ROUND TABLE RESOLUTION

Russian-Finnish-Estonian cooperation in the Gulf of Finland

Within the framework of the VIII International Environmental Forum “Baltic Sea Day”

CHAIRMAN: Juha Sarkkula (coordinator of the trilateral working group on the Gulf of Finland),

                       Finnish Environment Institute

CO-CHAIRMEN: A.E.Antsulevich, St.Petersburg State University; Jouni Lehtoranta, Finnish

                              Environment Institute; S.L.Basova, NW Hydromet; I.M.Markovets,

                             Baltmorteckdirekstiya; A.E. Rybalko, FGUNPP Sevmorgeo

Participants: 30

The Round table was attended by nearly 30 experts, mainly the members of the Russian-Finnish-Estonian working group on the Gulf of Finland, representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation and the Finnish Ministry of Environment, scientists of SYKE, FIMR and VTT Industrial Systems, specialists of the Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Safety of St. Petersburg, North-West Administration of Roshydromet, FGU Balttechmordirektsia, Department of Rosprirodnadzor in North-Western Federal Region, FGUNPP “Sevmorgeo”, representatives of General Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg, scientists of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Limnology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, All-Russian Geological Institute and others.

The topics discussed during the meeting were the continuation of joint work, research and monitoring carried out under the framework of the Russian–Estonian–Finnish co-operation in the Gulf of Finland during recent year. Presentations were devoted to the evaluation of the Gulf of Finland state in 2006. In particular, one of the most important problems of the area is eutrophication, its causes and search for optimal instruments in order to develop effective measures to improve the state of the Gulf of Finland. The discussed problems included also the issues of ecosystems biodiversity and introduction of new alien species. Also the reports on the impacts of building port complexes, industrial plants and mining of minerals in the Gulf of Finland ecosystem were presented. Attention was paid to the cooperation among countries surrounding the Gulf of Finland in the field of oil spills control.

The state of the Gulf of Finland in 2006

The results of national monitoring programmes in the Gulf of Finland in 2006 and special research projects of the scientific institutions of Russia and Finland showed significant deterioration of environmental condition in the Gulf of Finland.

Since the beginning of the year 2006 the salinity stratification grew stronger in the Gulf of Finland. Water of higher salinity and lower oxygen concentration penetrated from the Baltic Proper into the Gulf of Finland. In the open Gulf of Finland oxygen-depleted area was unusually wide. In summer 2006 the oxygen depleted areas in the Gulf of Finland were wider than ever before during 44-year monitoring period by the Finnish Institute of Marine Research. According to the observations made by FIMR’s R/V Aranda, there was hydrogen sulphide in the bottom-near water at depths below 50-60 metres everywhere in the Gulf of Finland, including the easternmost observation points of the Finnish territorial waters. As a consequence of the oxygen depletion, the phosphorus concentrations increased in the bottom waters. The phosphorus concentrations measured in 2006 were in most cases clearly higher than those measured in summer 2005. Also the bottom fauna monitoring gave the worst results during the coastal monitoring period of R/V Muikku which started in 1999. An abundant and diversified bottom fauna was found only at 4 observation sites out of 47. Minimum 37 observation sites were entirely without bottom animals.

In the Russian territorial waters anaerobic conditions were observed only in the deepest stations of the eastern the Gulf of Finland in 2005, but in summer 2006 oxygen depleted areas were found also in the Neva Bay. At the same time high amounts of suspended matter were transported from the Neva Bay, where turbidity increased 3-5 times due to the intensive dredging and construction of new passenger terminal and entrance canals. The summer chlorophyll a content decreased as much as by 12% compared with the average level of 1999-2005. The content of copper and lead increased in the bottom sediments in the eastern part of Shepelevskey reach. It leads as well to an increase of the heavy metal concentrations in the near bottom waters. As a consequence of the measures related to the construction of new port terminals the water quality of the main area of the Neva Bay was classified as polluted-dirty.

In the Gulf of Finland, eutrophication is a consequence of excessive nutrient loads and the physical conditions of the sea area. The external nutrient load has actually decreased by nearly 40% since the late 1980s for both nitrogen and phosphorus. However, eutrophication continues to be a problem, and is causing more abundant blue-green algal blooms in the summer. The main reason for the eutrophied state of the Gulf of Finland is the high nutrient load from the catchment. The continued eutrophication, in turn, has enhanced the release of phosphorus from the bottom sediments. As a consequence of the poor condition of the bottom area in the Gulf of Finland, the internal phosphorus loading is launched when the salinity stratification creates favourable conditions for this process. A more permanent recovery of the situation is possible only if the phosphorus and nitrogen loads are significantly reduced within the catchment of the Gulf of Finland and the entire Baltic Sea. 

Cooperation in modelling

There are several joint projects going on under the trilateral co-operation. Development of ecosystem modelling has enhanced the reliability scenarios and helped in the planning of measures to reduce the pollution load from land-based sources into the Gulf of Finland. Successful solution of this task can be reached only within the frame of trilateral cooperation on joint scientific projects. One of the aims of the ecosystem models is to have an instrument for decision makers. It is necessary to create a common database for ecosystem models and continue to co-operate in this field. The possibilities to decrease the external load in the Neva Bay and in the entire Gulf of Finland catchment area were discussed in reports. The perfection of mathematical modelling should be concurrent with the perfection of the monitoring and providing of models with data for calibration and verification. The evaluation of activity of large-scale bottom ground removal and new territories creation in St.-Petersburg is an actual problem of environmental safety that requires mathematical modelling.

