THE BALTIC SEA AWARD

The Association for Gentle Coastal Fishing from Denmark is awarded 20,000 euros for its work for sustainable coastal fishing. The association advocates gentle fishing gear such as nets, nets and hooks and distances itself from bottom trawling fishing. The association is a role model for all small-scale coastal fishermen in Europe and the Baltic Sea in particular with its goal to affect the sea’s fishing populations and environments as little as possible. The association for gentle coastal fishing shows the way and acts as a positive lever in political arenas for sustainable coastal fishing and healthy seas and is not afraid to highlight the fishing industry’s problems, such as e.g. ghost nets and bycatch, for general discussion.

“We are very proud to receive this recognition and generous award from the Ostersjofonden on behalf of the entire FSK-PO.

Since 2014, we have worked to improve the conditions for small-scale fishermen with low impact to the benefit of both the environment and the fishing communities in Denmark. As one of the few established POs for small-scale, low-impact fishermen in Europe, we hope to be an inspiration to others and see this movement grow.

This award and recognition will help convey the message to small-scale, low-impact fishermen in the Baltic Sea region and elsewhere that we may be small in scale but we are big in numbers – and together can lead the way for low-impact fishing to become a most of the fishing of the future with all the advantages it brings.”

– Søren Jacobsen, chairman of FSK-PO

The Lasse Wiklöf prize is awarded to a Nordic parliamentarian who has worked extra hard to improve the state of the Baltic Sea.
An important criterion is that one has contributed to enabling concrete political actions for the sea, in one or more of the parliaments around the Baltic Sea.
We are looking for a person who goes from word to action, and who dares to make good long-term decisions for our inner sea.
This year, the Baltic Sea Fund has not received any nominations that meet the commitment we are asking for, which is why we have chosen not to award the Lasse Wiklöf prize in 2022.

Emma Kraufvelin, Linnea Segersvärd and Tobias Braun from Godby high school’s school catering are awarded 3,000 euros for their commitment to locally produced and organic food. They have close contact with the Åland producers and follow the seasons of different raw materials. They calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, sort out goods with harmful chemicals and work to reduce food waste. All this within the same financial framework as other school kitchens.

“It is an overwhelming and awesome feeling to receive such a big award, we thought someone was joking with us when we were told that we had won.
For us, it is a matter of course to prepare and serve good, nutritious and sustainable food, but winning this award will inspire us even more to develop.
We are enjoying all the wonderful contacts we have made over the last few years with all the local producers. We are proud and it gives us a lot of job satisfaction to be able to use so many fine Åland products.
Thanks to a good relationship with local suppliers and growers, we can continue to work together to minimize our climate footprint even more. Among other things, through smarter deliveries, minimizing single-use packaging and finding daily-fresh ingredients that are in season.
We hope that we can inspire more people to use local products. We are convinced that it would be positive, not only for the environment.

/Linnea Segersvärd, Tobias Braun and Emma Kraufvelin

Luisa Neubauer from Germany is awarded 5,000 euros for her commitment to preventing global warming. Luisa Neubauer is a climate activist and a leading figure for the Fridays for Future movement, and has fought to stop the use of fossil fuels, including by questioning the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Climate change has a direct impact on the condition of the Baltic Sea, and our ability to stop climate change will not be improved by increased use of fossil fuels. Luisa is a role model for the youth of the whole world and, through her way of taking the debate with Europe’s leaders and the goal of protecting our environment, has also focused on functioning ecosystems in the Baltic Sea.

“I feel humbled and honored to receive this year’s prize from the Baltic Sea Fund.
The award is a stark reminder of how much we depend on the ecosystems of the maritime seas around the world, including the Baltic Sea. And how much it is our duty to protect these seas.
To protect them from climate change, to protect them from the climate crisis, to protect them from the destruction that is happening everywhere.
In the Baltic Sea, for example, we are looking at the North Stream 2 pipeline that should never have been built and should never have been converted to power.
It is our task everywhere to fight for what we depend on. And this is, of course, the seas and the Baltic Sea. So let’s get started and don’t give up for a second.” Luisa Neubauer

CEO Kaisa Kononen, Finland, and her successor, Dr Andris Andrusaitis, Latvia, are both awarded EUR 10,000 each for their efforts as the highest responsible for the BONUS Secretariat. They have worked long-term and purposefully for interdisciplinary research on the various ecosystems of the Baltic Sea, as well as the realization of ecosystem-based management those ecosystems, through the BONUS program. The secretariat has created and maintained networks and clusters of researchers, officials and recipients in a pioneering way, throughout the Baltic Sea region under their leadership. It has thus created conditions for synergies between goal-oriented research, communication and societal impact. The secretariat has also served as a role model for the creation of collaboration between researchers, industry and society, all the way from idea to action. In this way, the foundations have been realized for many of the interdisciplinary initiatives that assist society in the work for a cleaner Baltic Sea and sustainable development throughout the region. More than 100 research institutes and universities have participated in the BONUS program. The activities that the BONUS Secretariat has built up for more than 10 years are now a model for the Baltic Sea region as well as for other European coastal areas and inland seas.

