Sustainable Development in Coastal and Marine Areas
The problem
Human activities along the coastal regions
of the Baltic Sea produce threats and problems to the Baltic Sea coastal ecosystem and threaten environmental as well as recreational values. The HELCOM recommendations on Coastal Strip Protections, 15/1, are not properly implemented within national regulations and practice in many Baltic countries.
The goal
Citizens in the Baltic Sea region, as well as politicians and officials should be concerned about the constantly ongoing threats to the Baltic Sea Coastal environmental values and search for possible solutions to safeguard the coastal environment and guarantee goals of biodiversity protection and recreational values. Adequate and detailed spatial planning and management plans are needed for all Baltic Coastal areas.
How is CCB working with this issue?
CCB undertakes advocacy and raising awareness activities at local and regional level.
What can countries do together?
For the protection of the coast: fully implement the HELCOM recommendations on protection of the coastal strip in all countries.
What can each country do?
You can follow the example of Save the Latvian Dunes 2017 campaign by the Latvian Green Movement
Save the Latvian Dunes project has commenced in 2016 with number of activities: public events, reprinting of the leaflet, posters and stickers, and dissemination of those awareness raising materials, etc. It was led by CCB’s member organization, Latvian Green Movement (LaGM), since 2007 and they have arranged Save Latvian Dunes campaigns every summer with different focuses. In 2017 the focus was on information and public awareness activities, as well as on the issue of accessibility to natural amenities. Altogether 3 Patrol Teams (PTs) were formed with 3 leaders – Andis Uzulnieks, Arturs Undrests and Janis Matulis, who made patrolling all along the Latvian Coast line in 500 km length. LaGM PTs have made 17 drives during the summer season and distributed 10 000 copies of Save Latvian Dunes brochures, 120 posters and 5 000 stickers. Brochures were left in campsites, local parking sites and private hotels/camps. Part of distributed brochures were used to warn tourists about the Latvia’s laws of dunes protection and consequences if the law was violated. Thus LaGM used the method of putting the leaflets under the wipers to those drivers whose cars were parked in dune zone or too near the protected dune area. 7 LaGM members were involved in the campaign who took active part in drives to the Dune zone areas during our activities. Statistically the brochures reached out to more than 8 000 tourists directly on the sites and left about 2 000 brochures in private cafes and camps.
What can you do?
- Ask your municipality to improve the coastal tourism infrastructure
- Help fill data gaps on barriers in rivers by using a mobile app
- Join clean-up activities
- Respect the environment and recycle
- Join the campaign against Nord Stream II
Finance in focus: NGOs bring together industry and ministers to discuss the future of finance in the Baltic sea
20 October – Lübeck, Germany – In conjunction with the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting to adopt the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) , WWF along with Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) have invited high-level ministers, finance representatives and NGOs together to discuss ‘how regional investments...
Read MorePolitical ambition and actions fall short in the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan
20 October – Lübeck, Germany – The updated plan to achieve a Good Environmental Status of the Baltic Sea lacks strong commitments to protect one of the world’s most threatened marine ecosystems, say WWF and the Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB). The updated Baltic Sea...
Read MoreLetter from NGOs and scientists calls for Baltic Sea Ministers political commitment to take action for the Baltic Sea
Over the last year, HELCOM Contracting Parties have intensively revised the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) set to be adopted by all Baltic Sea countries and the European Union on 20 October 2021 with the goal to reach a healthy Baltic Sea. Despite this...
Read More
2019
CCB joined the Ocean Call for G7
We have joined and signed the Ocean Call, which carries the voice and the commitments of more than 50 organizations mobilized for the ocean alongside Surfrider Foundation Europe.
Following the G7 Summit, the Ocean Call will also be staged at the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York in September, at the COP 25 in Chile in December and finally at the COP 15 on Biodiversity in China in 2020.
Read the full declaration here.
Real actions, not ´realistic´ wishes – a recipe for an updated Baltic Sea Action plan
On 6-7 March high-level representatives met at the 40th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission. On this occasion, CCB was grateful to share the concerns of civil society organizations and almost a million individual members of CCB´s network around the Baltic Sea. Our concerns were (and are) connected with continuous and increasing violations of the fundamental principles and provisions of the Helsinki Convention:
- Precautionary principle and science-based management;
- Transparency, trust and sharing information to minimize transboundary impacts;
- Joint measures for reaching joint goals, instead of prioritising actions of “overriding national interest”.
Read the full CCB´s statement here.
2018
50 NGOs call on the International Seabed Authority to reconsider the need for deep sea mining
As the International Seabed Authority (ISA) gathers in Jamaica (24th session, July 2018), environmental organisations are calling on governments to wake up to the irreversible harm that deep sea mining will inflict, not only to marine ecosystems but also to global efforts to transition to a sustainable economy.
