FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area

Marjut Partanen-Hertell, Pekka Harju-Autti, Katarzyna Kreft-Burman and David Pemberton, 1999

The Finnish Environment 327, international cooperation, p. 128.
URN:ISBN:9521117346, ISBN 952-11-1734-6 (pdf). The publication is available also in printed form (ISBN 952-11-0528-3).

Environmental awareness enables sustainable choices both in the private life and at work. Since environmental problems do not respect any borders of the nations, a multinational approach to environmental awareness is essential in regions such as the Baltic Sea area. This report provides useful background information, findings and action proposals for increasing environmental awareness in this area within 14 countries.

• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_1.pdf   Preface, contents, summary, introduction (832 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_2.pdf   Chapters 2 and 3 (516 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_3.pdf   * Chapter 4 (653 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_4.pdf   * Chapters 5 and 6 (461 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_5.pdf   * Chapters 7 and 8 (584 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_6.pdf   * Chapter 9: Introduction (38 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_7.pdfCh. 9.1 (481 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_8.pdf Chapter 9.2 (442 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_9.pdf Chapter 9.3 (679 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_10.pdf Chapter 9.4 (342 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_11.pdf Chapter 9.5 (1341 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_12.pdfChapter 9.6 (161 kb)
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_13.pdf Abbreviations (29 kb),
• FE327 Raising environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area_14.pdf References (54 kb)

Abstract

This report provides information, findings and action proposals for increasing environmental awareness in the Baltic Sea area. It is intended to serve the European Union, HELCOM and other international, national, local as well as sectoral actors in their activities related to environmental awareness and public participation.

The countries in the Baltic Sea area are in different stages of environmental awareness. The demand for environmental information, education and trainingas well as the possibilities to improve the situation are also varying considerably. To investigate these issues, a questionnaire was sent to 850 key persons in the whole area representing various professional groups -politicians, administrators, researchers, educators, farmers, business, media, NG0s etc.. Opinions on the levels of environmental awareness -which consists of motivation, knowledge and skills and the state of the environment in different countries were also compared.

On the basis of the questionnaire, interviews and an international workshop, proposals for raising environmental awareness around the Baltic Sea were created. The proposals were targeted to action levels, which were connected to geographical areas - region, subregion, nation, local or professional/occupational groups. in addition, a case example was made for Helsinki Commission by formulating some proposals for creating a new information and communication policy. The methods used in this project may also be applied in other multinational regions, such as in the Mediterranean.