Addressing common challenges of the Baltic Sea Basin by working on Integrated River Basin Management, microplastic & litter inputs

 

Joint Project Conference on Addressing common challenges of the Baltic Sea Basin by working on Integrated River Basin Management, microplastic & litter inputs was arranged by CCB's PlasticFreeBaltic and From River Watch to River Manage Projects on 18-19 December 2017 in Druskininkai, Lithuania.

The Conference covered all major transboundary river basins on the Eastern side of the Baltic Sea catchment (Daugava, Nemunas, Western Bug/Vistula, Odra). It has summed up the activities carried out within the two projects that were run in parallel in 2017, as well as will address upcoming work for 2018-2019.

The Final Agenda of the Conference is available here.

Presentations of the Conference and conclusions of the break-out groups are available below.

Day 1, 19 December 2017: From River Watch to River Manage

• Introduction: Baltic Sea region, state-of-the-art environmental policies update and linkages to CCB’s projects and activities, Mikhail Durkin, CCB Secretariat


• Nemunas/Neman/Niemen: situation and experience of public engagement in RBM (incl. Public Advisory River Teams - PARTs), Edmundas Greimas, Lithuanian Fund for Nature / Nina Polutskaya, Ecohome Neman, Belarus


• Daugava/Western Dvina basin: situation and experience of public engagement in RBM (incl. PARTs), Aija Caune, Environmental Protection Club of Latvia


• Western Bug basin: situation and experience of public engagement in RBM (incl. PARTs), Maria Staniszewska, Polish Ecological Club / Aleh Takarchuk, Ecoproject, Belarus


• Other basins: experience of public participation,
  
  
  
  • Leningrad Oblast / Luga basin: Olga Senova, Friends of the Baltic
  
  
  • Czech Republic / Odra & Elbe, Vlastimil Karlik, Arnica
  
  
  • Bulgaria, Pencho Pandkov, Balkanka
  
  
  
  


• Group work on preparation of CCB input to HELCOM Ministerial conference:
  
  
  
  • Introduction by CCB
  
  
  • (Group I) Nemunas, (Group II) Daugava, (Group III) Bug, (Group IV) Other basins
  
  
  
  


• Inspirational workshop / from Day 1 to Day 2:
  
  
  
  • Coastwatch Europe, Karin Dubsky, Ireland
  
  
  • Public water monitoring in the US, Mark Rasmussen, Buzzards Bay Coalition
  
  
  
  

Day 2, 19 December 2017: Plastic Free Baltic

• Updates on the Plastic Free Baltic project objectives & results with national cases
  
  
  
  • Eugeniy Lobanov, Project Manager
  
  
  • Maryia Suma, Center for Environmental Solutions, Belarus
  
  
  • Joanna Michalska / Natalia Kozak, Polish Ecological Club Gdansk
  
  
  • Indre Ceidaite, Lithuanian Fund for Nature
  
  
  • Daria Mytareva, Friends of the Baltic, St.Petersburg, Russia,
  
  
  • Aija Caune, Environmental Protection Club of Latvia
  
  
  • Marijana Tobén, BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany
    
    
    
    • Microplastics - public awareness 
    
    
    • Methodologies for microplastics identification 
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• Policy update on regulation of microplastics in EU and other countries, EU Plastic Strategy, Eugeniy Lobanov and Mikhail Durkin


• Textile and paints as a source of microplastic, Marijana Tobén, BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany


• Group work (world café format):
  
  
  
  1. Microplastics in water objects within BSR; microplastic and marine litter monitoring
  
  
  2. Microplastics in cosmetics/textile/paints and work with industry
  
  
  3. Public awareness raising and education campaign on microplastics: tools, lessons, impact
  
  
  4. Policy inputs
  
  
  
  

List of participants is available here.

See more images from the conference in the gallery