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Protection of the Baltic Sea: The Role of the Baltic Marine EnvironmentProtection CommissionAuthor(s): Ain LääneSource: AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 30(4):260-262. 2001.Published By: Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-30.4.260URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1579/0044-7447-30.4.260

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260 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2001 Ambio Vol. 30 No. 4–5, August 2001http://www.ambio.kva.se

Protection of the Baltic Sea:The Role of the Baltic Marine EnvironmentProtection Commission

The paper describes the development andimplementation of technological applica-tions which seek to protect the Baltic Seaand coastal waters from pollution. Theprocess started in the early 20th centurywith investigations of the self-purificationcapacity of water-bodies and wastewatertreatment possibilities. Tremendous water-protection changes have taken place afterWorld War II, in the whole world as wellas in the Baltic Sea region. Municipal andindustrial wastewater-treatment plantshave been constructed to reduce the pol-lution load to the Baltic Sea. The HelsinkiCommission (HELCOM) has played avery significant role in this process, espe-cially the development and implementa-tion of new water-protection technologies.Furthermore, the inclusion of the conceptof the Best Available Practice and BestEnvironmental Technology in the 1992Helsinki Convention text has, likewise,greatly altered the approach to environ-mental protection approach in the BalticSea states.

Technological development has influ-enced human life in different ways. To-gether with industrialization urbanizationhas taken place and both these processeshave profoundly influenced the environ-mental situation in the world.

The need to protect waterbodies, par-ticularly in areas influenced by big cities,became evident as early as 1900. Greatattention was paid to investigations of theself-purification capacity of water-bodies,in order to reduce the human impact onthe environment at minimum cost. At thesame time, investigations and constructionof different wastewater-treatment plantswere started. Progress in technical solu-tions to protect waterbodies was disruptedby World War II.

A rapid growth of urban areas in theBaltic Sea states took place after WorldWar II. In the 40 years following 1945,the population of the coastal cities, amongthem Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn,Riga, Stockholm and Gdansk togetherwith their suburbs increased 4 to 7 times.Consequently, pollution loads and envi-ronmental problems like pollution ofground-, surface- and coastal waters be-came more and more evident. To stop thepollution of the Baltic Sea we need newtechnical solutions, adequate financial re-sources and international cooperation be-tween the Baltic states.

In the mid-1960s increasing pollutionof the Baltic Sea and its coastal watersoriginating from sources such as dis-charges through rivers, estuaries, outfalls,and pipelines became one of the most se-rious problems in all the Baltic Sea states.After long preparatory work, the Conven-tion on the Protection of the Marine En-vironment of the Baltic Sea was finallysigned on 22 March 1974 by the 7 BalticSea states, and entered into force in 1980.

The aim of the 1974 Convention was tostrictly control and limit pollution of themarine environment of the Baltic Sea byeliminating toxic substances from land-based sources. The Contracting Parties ofthe Helsinki Commission have since thenworked hard to produce recommendationson measures relating to the goals of theConvention. In addition, the ContractingParties are obliged to receive, process,summarize, and disseminate from avail-able sources, relevant scientific, techno-logical and statistical information, and topromote scientific and technological re-search.

The ratification of the Convention onthe Protection of the Marine Environmentof the Baltic Sea Area in 1980 has had amajor impact on the implementation oftechnical applications which aim to im-prove conditions in the Baltic Sea.

At the end of the 1980s the Contract-ing Parties of the Helsinki Commission,taking into account the changes in the en-vironmental protection strategy that havetaken place since the mid-1980s, decidedto revise the Convention text to pay moreattention to the implementation of techno-logical applications and to the use of theBest Available Technology (BAT) andBest Environment Practice (BEP).

In addition to signing the new Conven-tion text, the Contracting Parties of theCommission organized a Diplomatic Con-ference on the Protection of the MarineEnvironment of the Baltic Sea Area. ThisDiplomatic Conference, which was heldin Gdansk in April 1992, approved theBaltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environ-mental Action Programme (1), includingthe list of Environmental Hot Spots in theBaltic Sea Area. Its ultimate aim was theecological restoration of the Baltic Seaand the preservation of ecological balance.

All the above actions had an enormousimpact on the development and imple-mentation of the water protection tech-

nologies in the Baltic Sea region. Build-ing on several examples, we will discussthe development and implementation oftechnological applications to protect theBaltic Sea from pollution.