Member of Parliament Saara-Sofia Sirén from Turku, Finland is awarded the Lasse Wiklöf Award of € 10,000 for her work in the Finnish Parliament, where she is a persistent spokesperson for the Baltic Sea. In a purposeful way, she is promoting issues regarding the protection of the Baltic Sea and has broad networks at her disposal. Among other things, she has been a member of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and Vice-Chair of the Finnish Delegation to the BSPC. Ms Sirén is very receptive and always has time to listen to and respond to those who need help with the work on the well-being of the Baltic Sea.

The Lappo Vatten och Miljö (Water and Environment) cooperative is awarded 3,000 euros for its work for a joint wastewater treatment system on Lappo in the Brändö municipality. Almost everybody in the village united and lead by the board ran the project pro bono, with planning, financial risk-taking and implementation, including the construction of the main pipeline, pumping stations and the treatment plant itself. The treated wastewater that flows out of the treatment plant is also post-polished in a wetland, which also serves as a spawning area for pike.

The Marine Education Center from Malmö, Sweden is awarded 15,000 euros for its work in marine pedagogy. The center propagates knowledge of the Baltic Sea to many children, young people and adults and increases their ocean literacy. The Marine Education Center interweaves marine pedagogy with the global sustainability goals in a scientific and tangible way. The center’s focus on special groups, such as newly arrived and persons with disabilities, is especially valuable. The center has created an excellent synergy by combining its exhibition, nature school, beach cleaning campaigns and various development projects.

Marine Education Center Web page.

Film from the Center.

Professor Markku Ollikainen from Helsinki, Finland is awarded 15,000 euros for his work on cost-effective protection measures for the Baltic Sea and for his commitment to Finnish climate policy. Ollikainen, as chair of the Finnish Climate Panel, has been very active in raising the climate issue in Finnish politics. Climate change affects the state of the Baltic Sea, for instance by increasing eutrophication due to increased run-off of nutrients from land and weakening the oxygen situation on the deep bottoms. As a professor of environmental economics, Ollikainen has emphasized cost-effectiveness when deciding on protection measures, as an example gypsum treatment of arable land to reduce the phosphorus load from agriculture. He is also chair of the Baltic Sea Panel, founded by the cities of Helsinki and Turku, as one of the measures within the Baltic Sea Challenge. Ollikainen is an active voice in the public debate on Baltic Sea and climate issues.

See Markku Ollikainen present his work.

The family company Överängs Kvarn from Saltvik is awarded 3,000 euros for its work in ecologically producing and developing cereal products of Åland origin. Överängs Kvarn continuously develops new products for their product range in a true Åland entrepreneurial spirit where sustainable and circular solutions are at the forefront.

Olga Senova, St. Petersburg, Russia, is one of the earliest frontrunners in the environmental movement in Russia. She has been involved in a variety of Baltic Sea issues, including waste water treatment in rural areas, microplastics, the impact of climate change on the Baltic Sea and environmental education. Olga Senova continuously strives to build bridges, create networks and horizontal structures and exchange information and experiences.

Olga Senova is awarded 25,000 euro for her life-long work for a cleaner sea.

Jochen Lamp, Stralsund, Germany, has worked nationally and internationally within the NGO sector for the long-term conservation of the Baltic Sea nature and natural resources. He has contributed to reducing the impact on nature in several large infrastructure projects. He is internationally recognized as an expert in marine spatial planning who also works in the field of restoring coastal zone wetlands. Jochen Lamp makes visions come true, finds successful paths, shapes strategic alliances and convinces local communities, national authorities and international bodies.

Jochen Lamp is awarded 25,000 euro for his life-long work for a cleaner sea.

