Sunrise over the Baltic Sea (Helsinki to Stockholm)
The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed inland sea located in northern Europe. Considered an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, it is connected to it via the Kattegat Strait, Skagerrak Strait and the North Sea. It is the youngest sea on our planet, emerging from the retreating ice masses only some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
The Baltic Sea has a total surface area of around 150,000 square miles and a coastline of almost 5,000 miles. It has an average depth of only 175 feet. The deepest area of the sea is found off the south east coast of Sweden where it measures a depth of 1,506 feet. Its shallowest area is the continental shelf in the area of the Danish archipelago.
The Baltic Sea includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdańsk and it stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. It drains through the Danish islands into the Kattegat by way of the straits of Øresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt.
Governed by special hydrographical and climatic conditions, the Baltic Sea is one of the planet’s largest bodies of brackish water. It is composed of salt water from the north east Atlantic and fresh water from rivers and streams draining from an area 4 times larger than the Baltic Sea itself. This highly sensitive and interdependent marine ecosystem gives rise to unique flora and fauna.
Surrounding the Baltic Sea are 9 countries: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia. The region is home to more than 85 million people, of whom 15 million live within 5 miles of the coast.
The Baltic region includes eight of the 28 European Union member states and the Baltic Sea provides a critical connection between the European Union and the Russian Federation.
The region’s diversity can translate into a challenge for decision makers to find common ground on complex issues such as environmental protection, sustainable use and management. As a result, the surrounding coastal countries have not been particularly successful in balancing economic and social uses with the protection of the sea. Nonetheless, the political frameworks in the region are advanced.
In the 1950s, environmental scientists in the Baltic region began to note negative effects of large-scale industrial development and chemical runoffs from agriculture. Concern over threats to the region's plant and animal life enabled cooperation between the region's countries.
Cooperation over environmental issues led to the 1974 signing by the Baltic countries of the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area. Although the agreement was signed in 1974, due to political wrangling and consensus building, it was enacted in May 1980.
Political changes and developments in environmental and maritime law caused a new convention to be signed in 1992. All the states bordering on the Baltic Sea and the European Community joined in the agreement. The 1992 Convention covers the entire Baltic Sea region, including all the inland waters, the Baltic Sea's water and its seabed. Measures were also taken in the whole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution. The revised Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area became enforceable in January 2000.
Most recently, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, was the first EU macro-regional strategy. It was created to address “the urgent environmental challenges arising from the increasingly visible degradation of the Baltic Sea” and was adopted by the European Council in October 2009.
Date: 19th April 2010
Location: view from the Helsinki to Stockholm ferry
The Baltic Sea has a total surface area of around 150,000 square miles and a coastline of almost 5,000 miles. It has an average depth of only 175 feet. The deepest area of the sea is found off the south east coast of Sweden where it measures a depth of 1,506 feet. Its shallowest area is the continental shelf in the area of the Danish archipelago.
The Baltic Sea includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdańsk and it stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. It drains through the Danish islands into the Kattegat by way of the straits of Øresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt.
Governed by special hydrographical and climatic conditions, the Baltic Sea is one of the planet’s largest bodies of brackish water. It is composed of salt water from the north east Atlantic and fresh water from rivers and streams draining from an area 4 times larger than the Baltic Sea itself. This highly sensitive and interdependent marine ecosystem gives rise to unique flora and fauna.
Surrounding the Baltic Sea are 9 countries: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia. The region is home to more than 85 million people, of whom 15 million live within 5 miles of the coast.
The Baltic region includes eight of the 28 European Union member states and the Baltic Sea provides a critical connection between the European Union and the Russian Federation.
The region’s diversity can translate into a challenge for decision makers to find common ground on complex issues such as environmental protection, sustainable use and management. As a result, the surrounding coastal countries have not been particularly successful in balancing economic and social uses with the protection of the sea. Nonetheless, the political frameworks in the region are advanced.
In the 1950s, environmental scientists in the Baltic region began to note negative effects of large-scale industrial development and chemical runoffs from agriculture. Concern over threats to the region's plant and animal life enabled cooperation between the region's countries.
Cooperation over environmental issues led to the 1974 signing by the Baltic countries of the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area. Although the agreement was signed in 1974, due to political wrangling and consensus building, it was enacted in May 1980.
Political changes and developments in environmental and maritime law caused a new convention to be signed in 1992. All the states bordering on the Baltic Sea and the European Community joined in the agreement. The 1992 Convention covers the entire Baltic Sea region, including all the inland waters, the Baltic Sea's water and its seabed. Measures were also taken in the whole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution. The revised Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area became enforceable in January 2000.
Most recently, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, was the first EU macro-regional strategy. It was created to address “the urgent environmental challenges arising from the increasingly visible degradation of the Baltic Sea” and was adopted by the European Council in October 2009.
Date: 19th April 2010
Location: view from the Helsinki to Stockholm ferry
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