DEVELOPMENT ANDIMPLEMENTATION OFTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONSUNDER THE HELSINKICOMMISSIONThe purpose of the Helsinki Convention,according to Article 4 of the 1974 Con-vention (2), is to protect the marine envi-ronment of the Baltic Sea Area, whichcomprises the waterbody and the sea-bedincluding their living resources and otherforms of marine life.

The duties of the Commission, referringto Article 13 (b, and d) of the 1974 Con-vention (2) are:– to make recommendations on measures

relating to the purposes of the Conven-tion; and

– to define pollution control criteria, ob-jectives for the reduction of pollution,and objectives concerning measures,particular according to Annex III of theConvention.The obligations of the Contracting Par-

ties referring to Articles 5 and 6 of the1974 Convention (2) are:– to counteract the introduction, whether

airborne, waterborne or otherwise, intothe Baltic Sea Area of hazardous sub-stances as specified in Annex I of theConvention;

– to control and minimize land-basedpollution of the marine environment ofthe Baltic Sea Area;

– to limit pollution by noxious substancesand materials; and

– cooperate in the development andadoption of specific programs, guide-lines, standards or regulations concern-ing discharges, environmental qualityand products containing such sub-stances and materials and their use.The Contracting Parties signing and

ratifying the 1974 Convention agreed toimplement the objectives of the Conven-tion.

Based on the above obligations, theHelsinki Commission, has paid great at-tention since the 1980s to the elaborationof the HELCOM Recommendationswhich set emission standards and/or limit

261Ambio Vol. 30 No. 4–5, August 2001 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2001http://www.ambio.kva.se

values for municipal and industrial dis-charges. In addition, the Recommenda-tions seek to promote scientific and tech-nological research to ensure the imple-mentation of the adopted standards.

During the years 1980–2000, more than50 Recommendations were adopted byHELCOM in an endeavour to limit dis-charge of pollutants from land-basedsources into the Baltic Sea. The very firstHELCOM Recommendations were elabo-rated to restrict the use of DDT and its de-rivatives DDE and DDD as well as PCBs,PCTs and cadmium; listed in Annex I ofthe Convention.

HELCOM Recommendation 3/2,adopted by the Commission in 1982,which deals with the elimination of dis-charges of DDT, recommends the govern-ments of the Contracting Parties to theHelsinki Convention to abandon the useand production of DDT and its derivativeswhether in pure state or in compositionsand not to market DDT and its derivativesin the Baltic Sea states.

HELCOM Recommendation 6/1,adopted by the Commission in 1985, re-lating to the elimination of the use ofPCBs and PCTs, recommends to stopaban on the production of PCBs and PCTs,and marketing articles or other equipmentcontaining PCBs and PCTs in the BalticSea states from 1987. For the use of arti-cles and equipment marketed before 1987,the national programs should be estab-lished to identify and/or label articles andcontaining PCB already in use.

HELCOM Recommendation 6/6,adopted by the Commission in 1985, con-cerning limitation of discharges of cad-mium from land-based sources, recom-mends the governments of the Contract-ing Parties to the Helsinki Convention toestablish national regulations for the limi-tation of the use of cadmium within elec-troplating, pigments and stabilizers. Toreduce discharges of cadmium from in-dustrial sources such as recycling of cad-mium-containing wastewater, or other-wise limitation of the use of water in proc-esses where cadmium is handled shouldbe implemented. Strict separation of cad-mium-containing wastewater from allother effluents and effective treatment ofwastewater containing cadmium by theuse of common or advanced technologiesshould be applied. The concentration andquantity of cadmium in effluents fromvarious industrial sources as monthly av-erages should not exceed the limit valuesestablished by the Recommendation.

In addition to limiting the use and dis-charge of different hazardous substancesthe Commission adopted some recom-mendations concerning the collection ofstormwater and industrial wastewater(HELCOM Recommendations 5/1, 7/3,13/2 and 13/5) as well as some recom-

mendations on treatment of municipal andindustrial wastewater (HELCOM Recom-mendations 6/2, 6/3, 9/2).

As a rule, most of the HELCOM Re-commendations adopted by the Commis-sion in the 1980s regulated the use of dif-ferent substances or discharges from dif-ferent sources by using emission standardswithout any references to the Best Avail-able Technology (BAT) and Best Envi-ronmental Practice (BEP). At the sametime, several HELCOM Recommenda-tions adopted in the 1980s and early1990s, for instance 7/2, 9/3, 9/8, 13/7 and13/8 encourage the use of new technologi-cal applications in industry and agricul-ture.

