International effort hopes to halt decline

TALLINN - Leaders at last week’s regional summit of Baltic sea nations pledged urgent action to generate the “miracle” needed to save one of the world’s most polluted seas, reports news agency LETA. Speaking in Helsinki, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Environment Minister Jaanus Tamkivi confirmed that the environment ministry will start working on several standards and sea environment protection measures, and will compile a ‘sea environment protection law.’ They both stressed that restoring the health of the Baltic Sea is a primary concern for Estonia.
The proposed law will regulate issues including

e usage of sea areas, pollution, scientific marine research and international cooperation. The law would be complied by 2012 and would come in force in 2014. “This is a highest priority for us, considering that, as compared to our total territory and population, our coastline is long and sea area big,” said Ansip.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, speaking at the conference, downplayed environmental concerns about the planned gas pipeline which will run along the seabed, saying instead that it would be a “safe and reliable” energy link for Europe, reported ABC news. He expressed surprise at the “emotional response” to the Nord Stream pipeline project, which will carry 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas yearly, from Russia to Germany.

Environmentalists and some government officials worry that construction of the pipeline, which will lie on the seabed, could lead to toxins and WWII-era weapons being stirred up from the murky depths. The Baltic is one of the world’s most polluted waters. “It’s serious. We are worried about the dioxins and other poisons on the seabed,” said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. “We expect our scientists to get full information on it.”

Putin noted that the German-Russian joint venture has already spent more than 100 million euros on researching the environmental impact, making this the largest such study in the region.

In a slightly incredulous statement, Putin said that “Some of the work was abstract and not practical, but we thought it would be better to be absolutely sure about the total absence of environmental risk.” Any level of such activity, no matter how insignificant, will introduce some level of environmental risk to the ecosystem.
Finnish President Tarja Halonen said that “It’s clear that something has to be done, and quickly. We don’t expect any miracles, but serious work [is needed] by all of us to make a miracle.”

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite called for help from the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO to clean the Baltic of weapons, in particular the 40,000 tons of chemical weapons that she said are polluting its brackish waters.
Regional leaders at the meeting confirmed their countries’ commitments to reducing the phosphorus and nitrogen flows that are causing eutrophication, which is seen as the sea’s biggest environmental threat. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak said his country would invest eight billion euros into improving the treatment of waste water, including plans to construct 30,000 kilometers of sewage networks. The Russian exclave Kaliningrad is also a major source of untreated waste being pumped into the sea.

Increasing sea traffic also increases the risks of oil and chemical spills. “Fifteen percent of the world’s cargo traffic already passes through the Baltic,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said, calling for “sustainable economic growth to secure the environmental and economic future of the region.” Researchers say Baltic marine life is being decimated, and the World Wildlife Fund argues that only “radical measures” and a ban on eel fishing could save the species in the Baltic.
In addition to ministers and heads of state and government, the summit brought together a range of companies and foundations. Some 400 experts and participants attended the meeting, including presidents and government representatives from Russia, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The area around the Baltic Sea is home to more than 90 million people.

In addition to state obligations, nearly 140 companies and institutions of states surrounding the sea have issued promises to improve its condition.