Coalition Clean Baltic - For protection of the Baltic Sea Environment

1. Coalition Clean Baltic- For protection of the Baltic Sea Environment CCB – Joining forces for the Baltic • CCB is a network of Environmental NGOs, grass-root level, in 9 countries bordering the Baltic Sea • CCB was established in 1990 • CCBpromotes Citizens Organisations (ECO) in cooperation • CCB has 27 member organizations that represent more than 0,5 million individual members • CCB has organisations in: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

2. Member organisations Lithuania... Lithuanian Green Movement Vilnius Nature Protection Society Youth Club Poland Ecobaltic Foundation, Gdansk Ecological Library Foundation, Poznan Green Federation, GAJA, Szczecin Klub Gaja, Bielsko-Biala Polish Ecological Club Russia Children of the Baltic, St. Petersburg Ecodefense, Kaliningrad Green World, St. Petersburg Neva River Clearwater, St. Petersburg GUIDE Environmental Group, Kaliningrad Sweden Friends of the Earth Sweden Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Swedish-Polish Association for Environmental Protection WWF-Sweden Denmark Danish Society for Nature Conservation Estonia Estonian Green Movement Estonian Society for Nature Conservation Tallinn Society for Nature Conservation Finland Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Finnish Society for Nature and Environment Germany Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland InfoBalt Latvia Environmental Protection Club of Latvia, VAK Latvian Society for Nature Conservation and Monument Protection Lithuania Lithuanian Fund for Nature NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

3. Examples of:CCBActivities NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

4. The Baltic Sea • The second biggest sea in the world with brackish-water with a unique ecosystem. • One of the most polluted seas in the world. • The Baltic Sea is neither dead or dying – but it is a sea in great trouble.   NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

5. 4 ways to reach the goal • The mission of CCB is to preserve the unique nature of the Baltic Sea and its coastal zones by decreasing the impacts from its catchment area. • CCB works through means of • lobbying • Information, environmental education and other activities to raise the public awareness; • Concrete co-operation projects in the field; • Support to member organisations NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

6. CCB is running activities • International level • Present joint NGO proposals and demands towards Baltic Ministerial Meetings, HELCOM, IBSFC, BALTIC 21 process – Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region. • National level • In each Baltic Sea Region country, towards Governments, authorities • towards national environmental policies • Public awareness and educational activities. • Local level • Concrete projects in the field • Partnerships: municipalities, organisations etc. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

7. 3 Priority Areas • Reduction of the harmful nutrient load to the baltic sea • Sustainable Wastewater Management • River Watch • Sustainable Agriculture • Prevention of installations and activities harmful to the Baltic Sea • Harmful Installations and Transport • Local Agenda 21 • Harmful Hydro-electric Power Plants • Development of sustainable Baltic Sea fisheries • Protection of the Naturally Spawning Baltic Salmon • Sustainable Fishing Practices for the Baltic Sea NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

8. CCB Strategy under WFDShort summary by Maret Merisaar • The aim of the EU Water Framework directive is to achieve a good status of water bodies (incl. surface water, groundwater, marine waters etc) by the year 2015. • By 2009 Water management plans for every river basin will be ready and for sub basins the plans were to be finalized by end of 2004. These plans decide what kind of usage will be made of water resources under question and thus all interested stakeholders can take part in the consultations. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

9. Participation possibilities • Officially the consultations take place in 2006, 2007 and 2008, but the earlier the local level consultation happens the better. In later phases it is more difficult to achieve any changes as then general level plans are compiled from lower level plans. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

10. Different age-groups • Separate activities for “grownups” and “schools” • On local level the teachers can use the ongoing water management planning process effectively for discussing local water problems and their solutions in schools (as exercise). • At the same time they can act as interested individuals and influence the official RBMP process. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

11. River Watch • Produce CCB Guideline for sustainable RBMP including good examples or a document “10 points for good River Basin Management Planning”. • Investigate what/where monitoring is already done. Find about new WFD monitoring methods and select most simple ones for voluntary monitoring networking. • Find out about Intercalibration of the WFD monitoring sites in Baltic Sea Region (For example start voluntary monitoring in coastal water sites) . •  Voluntary Monitoring Networks for Baltic salmon rivers for wide public (1 river in each country) . Using new monitoring equipment. Only qualitative monitoring . • Contact Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish CCB partners for joining the EEB Snap Shot Survey on Water Framework Directive Implementation. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

