Measures to clean the Baltic Sea are on the right track but there is still a long way to go. This was the conclusion expressed by specialists and decision-makers of the area during the Baltic Sea Summit organized by Kemira.
Why should we preserve maritime history if we no longer have a sea to preserve? This question was posed by Marjukka Porvari, Director of the John Nurminen Foundation, founded with the purpose of collecting maritime history.
Driven by that very question, the foundation expanded its operations to promote ocean conservation four years ago. Later, the foundation has grown into a significant sponsor of water protection projects, engaging in multi-faceted collaboration with governments, companies and other sponsors.
The John Nurminen Foundation is a good example of how diversified and open-minded collaboration moves things forward.
“Discussions between governments and companies are not enough. Different kinds of collaboration with both foundations and individual citizens playing a role is needed,” said Harri Kerminen, CEO of Kemira, summarizing the key message of the summit, held in Helsinki on August 27.
Projects continue despite recession
The Baltic Sea Summit brought together various speakers, including from the ministries of the environment of Finland, Latvia and Belarus. The speeches given showed that protecting the Baltic Sea has truly reached an operative level. Several wastewater treatment investments are underway in the Baltic Sea catchment area. Furthermore, legislation has become stricter in many countries.
Dr. Guntis Pukitis, from the Latvian Ministry of the Environment, stressed that the recession is making things more difficult, but it is not halting the progress. Investments into wastewater treatment plants are central to the Latvian strategy for the Baltic Sea. In addition, the country has placed a number of restrictions on agriculture regarding, for example, the use of fertilizers, the number of animals per hectare, and protective zones near water bodies.
Anatoli Kinebas, deputy director of the St. Petersburg waterworks, also admitted that recession is cutting revenue through reduced water consumption and increased number of defaulted payments. “However, we have not cancelled any projects; all of them continue,” said Kinebas.
Attitudes count
In addition to investments and legislation, the preservation of the Baltic Sea also requires changes in the citizens' attitudes. The Belarusian minister of the environment, Vitali Kulik, emphasized that the importance of water protection must be communicated to both adults and children, in schools and even in kindergartens.
Presenting the facts openly and clearly impacts attitudes. One of the undisputed specifics about the Baltic Sea is that despite all the measures taken, the small sea continues to be extremely polluted.
“The state of the Baltic Sea is totally unacceptable. Wastewater treatment is not optimal yet, and there is plenty of polluted land and other sources of pollution in areas around the sea,” Kerminen said.
The situation in the Baltic Sea is grim, in particular, because the water exchanges very slowly through the narrow and shallow Danish Straits. In addition, the sea is a small body of water with an average depth of only a little over 50 meters, compared to, for example, the Mediterranean Sea, where the average depth is approximately two kilometers. The deeps of the polluted sea are oxygen-deficient, and in many areas benthic invertebrates have completely or almost completely disappeared.
Jaakko Henttonen, manager at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), summed up everyone’s sentiments by stating that the Baltic Sea region desperately needs quick action, in particular to clean wastewaters more efficiently.
The tools exist
In water protection, the lack of suitable tools is a merely an excuse. Kaj Jansson, vice president of R&D at Kemira, closed the summit by illustrating how over 90 percent of many pollutants can be eliminated using the correct methods.
Jansson also described how the most economical outcome can be achieved with the right combination of traditional purification methods and chemical purification. To complement the overall efforts, recycling should also be kept in mind. Reusing the sludge generated in the treatment of wastewater could offer a significant contribution to the need for fertilizers.
Text: Risto Pennanen
Pictures: Juha Salminen
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