Save the Baltic Sea!

[The Ripper]

http://is12.snstatic.fi/kuvat/Tämä%20kuva%20voitti%20Itämeri-kampanjan/img-1288333626044.jpg
:(

The Baltic Sea, our common sea, the water that unites us, is in terrible shape, and has been for some time. Despite increased awareness of the problem and various programs, the problem persists.

So, why not open a topic about it, where we can discuss independent initiatives, government projects and pro-Baltic campaigns.

I'll start with a group that caught my eye during the elections: Baltic Sea Action Group (http://www.bsag.fi/). They interviewed candidates before the elections here in Finland and mapped their views on the Baltic Sea, and based on this data they compiled the "Baltic Sea Party," i.e. a list of members that according to them are most positively inclined to acting for the good of the Baltic.

My only problem with such groups is that they often tend to gravitate towards the far-left side of the political spectrum. Baltic Sea activism would be something nationalists in our countries should engage in as well: it is acute, people are overwhelmingly positively inclined to it, it suits nationalist principles to take care of your homelands ("..Isamaa ilu hoieldes..") and it would provide an excellent opportunity for nationalists across the water to co-operate and co-ordinate their campaigns, forge connections and so on. Its too bad there don't really seem to be any active nationalist organizations of that nature in our countries. :(

[Talvi]

http://www.elfond.ee/et/meri/meri-puhtaks

They are trying to do all kinds of things and they are also giving advice on how an average person could help. Not just volunteering but what nature friendlier products to use, etc.
The page is in Estonian, Russian and English.

http://www.elfond.ee/images/stories/isum.gif

[The Ripper]

Research vessel finds encouraging signs

A lump of black foul-smelling mud, a few Baltic clams, a few Monoporeia affinis, a Saduria entomon, and more than 400 pink worms – all in a large sample taken from the bottom of the Gulf of Finland.

On the marine research vessel Muikku researcher Annukka Eriksson and research assistant Antti Rissanen of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) sift through the mud, picking out the creepy-crawlies with tweezers.

The selection of species is not very impressive, but the fact that there is any life at all on the bottom is a positive sign. Much of this is thanks to the Marenzelleria, a new worm species brought into the Gulf of Finland in the ballast water of ships, is bringing new life to barren sea bottoms.

“The Marenzelleria has been very efficient at populating the oxygen-free bottom, where there was no life at all a few years ago”, says special researcher Seppo Knuuttila.

Unlike some invasive species, the worm is not displacing indigenous Baltic species.

The sea, speckled with moon jellyfish looks clear in the late summer sun as the Muikku sails from Hanko toward Helsinki.

Although heavy growths of blue-green algae can be seen here and there, thanks to the nutrient content that remains higher than it should be, the situation is not nearly as bad as it was several years ago.

During the two-week voyage, an indication of improvement in the condition of the sea was evident to all. “In the southern Archipelago Sea visibility was more than six metres in some places, and even at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland it was 5.5 metres. This is only half a metre short of the minimum distance recommended by Helcom as a good ecological state for the Gulf of Finland”, Knuuttila says.

The Baltic Sea Protection Commission wants to get the sea into good shape by 2021. An EU directive sets 2015 as the goal. However, this will certainly not be reached in waters along the Finnish coast.

“In the eutrophication situation in the Gulf of Finland, the trend appears to have significantly improved. This is a significant development”, Knuuttila says.

The turnaround in eutrophication is a sign that measures taken to protect the water are gradually having a positive effect.

The biggest polluter of the Gulf of Finland, the Russian city of St. Petersburg, is now efficiently treating nearly all of its sewage. Consequently, emissions of phosphorous into the Gulf of Finland have declined by 30 per cent in the past ten years. This should gradually be reflected in blooms of algae as well.

However, Knuuttila says that it is too early to say if the measures taken in St. Petersburg are already reflected in the state of the Gulf of Finland, but he says that it is possible.

“In the future the state of the Gulf of Finland is increasingly dependent on the condition of the Baltic Sea as a whole, which will improve only if the targets for reducing the load are implemented in all countries on the shore.”

In Finland agriculture plays a key role.

“There is still much to do if the Gulf of Finland is to be put into good shape. From the point of view of our own coastal waters, this requires success in reducing agricultural emissions”, Knuuttila ponders.

The Muikku has been used in the study of Finnish coastal waters since 1999. Now the future is uncertain, as funding for next year remains open.

HS International Edition (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Polluted+Gulf+of+Finland+shows+gradual+improvement/1135268989179)

Some good news, at least.

[The Ripper]

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135270213094.jpeg

Fertiliser plant leaks enormous amounts of eutrophicating phosphorus into Gulf of Finland

A large and hitherto unknown source of nutrients straining the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea has been uncovered in Northwestern Russia.

According to the information obtained by Helsingin Sanomat, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, close to Kingisepp, there is a fertiliser plant from the surroundings of which enormous amounts of phosphorus are leaking into the Luga River and subsequently into the Gulf of Finland. Phosphorus causes eutrophication in water systems.

The new source of emissions was uncovered in connection with a Finnish-Russian research project, in which Finnish researchers have exported knowhow into Russia for example with regard to monitoring water quality. While at it, the researchers took water samples at possible risk locations.

HS International (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Major+emission+source+uncovered+in+NW+Russia+/1135270216728)

[The Ripper]

Emissions from Russian fertiliser plant into Baltic Sea equal those of all of Finland

Factory spokesman denies existence of problem

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Emissions+from+Russian+fertiliser+plant+into+Balti c+Sea+equal+those+of+all+of+Finland+/1135270223199

Reminds me of that saying about Russians and butter. :coffee:

[Äike]

Estonians and Finns can do everything possible to save the Baltic sea, but the fact is that Russia is the biggest polluter of the Baltic sea. Russians just destroy, pollute and ruin most of the places where they go.

I say that all the countries surrounding the Baltic sea, like Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Germany, should create an united force and conquer Ingria to save our sea. ;)