While European and national programmes promise ecological improvements of industries and water treatment plants around the Baltic Sea, the reverse is happening. The sea continues to be contaminated due to emissions from excessive nutrient loads and hazardous chemicals. This results largely from corruption and the abuse of power. No appropriate control by civic society is in place; local and national authorities remain indifferent to the violations, and international regulatory authorities fail to exercise their control. In response, we aim to develop an international trans-sectoral consortium of civil society organisations, as well as research and independent media from the region. The aim being to organise channels for trust-worthy exchange of information and best practices, in order to strengthen civic pressure over the polluting plants.
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Common challenge
During the last 15 years, EU and national governments have been funding the ecological optimisation of industries and water treatment around the Baltic Sea to reduce its contamination. Yet, due to different types of corruption, treatment plants have been discharging excessive nutrients and chemical substances into the sea. For instance, transnational projects to construct water treatment facilities took place between Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. However, monitoring by TI Russia detected that wastewater quality did not comply with the standards. The reason was traced to corruption during construction and maintenance. The results were published in media (2015, 2019), but the authorities’ response was limited. Estonia faces a similar challenge. Although legislation is in place to regulate emissions, multinational companies continue to contaminate the sea. Despite efforts of local activists to expose environmental crime, the public authorities’ action remains limited due to conflicts of interest and lobbyism at national and local levels. Sweden has a low level of perceived corruption, yet also discharges nutrient and chemical loads into the sea. On Gotland, municipal wastewater treatment aims to follow EU directives but is not able to meet them. Inspection of public sewage plants is inappropriately handled by municipalities, and mining and lime quarries are currently the largest contributor to the Sea contamination. In 2020 a release of iron sulphate from an 1800 ton shipment was reported; the spill was unreported and later played down in media. While each country faces its challenges, same patterns of environmental violations take place all around the region and lead to the Baltic Sea's contamination. The common challenge:
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Transnational context
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region includes 12 countries in the Baltic Sea basin. National efforts to manage the shared body of water and its ecosystem are dysfunctional. National strategies have historically been clashing, calling for intergovernmental platforms such as EUSBSR and HELCOM. According to EUSBSR, "better coordination and cooperation between the countries and regions is needed to address these [EUSBSR] challenges". In 1992, HELCOM compiled a map of “hotspots” – industries and municipalities that pollute the Sea with wastewater due to lack of treatment facilities or technical flaws caused by obsolescence and/or wear out. The HELCOM map included 162 hotspots located in 9 BSR countries; in December 2020, 122 hotspots were removed from the map, and reported as resolved. However, independent media and environmental organizations around the region regularly report cases of contamination of the Baltic Sea. These intergovernmental platforms recognise the need for a transnational joint action. Yet, the regional strategies do not ensure on-the-ground transnational work by civil society. The plan for improving the situation cannot be limited to the construction of new treatment facilities and the modernization of existing ones. Joint actions should include a further monitoring of the plants' operation by both public and civic actors to prevent various types of malpractices. The situation also proves that transnational pressure is more effective than the work of single national environmental NGOs. Uncoordinated attempts by civil society organisations in the region have shown that it is almost impossible to address the challenge and organise effective civic and public control and pressure locally, as well as on a national level. Only transnational collaboration of public and civic stakeholders, appropriate pressure, and a stable platform for exchanging information, international expertise and best practices, can lead to improvements. Aim
To develop a trans-sectoral consortium for an international exchange of information and best practices, and to strengthen civic protection against contamination of the Baltic Sea caused by industrial and water treatment plants. |
