing tools which will enable different institutions to understand the risks.
The Gulf of Finland is a narrow marine area with a great deal of traffic. The biggest environmental risk is posed by the heavy traffic of oil tankers from Russian harbours.
Working under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Working Group on Risks of Maritime Activities in the Baltic Sea is developing scientific tools which will support the decision-making related to oil risks.
Read more on the Working group on University of Helsinki website.
The first global study of soil carbon loss due to warming, finds that an additional 55 trillion kilograms of soil carbon could be added to the atmosphere between now and 2050. This is equivalent to as much as 17 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions during this same period. Most of it would come from Arctic and subarctic soils.
The Arctic Resilience Assessment (ARA) is an Arctic Council project led by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre. It builds on collaboration with Arctic countries and Indigenous Peoples in the region, as well as several Arctic scientific organizations. The ARA (previously Arctic Resilience Report) was approved as an Arctic Council project at the Senior Arctic Officials meeting in November 2011. The ARA was initiated by the Swedish Ministry of the Environment as a priority for the Swedish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council (May 2011 to May 2013) and is being delivered under the US Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
Download the assessment on Arctic Council website.
The BLASTIC project (2016-2018) aims at reducing plastic waste and, thereby, the inflow of hazardous substances into the Baltic Sea by mapping and monitoring the amounts of litter in the aquatic environment.
The BLASTIC project demonstrates how plastic waste in urban areas finds its way to the Baltic Sea and becomes marine litter. Land-based sources count for most of the marine litter, while rivers are major pathways feeding the sea with litter. In practice, the project takes regional and national strategies into use on a local level and also produces updated local action plans. The project also provides a methodology for mapping the most important sources and pathways of marine plastic litter and monitoring litter in rivers and coastal waters/areas.
IWAMA aims at improving resource efficiency in wastewater management of the region. The project actions are distributed along three main fields: capacity development, smart energy management and smart sludge management.
The intention of IWAMA is working together to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. In the publication, a visualisation of the scope of the project is present on the map, picturing the geographical locations of 17 project partners and 12 associated partners from 10 countries of the Baltic Sea Region. To strengthen the flow of knowledge and experience, the partners of IWAMA are united to provide the region with inspiration through the Baltic Sea Challenge network.
Download the IWAMA infograph leaflet on the UBC Sustainable Citied website.
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