4.6.2012

Towards active

Baltic Sea citizenship

A sailing boat ploughing the sea which looks like green porridge. Slimy fishing nets. The Baltic Sea suffers from an overdose of nutrients, which in turn leads to massive algal blooms. The alarming state of the Baltic Sea requires action at all levels. The BalticSeaNow.info project, coordinated by TUAS, provokes the public to make a difference by introducing and developing channels for public involvement. The project consists of a web portal www.balticseanow.info and events organised in the partner countries.

The sea ice has melted and an osprey’s nest in the Finnish Archipelago is waiting for its inhabitants. “That's funny that we can communicate from all parts of the world and meet at the osprey nest? I am looking forward to the return of the ospreys and accompany them virtually through the summer”. The quotation from the BalticSeaNow.info portal page, which offers real time image from the osprey’s nest, shows how web cameras attract people and can be a tool in raising environmental awareness to protect the invaluable Baltic Sea.

The web camera was installed and is maintained by the BalticSeaNow.info project, carried out since 2009 and funded through the EU Central Baltic Interreg IVA 2007–2013 Programme. The project aims to enlighten the role of individual citizens in the protection of the Baltic Sea. It is an international joint venture between actors from Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia, representing universities, research institutions, NGOs and companies.

The osprey web cam has been a big hit and the single most appealing element in the portal, as indicated by the visitor statistics and lively discussion. It even became “a community-forming” factor, triggering lively discussions amongst the “osprey fans” also outside the ospreys’ nesting period.

Besides maintaining a versatile portal with web cameras and discussion forums, the project has organised dozens of events with ca 40,000 attendants, varying from massive fairs to seminars and more intimate discussions e.g. in local pubs. In addition, interactive exhibits have been produced for events to engage the public in the personal judgment about their role in the protection of the Baltic Sea.

Above: Photo by Arturs Mazarevics from Latvia, originally submitted to the project’s photo contest.

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Baltic Sea needs its citizens

Determined actions and involvement are needed to take steps forward in the protection of the Baltic Sea, since sometimes the seemingly healthy-looking Baltic Sea is a multi-symptomatic patient. Eutrophication (increase in plant production caused by excessive availability of nutrients, mainly phosphorus and nitrogen) is the most prominent problem. Freighting of chemicals and oil present serious threats, too – not to mention climate change, which makes the puzzle even more complex to solve.

The other side of the coin reveals world’s second largest basin of brackish water, valuable nature with a unique mixture of marine and freshwater species, and an interplay between man and nature producing rich culture and landscape.

The Baltic Sea is clearly valuable for its citizens, but the rescuing of the sea is easily outsourced to nations and industries. One reason for this might be the “holistic paralysis”, powerlessness in front of the overwhelming problem. The BalticSeaNow.info project tackles this problem by trying to split the problem into more meaningful and concrete pieces and give directions for everyone to do their own share, as consumers and active citizens.

Multidisciplinary approaches

Raising environmental awareness and promoting public involvement requires understanding in environmental education and communication. Modern communication methods such as social media open new perspectives for public involvement.

The motivation for TUAS in coordinating the BalticSeaNow.info project is twofold. TUAS as an environmentally responsible actor wants to contribute to the protection of the Baltic Sea as it is located on its coast.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, the project examines and develops communication methods for public involvement. This R&D objective combines know-how in ecological, educational and artistic disciplines with IT technology represented in TUAS.

A mixture of several disciplines is a substrate for new approaches and innovations in environmental communication. In environmental awareness raising, for example, combining arts and science opens interesting perspectives. The first experiments of the BalticSeaNow.info project with the "science meets arts" approach have been promising.

More information

www.balticseanow.info

Text: Martti Komulainen