In a joint statement to the ISA, 50 organisations, including CCB, Greenpeace and Seas At Risk, warn of significant loss of biodiversity if the world’s seabeds are opened up to mining.
Read the full statement here.
Joint NGO letter to ministers about HELCOM BSAP
A joint NGO letter from CCB, Oceana and WWF to the minsters of environment concerning the progress towards BSAP goals in 2021. This letter was sent as part of the Ministerial meeting in HELCOM, 6th of March 2018: Joint Letter to ministers on BSAP WWF Oceana CCB
2017
To reach the SDGs globally the Baltic-wide actions need to be implemented first!
Today, high-level representatives of the HELCOM Contracting Parties will meet in Helsinki to discuss how the Baltic Sea Region can contribute to the global goals on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources by 2030. Actions related to eutrophication, marine litter and climate change will be given special focus in the discussions.
On behalf of environmentally concerned citizens of the Baltic Sea catchment, Coalition Clean Baltic would like to share some input to this work and bring to the attention of regional decision-makers the urgent needs to be addressed in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs) and, even more importantly, to save the Baltic Sea from further deterioration.
Read the full statement here.
2016
Statement at the 37th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission, 10-11 March 2016
Once again, we would like to share with you the concerns of civil society organizations and over 800,000 individual members of CCB’s network around the Baltic Sea.
Update of information regarding anthropogenic threats to Kurgalskiy Nature Reserve, Leningrad Oblast, Russia
CCB expressed its concerns regarding potential threats of industrial and urban developments in the vicinity of Kurgalsky Peninsula and Nature Reserve, the site of international importance, both listed as HELCOM MPA (#166) and the Ramsar Convention wetland (#690) at HELCOM HOD 49-2015
2015
Pending issues from HELCOM STATE & CONSERVATION 3-2015
With reference to the Terms of Reference of the HELCOM STATE & CONSERVATION Group, Coalition Clean Baltic submitted the following two information documents to the third Meeting of the Group:
- (7J-4) Proposal for actions to save European eel in the Baltic Sea
- (7J-5) Physical loss and damage to the sea floor marine sediment extraction in the Baltic Sea
Read statement here: 4-19 Pending issues from State and Conservation 3-2015_CCB
Call for HELCOM action regarding Baltic MPAs within Russian part of the Gulf of Finland
In early September 2015, Coalition Clean Baltic approached Russian federal, regional and municipal authorities, as well as HELCOM, with a call for urgent action regarding the situation around one of the HELCOM Baltic MPAs and Ramsar sites in the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland, namely Kurgalsky Natural Reserve.
Funding the EU MSFD Programs of Measures
A crucial part of the coherent implementation of the BSAP and the EU MSFD is the commitment to fund the needed measures to reach the GES targets. CCB is becoming concerned that several CPs being also EU MS have argued at different occasions, including the IG PoM and EU MSCG, that funding is a major problem for implementing the MSFD PoMs. For a number of reasons CCB considers these claims unjustified.
Read statement here: 4-17 Funding the EU MSFD Programs of Measures_CCB
Open letter addressing Russian authorities and HELCOM
Open letter addressing Russian authorities and HELCOM with regards to an alarming situation around Kurgalskiy Nature Reserve at the coastline of the Gulf of Finland.
The letter addresses the situation, which mainly concerns conflicts between nature protection goals, large infrastructure projects and urban planning of the coastal area in the vicinity of the Kurgalskiy State Nature Reserve. The situation requires urgent action to prevent damage to natural amenities of this Protected Area and save it as the only MPA within Russian part of the Baltic Sea that covers both land and sea area.
Read the letter here. Note: the letter is both in English and Russian.
Relevant links to international NGOs working on sustainable development in coastal and marine areas
Others
- HELCOM Initial Holistic Assessment: Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea (HELCOM, 2010, 35 MB)
- EU EIA Directive (85/337/EEC)
- HELCOM Recommendation 15/1
| Elita Kalnina | Environmental Protection Club/VAK | Latvia | +371 7 226 042elita@vak.lv |
| Maret Merisaar | Estonian Water Association | Estonia | +372 5537701maret.merisaar@taltech.ee |
| Olga Senova | Friends of the Baltic | Russia | +7 812 428 06 58olga-senova@yandex.ru |
| Piotr Gruszka | PKE | Poland | +48 91 489 42 33pgruszka@fish.ar.szczecin.pl |
| Ramunas Povilanskas | Lithuanian Green Movement/ Environmental club Zvejone | Lithuania | +370 46 380 650ramunas@gmf.ku.lt |
| Susanna Knotz | BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany | Germany | susanna.knotz@bund.net |
| Tapani Veistola | Vuosaari Harbour / Finnish Association for Nature Conservation | Finland | +358 922 808 266veistola@sll.fi |