1	Baltic Sea Regional Project Inesis Kiškis, World Bank
2	Baltic Sea Environment Program The Baltic Sea Environment Program is a regional environmental program that has progressed from “planning” to “implementation.”
3
4	Why a Baltic Sea Environment Program? Baltic Sea is a source of well being of 90 million people Since 1950 the environmental quality of the Baltic Sea has considerably degraded
5	What Triggered Degradation? Natural vulnerabilities Semi-enclosed sea Persistent water stratification Long residence of the water volume Slow decomposition rate Human contribution: Large nutrient loads Accumulation of toxic substances
6	Prioritization of activities One can not do everything at once 132 “hot spots” identified Source-point pollution vs. non-point pollution: load contribution is equal Decision: municipal and industrial sources are “easier” to start with
7	What has been done? A number of water and wastewater facilities in Eastern Baltic cities upgraded Pollution load significantly reduced Water companies strengthened institutionally
8	Example – Daugavpils, Latvia
9	Example – Klaipeda, Lithuania
10	What did we learn? Investment is not the only answer for achieving the goals of the Program Well defined objectives and priorities Clear policy frameworks Institutional strengthening Well targeted investments
11	Second Generation of Projects To address the non-point source pollution: Rural Environmental Protection Project. Baltic Sea Regional Project
12	Objective of the Project “To create some preconditions for application of the ecosystem approach in managing the Baltic Sea Large Marine Ecosystem in order to achieve and maintain sustainable biological productivity of the Baltic Sea”
13	Goals of the Project Facilitate strengthening of regional institutions through capacity building efforts Develop and apply an ecosystem-based management strategy to the BSLME Assess and evaluate the socio-economic effects of the ecosystem-based management for farming, fishing and coastal communities
14	Baltic Sea Regional Project Component 1: Large Marine Ecosystem Activities, ICES Organisation
15	Project organization
16	Coordinated Effort HELCOM in Cooperation with IBSFC and ICES Riparian Governments Non-Governmental Organizations Scientific Research Institutions Fishermen, Farmers and their Organizations Bi- and Multilateral Financiers
17	Duration of the Project First phase – 2003 - 2005 Phases 2 and 3 may follow if Phase 1 is successful
18