Mikko Jokinen, Turku, Finland, was one of the first municipal environmental directors in Finland and has participated in first building up and later developing environmental protection practice in Finland. He has also actively contributed to cooperation between the Baltic Sea Region’s municipalities and cities. Mikko Jokinen has come up with innovative initiatives in water protection through his extensive network of authorities, academia and science, NGOs and the business sector. He has been a broad-minded promoter, active developer and practical implementer of environmental initiatives and collaborations throughout his career.

Mikko Jokinen is awarded 25,000 euro for his life-long work for a cleaner sea.

Professor Erik Bonsdorff, Turku, Finland, has contributed with his research to an increased understanding of the character of the Baltic Sea, as well as its sensitivity and ability to recover after disturbances. He has been a driving force in the public debate on what measures to take for the Baltic Sea environment. He has also determined the need for measures through his involvement in environmental monitoring and interpretation of long time series. Through his extensive teaching activities in Finland and Sweden, he has trained a new generation of Baltic Sea researchers. Hence he has been a principal actor in marine biology cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and all Europe.

Erik Bonsdorff is awarded 25,000 euro for his life-long work for a cleaner sea.

Interview with Erik Bonsdorff, audio:

Pertti Salolainen, Helsinki, Finland, is rewarded with the Lasse Wiklöf Award of 10,000 euros for his work for the Baltic Sea and its nature as member of the parliament, minister, party leader and ambassador, where he prioritized environmental issues in all his roles. As a parliamentarian he has questioned the work of the government regardless of who has been in power and made sharp statements in the public debate. He takes every opportunity to emphasize the importance of a cleaner Baltic Sea, sometimes at the expense of welfare and comfort.

The following people are rewarded with the Åland Award for their ground breaking pioneering work for the organic agriculture on Åland and long-term environmental commitment. The prize of 9,000 euros is shared equally between:

– Jan Holmes, Hammarland
– Isabell Kvarnfors, Sund
– Erik Lindholm, Saltvik

The Mana Jūra campaign, run by FEE Latvia (Foundation for Environmental Education), from Latvia, is rewarded with 20,000 euros for its work to draw attention to marine litter and engage the public in Latvia on this issue. During the 500-kilometer and 30-day walk, made every summer since 2012 along the Latvian coast, 500-800 people participate annually. Mana Jūra combines research, environmental education and practical environmental work. During the walk, Mana Jūra participants monitor the amount of waste through scientific methods and increase knowledge about the extent of the problem. It also raises awareness of marine litter and environmental issues in general, not only for those who participate in the walk but also for residents in the communities along the way. In addition, the litter is removed along the coast. Within Mana Jūra, lectures, music and storytelling are also used to lift the issue of marine litter on the agenda. The campaign has gained high visibility in social media and the press.

Åland Member of Parliament, former Minister for Social Affairs and Environment Carina Aaltonen from Åland, is awarded the Lasse Wiklöf Prize of 10,000 euros for her dedicated work for the aquatic environment and for sustainability issues. She has initiated and pursued actions for a cleaner sea for several parliamentary periods in the Åland Parliament, as chairman of the Social and Environmental Committee and in Nordic cooperation. As a Minister of Social Affairs and Environment, she initiated the “Sustainability Agenda for Åland”, which the parliament approved unanimously. In her environmental work she has always included social sustainability. Carina Aaltonen is also an active environmentalist at the local level, engaged in a number of associations, and in addition she lives as she teaches.

Johan Mörn from Saltvik is awarded 3,000 euros for his strong commitment to the archipelago and the Baltic Sea. Johan Mörn is a nature person with a great environmental commitment and with a broad knowledge about nature and the changes in it. He gladly shares his experiences and engages others in questions about nature and the environment. He has coined the concept of “axgan” to convey the alandic food and been the initiator for restoring fishing villages in the outer archipelago, including at Kråkskär.

HELCOM Maritime Working Group is rewarded with 20,000 euros for its work to reduce emissions from shipping in the Baltic Sea. The prohibition to release sewage from ships in international waters and the implementation of the Baltic Sea as a special area in the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx Emission Control Area, NECA) to reduce the nitrogen load to the Baltic Sea noticeably, belong to the group’s success in recent years. HELCOM Maritime Working Group has worked as a driver and developed the basis for decisions made in the International Maritime Organization (IMO). As shipping is international in its character, international cooperation is required to bring about regulation. HELCOM Maritime Working Group has, through long-term and persistent work successfully acted as a catalyst to bring about international agreements for the benefit of the Baltic Sea environment.

