International co-operation

Promotion of environmental protection and sustainable development has an important role in the actions of the European Union. Southeast Finland Regional Environment Centre promotes targets of EU environmental protection by carrying out projects that have got financing for land use and building from the target programme.

The state of the Baltic Sea is alarming. Finland has her own Baltic Sea Programme that measures for sea protection have been written into. Southeast Finland Regional Environment Centre participates in carrying out the Baltic Sea programme both on national and international scale. Since 1996 there has been trilateral co-operation between Finland, Russia and Estonia  to stop the eutrophication process of the Gulf of Finland. Southeast Finland Regional Environment Centre has actively taken part in research and implementation of the research plans. One of the most remarkable results of the trilateral co-operation is the ecological model of the Gulf of Finland which works as a guideline for water protection measures of the sea area.

Southeastern Finland shares approximately 200 kilometres of border with Russia on land and approximately 130 km on sea. Southeast Finland Regional Environment Centre has worked in cross-borded co-operation for over 10 years. The main target of the projects is to protect the Baltic Sea by practical operations. Research and development projects and promoting nature conservation are also a part of co-operation with Russian authorities and research institutes.