In the session Sustainable lifestyles in the Baltic Sea Region the concept of sustainable development was studied from different angles and possibilities for action in the Baltic Sea Region were elaborated. The Baltic Agenda 21, the sustainable development process of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, was discussed - and contested. In discussion necessary measures to enhance sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region were identified. The session made its recommendations for urgent measures needed in the Baltic Sea Region especially in three areas: oil production and transportation, production and consumption patterns and nature conservation.
The session started with a keynote speech by Member of the Finnish parliament (Green party) Heidi Hautala on possibilities to promote sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region. Heidi Hautala examined the concept of sustainable development, gave an overview of the institutions in Baltic Sea Region and analyzed the role of European Union in the region.
Panel Discussion - Baltic 21
The speech was followed by a panel discussion. It was chaired by Hanna Matinpuro from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and Eriks Leitis from Friends of the Earth Latvia. It dealt with Baltic 21, the sustainable development agenda for the Baltic Sea Region. Due to the three-dimensional nature of the sustainable development - it includes ecological, social and economic aspects - the different stakeholder groups were represented in the discussion. Along with Heidi Hautala, the environmental sector was represented be Marek Maciejowski from Baltic 21 Secretariat and Wolfgang Günther from the German environmental organisation BUND. Pirkko Lahti from the Finnish Association for Mental Health represented the social sector and Eero Rantala from Pro Baltica Forum the business sector. Kristjan Vaigur from the Council of Nordic Trade Unions was also present.
Baltic 21
Baltic 21 is a unit of Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) secretariat. The Baltic 21 process was initiated by the Prime Ministers of the region in 1996. It includes goals, indicators and an Action Programme. The focus is on eight sectors of crucial importance to the region - Agriculture, Energy, Fisheries, Forests, Industry, Tourism, Transport and Education as well as Spatial Planning. The Baltic 21 Action Programme features thirty different actions, both sectoral and cross-sectoral. They are mostly of pilot and demonstration character and address the transition to sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region.
The Baltic 21 consists of two bodies: The Senior Officials' Group (SOG) steers, coordinates and monitors the Baltic 21 process. In SOG non-governmental organisations work with equal footing with governments and other institutions. The Baltic 21 Secretariat, for its part, is responsible for the overall coordination of the process. At the same time, the sector and spatial planning networks play a fundamental role in the process being the instruments for its implementation.
According to Marek Maciejowski, one of the obstacles for the Baltic 21 process is the lack of involvement from politicians. There is an imbalance between promises and practical implementation. Some members of the Baltic 21 are not active enough. Another acute problem is the lack of resources.
Critique, questions and proposals
A serious concern was expressed about the Baltic 21 process in the panel discussion by both panelists and the audience. The Baltic 21 process was seen to be dying out. There is high political support in words, but not in action. Given this it is impossible to achieve Baltic 21 goals at the moment. It was also pointed out that in some countries nothing is happening regarding Baltic 21.
As a solution it was proposed that implementation plans, a budget and a concrete timetable should be added to the Baltic 21 Action Programme along with targets, indicators and goals. Following up the targets as well as sticking to schedule were considered absolutely crucial.
Maciejowski had called for stronger NGO engagement in the Baltic 21 process in the form of pilot projects etc. This raised some objections. It was suspected that good project proposals from NGOs would not be financed even if promised. It was also pointed out that there are two kinds of NGOs - those that benefit only their own members and those that benefit the whole society. When NGOs of the latter type start acting for Baltic 21 and there is no financing, it will be a punishment for the NGO.
The lack of countries' financial commitment was seen as a lack of political will and interest. It also was pointed out that if there are no priorities, there will be no money. Along with financing, Pirkko Lahti brought up the lack of continuity, which is the biggest problem for the NGOs and which is reflected in the work and funding of NGOs.
One of the Baltic 21 sectors - transport - was brought to the discussion as a possible area for concrete action. Transport was seen as one of the most difficult sectors in the Baltic 21, because of the transportation ministries' unwillingness to include sustainable development into transportation programmes.
Eero Rantala presented Pro Baltica Forum's transportation initiative about changing traffic from land motorways to "Motorways of the Seas". Shipping could offer a competitive alternative to the land transportation. In this project, all Baltic Sea ports would be classified according to ecological and other indicators for ensuring safe transportation. Rantala's proposal to Baltic 21 was to take this specific initiative under investigation by all the sectors.
Wolfgang Günther expressed his reservations about shifting from motorways to maritime routes. He also pointed out that sustainable transportation recommendations were prepared a long time ago, but nothing has been done in order to meet them. The audience proposed train transportation as an alternative to land motorways.
The role of NGOs in the Baltic 21 process was addressed on several occasions. NGOs were compared to watchdogs or barking dogs. It was noted that good watchdogs also bite, not only bark. NGOs were called for using mass-media and political pressure. NGOs were encouraged to show people the concrete benefits of applying sustainable development principles in practice on local level.