The concept of the Best Environmen-tal Practice and Best Available Technol-ogy originated in the 1970s when the BestAvailable Technology was included in,for example, environmental legislation inthe USA and in German environmentalpolicy (3). Technology standards based onthe Best Environmental Practice and BestAvailable Technology are examples ofhow to implement environmental protec-tion measures by implementing new pro-duction technologies.

In the mid-80s the strategy of the Hel-sinki Commission to reduce (limit) dis-charges to the environment started tochange. In the original Convention text(1), there is no reference, either direct orindirect, to the Best Environmental Prac-tice and Best Available Technology, how-ever, HELCOM started to use these con-cepts. The Commission elaborated andadopted two new Recommendations 12/3and 13/6 concerning the Best AvailableTechnology (BAT) and Best Environmen-tal Practices (BEP), respectively.

INFLUENCE OF THE 1992CONVENTION TO THEDEVELOPMENT ANDIMPLEMENTATION OF WATERPROTECTION TECHNOLOGYRevision of the 1974 Convention startedat the end of the 1980s and was finalizedin 1992. The new Convention (4) wassigned by the 9 Contracting Parties 9April 1992 in the 13th Meeting of the Hel-sinki Commission. The European Eco-nomic Community signed the new Con-vention 24 September 1992. The 1992Convention was ratified by all the Con-tracting Parties and it entered into force on17 January 2000.

The new Convention differs signifi-cantly from the previous one, definingfirst of all the main principles of the pro-tection of the Baltic Sea Area. The Con-tracting Parties shall apply the precaution-ary principle, the polluter pays principle,and substitution principle. In addition tothe obligation to limit discharges from

land-based sources using the main princi-ples the new Convention also proposesways to do so. According to Article 3Paragraph 3, in order to prevent and elimi-nate pollution of the Baltic Sea, the Con-tracting Parties shall promote the use ofthe Best Environmental Practice (BEP)and Best Available Technology (BAT). Ifthe reduction of inputs, resulting from theuse of the Best Environmental Practiceand Best Available Technology does notlead to environmentally acceptable results,additional measures shall be applied.

HELCOM Recommendations 12/3 and13/6 were included as Annex II in the1992 Convention, and according to arti-cle 28 of the Convention “form an inte-gral part of this Convention” (4). AnnexII defines “Best Environmental Practice”as “the most appropriate combination ofmeasures” and “Best Available Technol-ogy” as “the latest stage of development(state of the art) of processes, of facilitiesor of methods of operation which indicatethe practical suitability of a particularmeasures for limiting discharges”. In ad-dition Annex II states that the Best Envi-ronmental Practice and Best AvailableTechnology will change with time as a re-sult of technological advances, changes ineconomic and social factors, and improve-ments in scientific knowledge and under-standing.

Starting from 1992 more than 25HELCOM Recommendations, regardingland-based pollution from municipalities,industries and agriculture, were adoptedby the Commission including at least inthe preamble part reference to BEP orBAT.

The HELCOM Recommendation 13/2,adopted in 1992, states that beforewastewater from industry is connected tosewerage systems and directed to munici-pal wastewater treatment plants, pretreat-ment of discharges based on the BestAvailable Technology should be carriedout. It also states that limit values for in-dustry should be established, based on theBest Available Technology.

For the reduction of discharges fromglass, leather, textile, and food industriesRecommendations 14/3, 16/7, 16/10, and17/10, respectively, containing limit val-ues for discharges were adopted. Specialattention should be paid to the Recom-mendation dealing with the basic princi-ples for the realization of BAT and BEPin the food industry.

The Recommendation defines the BATand BET measures which should be ap-plied for reduction of wastewater volumeand pollution load in different branches ofthe food industry by the implementationof the following actions:– Reduction of waste water volume and

pollution load by the following in-plantmeasures.

262 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2001 Ambio Vol. 30 No. 4–5, August 2001http://www.ambio.kva.se

– Reduction of pollution load by end-of-pipe measures.

– Reduction of emissions into the atmos-phere.