Biodiversity and invasive species management

The problem of biodiversity preservation is closely connected with the investigation of the role of anthropogenic and natural factors in the changes of structural functional organization of environmental systems. In the report of RAS Zoological Institute the dominant role anthropogenic factors in changes of species composition in bottom ecosystems and in primary production that increased during the last years was shown. The production and biodiversity of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland ecosystem also depends on climate fluctuations that can cause the periodical intrusions of deep salty waters from the western deep part of the area.    

Another important environmental problem related to biodiversity is invasive species. There are significant changes in the biological diversity of the Gulf of Finland in the last period. Recently new invasive species were related mainly to invertebrate plankton and benthic species. Now in the Neva Bay 2 new invasive fish species belonging to the gobiid family were found, one of them Proterorhinus marmoratus was found in the Baltic Sea Region for the first time. Such changes have already led to redistribution of substance and energy flow and can be the reason of significant reorganization of the Gulf of Finland ecosystems. Considering an acuteness of the problem as it was specified in the resolution of the Round table of March 21^st, 2006, realization of the international programme of monitoring of alien species is necessary as part European early warning system for sea alien species and creation of ballast water management system as part of ecological safety system for sea transport.

Completely new attitude for investigation of biodiversity is presented in the report devoted to bottom mapping of water habitats in the eastern Gulf of Finland and the attempts to combine geophysical and hydrobiological attitudes and methods that will allow upgrading to a new level the mapping of bottom landscapes, environmental monitoring and the assessment of marine biological resources. It was noted that anthropogenic activity underestimates or sometimes completely ignores the necessity to provide the migration of salmon. Particularly the deep navigation canals, where the outlets from water purification plants are considered, serve simultaneously as salmon migration “corridors”.

Marine transport and environmental safety

The serious threat for the Gulf of Finland ecosystem is the increase of navigation activity. The risk of oil spills has significantly increased. The most effective instrument for prevention of oil products pollution and other dangerous chemical substances is the control of marine transport activity and harbor infrastructure. Unfortunately in 2006 there was nothing essentially new in cooperation between countries in this important field.

During the 10-year period the trilateral collaboration among the Gulf of Finland countries increased steadily and the success of several joint projects should be underlined. However the major improvement of environmental situation in our common Gulf is still not achieved. Some of environmentally important programmes (like invasive alien species monitoring, the inventory of underwater habitats, etc.) were realized on the regional or national level only and were not covering the entire area of water. It lessens the results interpretation and the efficiency of common practical decisions.

There are some more shortages that still exist. They are:

-         unequal research works by volume, by funding and by information that brings the problems to these results comparison and interpretation;

-         lack of coordination of many efforts and absence of mutual programme of actions that leads to the lack of common databases and difference in approaches to the same environmental processes;

-         lack of ecosystem simulating models database;

-         incompliant environmental standards and legal instruments for the loads regulation;

-         lack of single and agreed regional programme for the loads reduction from every kinds of industrial and agricultural activities for the Gulf of Finland region.

Recommendations

            For the nutrients load reduction

1. The research results highlight the importance of further nutrient reductions especially regarding the most important sources: large municipalities, agriculture etc. The specific water quality management plan for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast could be elaborated as the first stage. One of the purposes of these plans is to mitigate eutrophication in the easternmost Gulf and decrease blue-green algal blooms elsewhere in the Gulf.

2. To create comparable databases and establish well-organized exchange of information.

3. Develop a joint programme for assessment and regulating nutrient inputs into the Gulf of Finland from the catchment area taking into account possible temporal changes in the bio-geo-chemical circulation of substances in the Gulf and possible effects of climate change and economical activities in its catchment area.

In this respect:

·        To perform joint work designed to collect data about numerous industrial, agricultural (animal husbandry and field cultivation) and municipal sources of phosphorus and nitrogen loads (point and diffuse) in the Gulf catchment area according to HELCOM PLC-5 Guidelines;

·        To continue joint field research in various areas of the Gulf with special emphasis on intercalibration and create on this basis annual assessments on the status of the Gulf of Finland;

·        To continue joint projects like EMAPS and SEGUE on comparison and development of three-dimensional hydrodynamic and ecosystem models.

·        To use the strategy and methodology of “clean production” and “best available technology” in industrial processes according to the HELCOM recommendations; to set governing principles for integrated management of coastal zones.

For biodiversity conservation

·        To support and provide the development of biological monitoring and informational systems on the national level in cooperation with international projects and initiatives related to biodiversity conservation and invasive alien species dispersal prevention in the Baltic Sea (Convention on biodiversity).

·        To carry out the inventory of current biodiversity in the Gulf of Finland linked with aquatic habitats and their precise geographical position;

·        To accept the implementation of biological data and integral indices for evaluation of trophic and toxic state of aquatic ecosystems.

·        To find out compromise solutions to protect the Neva salmon migrations when planning and executing industrial and constructional activities on the areas of water.

Environmental safety for sea transport

·        To resume cooperation between organizations that are responsible for oil spill prevention in countries.

·        To developed the air surveillance system for assisting oil spill combating operations and constant control of unauthorized discharge in Russia and Estonia.

·        To consider the problem of perfection of regional, national and international environmental standards and criteria.

·        To take note of legal and organizational schemes that have been agreed and of the fact that the financial aspects should not influence decision-making process including the case when help is requested on the international level.