Discussion groups
The discussion continued in three discussion groups: Oil and the Baltic Sea, Production and consumption patterns in the Baltic Sea Region and Nature conservation in the Baltic Sea Region. In the groups, participating NGOs presented their activities in these fields and discussed proposals for the CBSS.
Oil and the Baltic Sea
The discussion group Oil and the Baltic Sea expressed their concern about on-going oil-related activities in the Baltic Sea. Some of these are Lukoil's oil extraction activities in the Kaliningrad area, the construction of new ports in the North West Russia and oil transportation in the Baltic Sea. The increased oil exploitation and transportation were seen as a serious threat to ecosystems and fishery in the Baltic Sea.
As possible solutions following ideas were introduced: An oil extraction moratorium should be initiated in the Baltic Sea, single-hull tankers should be phased out and the Baltic Sea should be declared as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). Fees and fines should be introduced on the firms that pollute Baltic Sea or practise risk-prone enterprises. Also an idea of a joint fund for covering the rescue costs was brought up.
Nature Conservation in the Baltic Sea Region
In the Baltic Sea, implementation of environment protection and nature conservation measures is delayed, especially because of non-binding of inter-governmental resolutions and lack of implementation timetable. NGOs play an important role in demanding swifter action from governments but also in cooperating with the authorities in e.g. setting up demonstration sites for best practices.
The discussion group addressed specifically the "Integrated Coastal Zone Management" scheme, which has been approved by the EC, but which still largely has not resulted in concrete actions. It was agreed upon that Integrated Coastal Zone Management should be established as a concept with a clearly defined content and it should be made more concrete through implementation measures, e.g. demonstration areas. The NGOs should have a strong role and NGOs and GOs should lead the projects on equal footing.
Production and consumption in the Baltic Sea Region
Decoupling the economic growth from environmental and social degradation was a key issue in the discussion. It was pointed out that even if the ecological impact of a single product is decreased, the overall effect of consumption on the environment may still increase. This so called rebound effect must be avoided. Economic measures - such as shifting the emphasis from income and labour taxes to nature resource taxation - were seen as a possible solution of the problem. Also international legislation is needed to control multi-national corporations and global trade.
Conclusions
Sustainable development - development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs - is a widely supported goal. The Council of Baltic Sea States has introduced its vision about regional sustainable development in the Baltic 21 Action Programme. However, the NGOs are concerned about the state of the process and see it lacking necessary funding and commitment by the member governments.
Sustainable lifestyle was discussed in Turku by numerous environmental organisations that came from different countries and backgrounds and represented a wide range of activities and interests. As there is no global consensus on the practical definition of sustainable development, let alone the measures that bring it about, it was no wonder that a group of NGOs did not solve this question in one day, either. Nevertheless, many ideas and proposals were brought up and experiences and knowledge were exchanged.
In the discussion the NGOs were recommended to use the already existing networks and umbrella organisations in the Baltic Sea Region. For example, it is possible to participate in the work of Coalition Clean Baltic, which is a member of the Senior Officials' Group of the Baltic 21.
In the future more attention should be paid to the fact that participants have a different level of knowledge on the issues. These differences should be turned into a positive resource of the Baltic Sea NGO Forum, so that this great opportunity for networking and exchanging information can be used even more effectively.
One day is too short a time for melting all different opinions into one - and this might not even have to be the absolute goal of the networking. The plurality and diversity of NGOs and their views are the strength of the civil society. They should be respected.
Demands to the CBSS
The session agreed on several common demands and recommendation to the CBSS. Council of the Baltic Sea States should respond to these demands and recommendations made by the NGO Forum. It would be important to hear how the questions have been addressed by the governments and if they have not been dealt with, the reasons for it. The co-operation between CBSS and the NGO Forum could serve as a positive example of regional co-operation worldwide.
The session called CBSS countries to keep to the existing international agreements, for example the Espoo and Aarhus Conventions. It is also necessary to implement the HELCOM recommendations on Baltic Sea Protected Areas. The session called the CBSS to apply the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for granting the Baltic Sea the status of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) and propose strict regulations for the IMO.
The Baltic 21 process should be reinforced by setting up a time schedule, a budget line and target values for selected indicators for the agreed sector-specific and cross-sector action plans. Sectoral ministers should ensure adequate high-level input to push sustainable development within their sectors of Baltic 21.
Oil extraction projects in the Baltic Sea are considered as environmentally, economically and socially dangerous, and the CBSS prime ministers were called for to initiate moratorium on oil extraction in the Baltic Sea. The single hull tankers should be phased out in the Baltic Sea already by the year 2005. The session also stressed the need to launch pilot projects on Integrated Coastal Management under equal joint leadership of NGOs and GOs.
The session called for effective implementation of new economic and regulatory instruments, including corporate responsibilities and ecological taxation in order to decouple economic growth from environmental and social degradation. Human rights, environmental protection or livelihoods of local communities were seen a priority that global trade should not compromise.
The session also pointed out that wild Baltic salmon is threatened by drift-nets fishing and called for a ban of drift-nets. Regulation and damming of rivers that can adversely affect natural values of river valleys should be stopped as well.