12. Eco-Engineering • Relate eco-engineering campaigns with the existing River Basin Management Planning processes. Promote small treatment plants in rural areas • Prepare lists of • functioning ecological waste water treatment plants in the Baltic Sea Region • contacts of engineers • Wait for next call for research applications under the EU Framework Programme 6 , may be eco-technology is also included. • Demand real public participation in planning wastewater treatment • Influencing National Development Plans to include Sustainable Wastewater treatment as one of the measures to be financed from structural funds. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

13. Water protection in agriculture • Joint lobby in Brussels with other Baltic and European countries • Spreading info on the EEB last seminar Agri Workshop materials. • Read materials on the web - link to Baltic Agenda 21 Working group on Agriculture and HE LCOM ·In order to act efficiently we should be aware of the possibilities to use the tools for water protection in the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Thus a seminar on this issue would be of great value, especially for the new member states. Participation in or monitoring of the Rural Development Planning process. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

14. Water protection in agriculture 2 • - properly managed in wastewater treatment (including manure) and water protection • - promotion of best solutions for small localities and single farms (ecotechnologies, nutrient recycling) • - promotion of „small retention” in rural areas (system of properly managed ditches and ponds used both for water retention and purification) • - organic or sustainble farming methods. • - Modernising infrastructure (housing, slurry and manure storage facilities, also avoiding atmospheric emissions of ammonia from animal production; NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

15. Water protection in agriculture 3 • More efficient manure application techniques; • - Reducing industrial farming to sustainable levels in sensitive areas; • - Maintaining extensive farming systems; • - More efficient use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; • - Creation of multispecies buffer zones for protecting water courses; • - Creation of constructed wetlands as sustainable pollution control structures, • - Haymaking in floodplains NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

16. Salmon Rivers • Relate campaigning with ongoing RBMP consultations, follow the timetable for WFD implementation. • Rebuilding dams – demand public hearings about new hydrotechnical activities • Removing dams – no thinking about opening the rivers in Poland. Campaign for protection against floods. • Participate in • Characterisation of the resources of the rivers • Developing of the best standards • Finding specialists • Changing the laws • Restore the spawning places • Create/advertise aood example of removing an old and unused dam. • Demand more effective control about fishing activities. . NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

17. Small hydropower • ·Be represented in River Basin Management advisory groups.Representatives should be elected by NGO’s • ·Demand EIA for whole rivers, not only for each dam construction • ·Collect groups of stakeholders (anglers …) • -Specify demands • ·Raise public awareness • -See proposals on p 86 in ’Present and potential production of salmon in Estonian rivers’ • ·Make survey of river status • -E.g. fish ladder • -Compile a list of illegal constructions • 1.discuss with owner • 2.report to authorities NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

18. Other CCB priorities... • Harmful installations and transports • ·Write a letter with questions on EU planned legislation to mitigate /decrease hazards from oil transportation on the Baltic. • ·Or leave that for the WWF network, as in Estonia (promotion of the establishment of the National Oil Fund). • Promotion of Local Agenda 21– with focus on spatial planning in coastal zones • Participate in the public events of the cross border coastal & river basin management planning • Links to EC Water Initiative in Third countries. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

19. Common project idea 1 • ·Important salmon rivers from min 3 Baltic Sea countries will be selected, project similar to the recent CCB national project on River Pärnu will be carried out. Target group - Schools from different countries, common seminars, exchange of info over internet. Compilation of alternative water management plan. Usage of new monitoring methodology. Finalised with a travelling exhibition of the results. • Possible Partners from Estonia, St Peterburg, Lithuania, Kaliningrad NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

20. Common project idea 2 • ·Lobby for water protection measures (see list before) to be included into the Rural Development Plans will be done on national level and experiences will be shared on international level. • Possible partners from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland? Denmark NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

21. Common project idea 3 • ·Project for local grown up activists and NGOS on taking part in the River Basin Management Planning meetings, commenting documents with the help of the CCB position paper “10 points for good River Management”. Project includes voluntary monitoring, networking over internet (Sublist of CCB), distribution of the WFD newsletter (by German partner). • Interest has been expressed by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Finland • Sweden is particularly interested to check the Heavily Modified Waterbodies designation. NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

22. Info on www.ccb.se • WFD seminars • Good examples • Materials by Grüne Liga • Links to WFD sites NGO Forum in Karelia 2005

23. Useful links ·on public participation in water management:www.ctc.ee/index.php?lang_id=3 A publication with analysis of Russian legislation concerning possibilities and obligations for public consultations on water management www.riverdialogue.org/NGO/files/Russian_report_RUS.pdf Water policy working group of the European Environmental Bureau:www.eeb.org Baltic Environmental Forum co-operation on water protection: www.bef.lv NGO Forum in Karelia 2005