Member of Parliament, former Minister of the Environment Ville Niinistö from Turku, Finland is given the Lasse Wiklöf Prize of 10,000 euros for his work for the Baltic Sea environment. During his political career Ville Niinistö has been involved in several Baltic Sea issues. As Finland’s representative in HELCOM he has participated in taking decisions on emission limits and the national goals on nutrient reduction, and has been active in fisheries and maritime issues. Ville Niinistö has highlighted the importance of reducing emissions to the Baltic Sea, not only for the environment but also for the economy as costs to reduce nutrient emissions are significantly lower than the economic benefits of a clean sea.

The company Goodtech Environment Ab is rewarded with 3,000 euros for its innovative work in environmental engineering. Goodtech Environment Ab has developed technology and customized solutions for waste water and drinking water treatment and the treatment of process water for municipalities and industries. Additionally, Goodtech Environment Ab has developed solutions for energy and biogas production.

Journalist Folke Rydén from Stockholm, Sweden, is rewarded with 20,000 euros for his depictions of the threats to the Baltic Sea. He has through his documentary films about the different problems in the Baltic Sea had a great impact and influenced decision makers to take action to protect the sea. The themes he has dealt with in his films – over-fishing, eutrophication, chemicalisation and the environmental impact of shipping – are highly topical and relevant. The daily consumer choices by the inhabitants of the Baltic Sea region are of great importance for the state of the Baltic Sea. Without knowledge of the effects, people do not change their attitudes and behavior. Rydén’s films have reached out to a wide audience and they have deepened and nuanced the knowledge of the Baltic Sea issues for the general public.

Natalie Fagerlund, Andrea and Erica Johansson Verho is rewarded with 3,000 euros for their campaign “Blue for the Baltic Sea”. As students in the 6th grade in Källbo Elementary School, they urged everybody who care about the Baltic Sea to put on something blue on May 8th, 2015 and thereby demonstrate to policy makers that we need the Baltic Sea. Their initiative spread like ripples in the water, had 2 500 likes on Facebook and visibility on national television. Many, both policy makers and the general public, heard their call, dressed in blue and posted pictures on Facebook.

Jan Larsson from Vamlingbo, Gotland, Sweden is rewarded with 20,000 euros for his work as a driving force for the public non-profit organization Forum Östersjön and its project Rädda Burgsviken (Save the Burgsviken bay). He has gathered a large number of individuals and organizations, such as farmers, business people, school, beach associations, anglers, water councils, regional administration, to address the environmental collapse that occurred in Burgsviken, Gotland’s largest Baltic Sea bay. The Rädda Burgviken-project has become a role model both on Gotland and outside and we see that the project has great potential to be duplicated around the Baltic Sea and give a ripple effect. Jan Larsson is the driving force in all this work, a person who by persistence and a diplomatic approach succeed in involving many individuals and organizations in constructive cooperation in Gotland’s local community.

Former MEP, Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin, Sweden, is given the Lasse Wiklöf price of EUR 10 000 for her work in the European Parliament for fish stocks in the Baltic Sea. She was the driving force in the reform of the EU common fisheries policy, which allows an improvement for the fish stocks in the Baltic Sea. In the European Parliament Isabella Lövin was coordinator for the Green Group in the Fisheries Committee, rapporteur for the reform of the international dimension of the common fisheries policy and shadow rapporteur for the new basic regulation and markets the scheme of the common fisheries policy. Her success was due to her persistence, results-oriented approach and ability to build broad alliances.

Farmer Mats Häggblom from Germundö farm is rewarded 3 000 euros for his long-standing and pioneering work on organic farming. He has reintroduced grains spelt and emmer in Åland, he has built a station for organic cereal and he has worked closely with the mill Överängs Kvarn. Häggblom also on his own initiative built a wetlands on the property to reduce nutrient inputs to the sea. He’s an entrepreneur to his fingertips with many different activities related to organic farming.

Professor Hans von Storch from Hamburg, Germany is awarded € 20 000 for his efforts to shed light on the effects of climate change on the Baltic Sea. He has given an exemplary contribution to compilation of fragmentary information and knowledge into a comprehensive picture of the impact of climate change in the region.Von Storch is through his interdisciplinary collaboration, e.g. with social scientists, and through his interest in the social and human aspects, been able to increase the understanding of climate and climate change in the wider socio-economic context among policy makers and the general public.

Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, pol. mag. Paavo Lipponen from Helsinki, Finland, is awarded Lasse Wiklöf’s Baltic Sea Award of 10,000 €. Paavo Lipponen was a very close friend of Lasse Wiklöf and functioned as a good mentor for Lasse. He encouraged Lasse in his practical work in environmental issues in everyday political work, both in the Åland Islands and in the Nordic cooperation. Paavo Lipponen has as Prime Minister for 8 years,as the Speaker of Parliament for 4 years and in the Nordic cooperation emphasized the importance of environmental issues.

Entrepreneur Soile Wartiainen from Mariehamn, Åland Islands, is awarded € 3 000 for her long-standing professional and volunteer efforts to introduce, promote and highlight organic farming on Åland. She has been a pioneer in the area and shown that it is possible to combine business with a nonprofit environmental awareness through the tradename SOLKLART. She was one of the initiators of Ålands Natur och Miljö and has served as an advisor in the association Ålands hushållningssällskap.

Senior researcher Seppo Knuuttila from Helsinki, Finland is awarded € 20,000 for his devoted and persistent work for the Baltic Sea for over 20 years and for his efforts in highlighting environmental problems related to the Baltic Sea. Mr Knuuttila has worked both nationally and internationally to identify pollution sources and find solutions to reduce nutrient discharges to the Baltic Sea. He has also won recognition for his way to popularize and visualize abstract information about nutrient discharges, their causes and effects of the actions taken to the public and policy makers.

Fish farmer Sixten Sjöblom from Eckerö, Åland Islands, is awarded 3,000 euro for his initiative to make biodiesel out of fish guts. He has in an exemplary way shown how a waste product can be used as a resource in an innovative way. The climate smart biodiesel is today used as fuel for the public transportation in Mariehamn.

Secretary General Anne Christine Brusendorff from Copenhagen, Denmark, is awarded with 12,000 € for her active years as the highest responsible official of HELCOM Secretariat. In her duties she has successfully planned and implemented an increase of protection efforts for the unique Baltic Sea marine environment. Brusendorff has been an influential initiator in preparing the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). The plan presents the complexity of the environmental issues, but has yet been approved as a strategy model for practical environmental tasks by all Baltic Sea states. Her efforts have been essential for the implementation of the Action Plan.

Master of Science Lars Eklund of Stockholm, Sweden, is awarded for his work with environmental issues since the beginning of the 1990s. His personal long-term commitment in numerous co-projects with external financing within the Baltic Sea region has led to cross-border agreements for handling of critical waste water problems. The most important projects include the sewage plants in e.g. Haapsalu, Liepaja, Klaipeda, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg.

Ålands Centralandelslag (ÅCA), a dairy in Jomala, Åland is awarded with 3,000 € for the initiative and implementation of a biogas plant at the dairy factory. The residue products such as whey and process waste waters are turned into green energy. This is an important step towards an ecocycle dairy and includes great environmental profits.

Professor Ragnar Elmgren from Stockholm, Sweden, is awarded 15,000 € for his many years of working to disseminate the knowledge of the ecosystems of the Baltic Sea. In his profound research work he has studied the sea bottom vegetation, impact of eutrophication at the sewage treatment plant in Himmerfjärden, the balance between phosphorus and nitrogen in connection with algal bloom, and the methods of coastal administration. Furthermore he has participated in several interdisciplinary projects in order to focus on problems and to present solutions that are practicable in coastal water areas. Professor Elmgren has an immense knowledge of the Baltic Sea, which is of great value.

Member of Parliament, Christina Gestrin, from Esbo (Espoo), Finland, is awarded Lasse Wiklöf’s Baltic Sea Award of 10,000 €. Gestrin is a politician who is extremely devoted to the environmental issues of the Baltic Sea on many different levels. She is a member of the Committee of Environmental Issues in the Finnish Parliament and a member of the Finnish Delegation in the Nordic Council. She has been the chairwoman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) since 2008 and works in close co-operation with Members of Parliaments of all Baltic Sea countries with HELCOM’s action plan and the European Union’s Baltic Sea strategy.

Anna-Linnea Rundberg, from Jomala, Åland, is awarded with 3,000 € for her efforts to alarm about several serious environmental issues. She has, for example, worked for the understanding and awareness of farming of GMO-free crops and has been spreading information about final storage of nuclear waste.

Manager Jaakko Henttonen of Helsinki, Finland, is awarded 10,000 € for his active role in the implementation of several large-scale sewage plant projects that have been carried out in the St. Petersburg area with foreign co-operation partners. The projects have aimed at reducing sewage water volumes and have resulted in lowering nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to the Baltic Sea aquatic environment. With his competence, energy and experience he has contributed to the projects that have been implemented with successful results despite the worldwide economic crisis. Thanks to Mr. Henttonen’s versatile competence and good contacts with financing institutions the decisions have been carried out rapidly and essential time has been saved. With his environmental commitment Manager Henttonen has shown great understanding of the important future issues of the Baltic Sea.