– Reduction of energy consumption.– Environmental management improve-

ment.To reduce the discharges from the metal

and fertilizer industries, the Commissionadopted the following Recommendations:16/6 regarding restriction of dischargesand emissions from metal surface treat-ment, 17/4 regarding restriction of atmos-pheric emissions and wastewater dis-charges from hard-coal cookeries, 17/5 re-garding restriction of discharges from theiron and steel industry, and 17/6 regard-ing reduction of pollution from dischargesinto water, emissions into the atmosphere,and phosphogypsum out of the productionof fertilizers.

Taking into account that in the BalticSea states, the pulp and paper industry isone of the leading and most polluting in-dustries in the Baltic Sea catchment area,the Helsinki Commission adopted 2 Rec-ommendations 17/8 and 17/9 regardingreduction of discharges from the kraftpulp and the sulfite pulp industries, re-spectively.

To reduce the discharges from forestryand fish farming, the Commission adoptedRecommendations 18/3, 20/1, and 20/3 re-garding measures aimed at the reductionof discharges from marine fish farming,from freshwater fish farming, and reduc-tion of nutrients and other pollutantsleaching from forestry land.

The obligation to use BAT and BEP forthe reduction of discharges to the marineenvironment is extremely important fromthe viewpoint of the countries in transi-tion. It allows environmental protectionauthorities to influence the selection ofenvironmentally acceptable technologiesin the stage of construction of new or re-construction of old industries.

IMPLEMENTATION OF HELCOMRECOMMENDATIONS BY THECONTRACTING PARTIESReferring to decisions of the 10th Meetingof the Helsinki Commission (5), reportingon the implementation of the HELCOMRecommendations elaborated by theTechnological and Environmental Com-mittee should take place every third year.The third Report on the implementation ofthe HELCOM Recommendations con-cerning land-based pollution was adoptedby HELCOM on 21 March 2000 (6).

The Contracting Parties have made im-pressive progress in their reporting stand-ards as compared to previous reports. TheSummary Report based on the LeadCountry Reports is much higher qualitythan the 2 previous reports.

The Recommendations limiting dis-charges from municipal wastewater treat-ment plants as well as from stormwatersystems are implemented mainly by theContracting Parties belonging to the Eu-ropean Union, i.e. Denmark. Finland, Ger-many, and Sweden. Much work is beingdone in transition countries—Estonia,Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.Taking into account that the deadline forthe implementation of some of the Rec-ommendations is after 2000, there aregood prospects for the transition countriesto meet the deadlines.

Most of the Recommendations limitingdischarges from agriculture and forestryare implemented fully by EU countries,some of them also by transition countries.The difficulties that the transition coun-tries are experiencing with the wide-scaleimplementation of Recommendations aremostly caused by limited financial andtechnical resources.

The implementation timetable for theHELCOM Recommendations limiting in-dustrial discharges differs significantly inthe case of old and new industrial plants,also in the case of EU memberstates andtransition countries. This makes drawingthe conclusions a difficult task. It is evi-dent that the implementation process ismaking more progress in the EU memberstates. There are no Recommendationswhich are fully implemented by the Con-tracting Parties.

Concerning production control measurethere are some Recommendations (on dis-charges of DDT, use of antifouling paints,mercury from dentistry) which are imple-mented fully by all the Contracting Par-ties. The Recommendations regardingelimination of the use of PCBs and PCTs,limitation of discharges of cadmium fromland-based sources, and approval of pes-ticides, use of batteries, are fully imple-mented by the EU countries.

Professor Ain LääneInstitute of Environment Protection,Tallinn Technical University,Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 TALLINN,Estonia

References1. HELCOM 1993. The Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive

Programme. Baltic Sea Environment Proceeding (BSEP)No.48, 130 pp.

2. HELCOM 1994. Intergovernmental activities in theframework of the Helsinki Convention 1974–1994. Bal-tic Sea Environ. Proc. No. 56, pp.107–140.

3. Mickewitz, P. 1998. Implementation of Key Environ-mental Principles, Experiences from the Protection ofthe Baltic sea. NORD Environment, Nordic Council ofMinisters, Copenhagen, 161 pp.

4. HELCOM 1994. Intergovernmental activities in theframework of the Helsinki Convention 1974–1994. Bal-tic Sea Environ. Proc. No. 56, pp.141–185.

5. HELCOM 10/14 1989. Report of the Tenth Meeting ofthe Helsinki Commission, Helsinki 14–17 February1998, 155 pp.

6. HELCOM 21/15 2000. Report of the 21st Meeting ofthe Helsinki Commission, Helsinki 20–2 March 2000,45 pp.