Environmental Co-operation in the Baltic Region
6. Follow-Up
One of the most important environmental problems of the region is the pollution of the Baltic, where it is to some extent possible to solve the problems from waterborne pollution by a regional effort. Another of the big problems of the region is the air pollution, where the trans-boundary pollution first and foremost comes from the west and to some extent from other countries outside the region; therefore measures to be taken demand broader cooperation. Whereas nature is impoverished in Denmark, it is quite well preserved in some of the other parts of the region, where the population density is lower. However, in the eastern part of the region, the nature management faces great and urgent tasks concurrently with the ongoing development towards market economy, and due to the privatisation process.
The environmental problems compared with the Conventions show that there is an international co-operation, which to a wide extent covers the overall environmental problems in connection with climate, air, water, and nature.
The large part of the co-operation within the field of environment is global or takes part under the framework of the ECE, which also includes the ECE member states and countries having consultation status with the ECE. The other Conventions are regional; however, Canada is a member of the Convention of the European Council on criminal protection of the environment.
Only within the field of port environment are there both global and regional Conventions, which in some fields adjust the same subjects. The regional Convention typically includes more strict guidelines than the global convention; an example is the Helsinki Convention and the London Convention within the field of dumping. This gives an opportunity to work for a tighteningup of the global convention based on regional experience, but this requires coordination and a rational planning of the work with the responsible environmental authorities.
The regional conventions within the field of port environment cover various port fields -with an overlap of OSPAR and HELCOM in the Kattegat, which increases the need for coordination.
An ongoing updating of the information as to which countries are parties to which Convention can be found on the following internet address:
http://sedac.ciesin.org/entri/.
Some of the conventions within the field of air are global. A reason why the results, especially in the industrialised countries, are still not satisfactory could be that there is a need for further international agreements on adjustment of sources. In this connection, the field of transportation might be a possibility. As appears from Chapter 3.2.6, such work has been commenced by the adoption of the Vienna Declaration, and the work goes on within the WHO.
The extension of the EU towards the East has commenced a very targeted effort to satisfy the EU legislation, also in the accession countries of the Baltic region. This development will help improving the environmental situation in the Baltic region. The challenge for the Central and Eastern European countries is to make environmental legislation which does not only implement or adapt to the EU legislation in force (legal implementation), but which is also being followed up upon by efficient opportunities for enforcement and sanctions (physical implementation). The last mentioned task thus goes far beyond and is closely connected to the need for a competent and well-educated organisation or environmental authorities, since the enforcement of legal legislation is a national task for the individual member states.
Time will show how the transfer to market economies and the privatisation of agricultural, forestry, and nature areas in Eastern Europe will have impact on the environment and nature, but there is no doubt that many o the private owners of the agricultural and forestry areas will be under pressure as far as economy is concerned, or they will be tempted to make quick use of the existing resources, for instance by felling of old forest areas with valuable timber or intensified exploitation of agricultural areas. New technical systems and extension of the infrastructure will affect other nature areas.The development will most probably be reinforced concurrently with the coming into force of the EU's new funding arrangements to the applicant countries.
The work is ongoing. We are working on developing strategies for sustainable development and the majority of the cooperation forums has already incorporated their thoughts behind sustainable development and sector integration in their work. The challenges concern co-ordination of this work in a convenient way, so that the individual elements can supplement each other.