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The Baltic Sea Challenge together with John Nurminen Foundation organised an international seminar, Challenge for a Healthier Sea, on the 9th of February in Helsinki, Finland with the theme of enhancing nutrient removal and clean shipping in the cities of the Baltic Sea Region. The seminar was primarily targeted at Baltic Sea Region cities, their waterworks and harbours, and financiers. The seminar acted as a forum for initiating discussions and financing negotiations for new Baltic Sea protection projects.

The seminar brought together almost 150 actors from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus.

A Live Sea is a Part of a City’s Success Story
In his speech the Deputy Mayor of Turku, Mr. Jarkko Virtanen, stressed the importance of the protection work for the City of Turku. A live sea is a major factor in the future successful development of the City. It is therefore important to commit to this work also beyond statutory demands.

• It is time to show determination and to act as an example, Deputy Mayor Virtanen said.

Also the Mayor of Helsinki, Mr. Jussi Pajunen, spoke about finding new governance models to answer to the threats facing the Baltic Sea.

• I want to highlight the importance of finding new ways of governance to tackle the tremendous challenges that we are confronted with. We need to be innovative and ready to question existing structures and operating models. In the rescue operation, we need the commitment of the cities, regions, national governments, the EU and all other imaginable actors operating within this framework, said Mayor Pajunen.

Sitting at the Same Table with the Financiers
One of the objectives of the seminar was to ease the important first steps of protection work; to bring the possibilities of financing as close to the actors as possible. This is one of the objectives of the Baltic Sea Challenge.

• We want to create a co-operation network of Baltic Sea friendly actors, explained Environmental Planner Mr. Olli-Pekka Mäki, who is also the Baltic Sea Challenge contact person in the City of Turku.

The seminar speakers also included Chairman Juha Nurminen from the John Nurminen Foundation, Admiral and Board Member of the John Nurminen Foundation Juhani Kaskeala and Secretary General Anne-Christine Brusendorff from HELCOM, and many other experts.

The seminar programme included presentations from:

• Mr Jussi Pajunen, Mayor, City of Helsinki
• Mr Jarkko Virtanen, Deputy Mayor, City of Turku
• Ms Anne-Christine Brusendorff, Secretary General, HELCOM
• Mr Juha Nurminen, Chairman, John Nurminen Foundation
• Mr Felix Karmazinov, Director General, Vodokanal of St. Petersburg
• Mr Esa Ovaskainen, Director, Ekovod
• Ms Tatjana G. Meleshko, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Housing and Communal Services, Belarus
• Ms Gun Rudeberg, General Counsel and Head of Environmental Affairs, Ports of Stockholm
• Ms Kaarina Vuorivirta, Quality and Environmental Manager, Port of Helsinki
• Mr Pentti Lahtinen, D.Sc. (Geotechnology), Ramboll Oy
• Mr Jaakko Henttonen, Director, Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership

Baltic Sea Challenge project and John Nurminen Foundation organise an international seminar, Challenge for a Healthier Sea, on 9 February 2010 in Helsinki, Finland.

The seminar concentrates on methods and case-examples of enhancing nutrient removal and clean shipping in the cities of the Baltic Sea Region. The programme consists of presentations of projects, methods and technical solutions on these issues. An important part of the programme is to bring together financiers and those looking for financing. The objective is to initiate discussions about joint projects between actors who are planning environmental infrastructure projects and institutions financing municipal projects. The event is primarily targeted to directors and senior level officials.

Programme and registration: www.puhdasitameri.fi/digium.html

For more information please contact:
Planning Officer Ms Jasmin Etelämäki, City of Helsinki, Mayor’s Office by e-mail at jasmin.etelamaki@hel.fi or tel. +358 9 3106 4437 / +358 40 334 1656