About CCB
In Helsinki, February 1990, non-governmental environmental
organizations from the countries of the Baltic Sea Region united
and established Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) in order to co-operate
in activities concerning the Baltic Sea. CCB is a politically independent,
non-profit association. At present, CCB unites 27 member organizations
from Belarus, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Germany, Denmark, Ukraine and Sweden. The CCB member organisations
combined have over half a million members in all countries around
the Baltic Sea.
The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the Baltic Sea environment and natural resources.
Common denominators for the CCB network include seeking opportunities to encourage new and constructive approaches and engaging people to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Being an international network organization, CCB has the advantage of being able to work both at the international and national policy levels as well as with concrete field projects.
FOUR WAYS TO REACH THE GOAL
CCB is a politically unaffiliated, non-profit organization working primarily through
• lobbying
• information, environmental education and other activities to raise public awareness
• concrete co-operation projects in the field
• support to member organizations.
Lobbying
CCB creates international public opinion about Baltic Sea issues, within and outside the region.
CCB participates as
a joint lobby organization for the member organizations with respect
to intergovernmental Baltic Sea organizations such as the HELCOM
(Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission), the Baltic Sea
Regional Advisory Council (BSRAC), the BALTIC 21 process as well
as the European Union.
CCB presents joint NGO proposals and demands to these and other decision-makers in the Baltic Sea region and within the EU.
Information, environmental education and other activities to raise public awareness.
CCB gathers, produces and disseminates information about environmental problems in the Baltic Sea Area and about constructive, realistic measures to address them. The CCB Baltic Sea Action Plan, presented in April 1992, and the Environmental Citizens Organisation’s (ECO’s) Vision of an Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region, presented in May 1998, are two examples. Both plans were developed as joint projects between the CCB member organizations and presented to the governments of Baltic Sea states and to the public as contributions to influence the ongoing political process.
CCB promotes projects for environmental education and activities to raise public awareness at local or national grassroot level about environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Co-operation projects in the field
CCB and its member organizations have undertaken a number of field projects covering a wide range of issues relevant to environmental protection, nature conservation and sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region.
These projects often serve a double purpose as
– pilot projects to demonstrate new or alternative approaches, ecologically sustainable technologies and solutions to various environmental problems
– concrete educational projects, and projects to raise public awareness at the local level.
Projects carried out
in Belorussia and Ukraine are primarily sponsored by the Swedish
Society for Nature Conservation, the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
Support to member organizations
CCB gathers and distributes information about activities (meetings, conferences, cooperation projects, options for funding) in the Baltic Sea Region of relevance to its member organizations.
CCB also supports the national work of its member organizations in a number of other ways, including organizational and financial support to activities in need of such support.
CCB PRIORITY AREAS
In order to strengthen its efforts and the joint work to restore the marine environment of the Baltic Sea, the CCB as an organization has decided to focus on priority areas: Under each priority area, there is a number of activities and projects (see also pp. 6-7 and CCB Achievements).
1) Promotion of good ecological water status
• Promotion of Sustainable wastewater treatment
• Promotion of Sustainable River Basin Management
• Promotion of Water Protection Measures in Agriculture
2) Prevention of installations and transports harmful to the Baltic Sea environment and coastal areas
• Protection of the Baltic Sea environment from harmful impacts of installations and transports
• Promotion of sustainable development in coastal zones
• Protection of Baltic river ecosystems from harmful impacts of installations such as hydro-electric power plants, dams etc.
3) Development of sustainable Baltic Sea Fisheries
– Protection of the naturally spawning Baltic Salmon
– Promotion of Baltic Sea sustainable fishing practices
CCB GENDER ISSUES
CCB is striving towards promoting equality between women
and men in all the work that is performed within the frame of CCB.
A CCB Gender strategy was elaborated during 2002 and revised in
2006, to include the aspect of Equity as well.
CCB is a member of the IUCN, (World Conservation Union) and partner of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). CCB holds observership with HELCOM (Baltic Sea Marine Environment Protection Commission), NASCO (North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation) and IWC (International Whaling Commission) and is a member of the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council for fisheries and the BALTIC 21 Senior Officials Group.
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