Marine protection cooperation in the Gulf of Finland to continue

Minister of Agriculture and the Environment of Finland Kimmo Tiilikainen (pictured right) visited Estonia on Monday, 11 January by invitation of Minister of the Environment of Estonia Marko Pomerants. During the meeting the ministers signed the proclamation promoting trilateral cooperation in the protection of the Gulf of Finland. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Sergei Donskoi will approve the document with his own signature at a later date.

The joint proclamation approves the recommendations and status assessment based on the studies conducted primarily as part of the Gulf of Finland Year 2014 programme. According to the proclamation the countries shall establish a joint Gulf of Finland cooperation steering group, the responsibilities of which shall include the coordination of the ongoing shared monitoring programme as well as the research cooperation based on which the recommendations concerning the development of the condition of the sea are to be updated.

The Gulf of Finland Year was celebrated in Finland, Estonia and Russia in 2014, as a part of which the three countries engaged in widespread joint research and monitoring related to the condition of the Gulf of Finland. During the year, the countries combined their water quality measurements in the Gulf of Finland from a period covering over 15 years into one joint database. The results of the joint condition assessment were summarised in a Policy Brief meant for decision-makers in December, while the assessment itself will be published this spring.

The Gulf of Finland Year 2014 was a joint programme between Finland, Estonia and Russia targeting to improve the condition of the Gulf of Finland. The project has increased awareness of the importance and urgency of protecting the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, and built understanding on the functioning of the sea. The Finnish chairman of the international Gulf of Finland Year 2014 steering group was  Hannele Pokka, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment.

More information:

Counsellor Martti Poutanen, tel. +358 (0)295 250 236, [email protected]

Leading Researcher Kai Myrberg, Project Coordinator for the Gulf of Finland Year 2014,
tel. +358 (0)295 251 441, [email protected]