Professor Jurgis Staniskis of Kaunas, Lithuania, is awarded with 10,000 € for his important work with the implementation of environmental protection projects, mainly within industry, that have resulted in major water and energy savings as well as in the decline of emissions of heavy metals and other pollutants. In his research on water pollution Staniskis systematiskt has succeeded in integrating scientific, engineering and administrative viewpoints in order to predict results and suggest solid economic solutions. He has, in a convincing way, been able to prove that more attention should be paid and more efforts should be taken for prevention actions instead of technical treatment methods. Professor Staniskis has contributed to educational reforms that can offer students possibilities to interact with enterprises in order to identify areas in need of environmental improvements.

Managing Director Henrik Lindqvist of Lemland, Åland, is awarded 3,000 € for his efforts to plan and implement the construction of wind power plants in Åland. With his enthusiasm and competence he has convinced decision-makers, entrepreneurs and private persons alike of the positive impact of sustainable development. With his commitment above the ordinary Mr. Lindqvist has succeeded in placing Åland on the top level in wind power use.

Architect Gunda Åbonde-Wickström, Mariehamn, Åland, is awarded a prize of 15,000 € for her more than three decades long voluntary efforts and professional work alike, in spreading information and creating inspiration for people with a view to reduce the environmental impact on the Baltic Sea. Her ideas have encouraged people to believe in their own possibilities to make a difference in environmental protection, and in the importance of everybody’s individual efforts. Her ability to see the possibilities in problems has encouraged private persons, as well as companies, associations and other organisations to seek solutions to environmental issues in their daily life.

Journalist Isabella Lövin, Stockholm, Sweden, is awarded a prize of 15,000 € for her efforts in the infected debate concerning the fishery issues of the Baltic Sea countries. In a prompt, characteristic and most efficient manner she has succeeded in outlining facts regarding the negative combination of the excess consumption of our nature resources, the toothless national administration, and the failed common fishery politics of EU that have resulted in fatal consequences for the Baltic Sea eel and cod populations. Her devoted work has had a relevant effect on fishery policies in Sweden.

Professor Enn Loigu, Tallinn, Estonia, is awarded a prize of 15,000 € for his long scientific research work on the Baltic Sea aquatic protection. He has developed strategies and tools to prevent eutrophication, and he has also set up models and researched the factors that have an impact on nutrition leakage from farmed fields. Professor Loigu has been a key person in creating important networks between the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States. His skills and ability to transform theoretical knowledge into practical solutions have had a great importance in the dialogue on environmental protection between different parties of interest. Further, Professor Loigu has in a significant manner contributed to a constructive dialogue between the agricultural and environmental sectors. This dialogue has been of vital importance in order to solve the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea.

The Norwegian Member of Parliament Asmund Kristoffersen, Member of the Nordic Council and chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee is awarded a prize of 10,000 € for his commitment to the protection of the Baltic Sea. He has led a workgroup on eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, within the framework of the Baltic Sea Parlamentary Conference (BSPC), which issued 25 recommendations for a cleaner Baltic Sea. The report was part of the basis of the elaboration of the protection plan apporved by HELCOM in December 2007. It is remarkable that a person from a country without direct contact with the Baltic Sea demonstrates such great interest in our common sea.

Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde (IOW), based in Rostock, Germany is awarded a sum of 20,000 € for its scientific research work over many years focused on mapping the long-term trends in the condition of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. The institute carries out research in four different areas: (1) physical oceanography and measurement technology, (2) marine chemistry, (3) marine geology and (4) marine biology, as well as interdisciplininary activities including mathematical modelling and teaching. All that has provided IOW’s research team with fantastic opportunities to base its research on long time-series of empirical data and to create a comprehensive picture of the environmental conditions and the development trends in the Baltic Sea. As a result of its activities the institute has created a rich and pedagogically designed database that can be employed by different users who need up-to-date information about the Baltic Sea ecosystem. The long time-series and the access to models have rendered it possible to make detailed predictions about the future development of the ecosystem, e.g. as a result of climate changes and/or other human activities with short-term effects or of more local scope. The institute’s researchers have contributed significantly to a better understanding of the time variations in the saltwater inflow through the Danish straits into the Baltic Sea. A correct evaluation of these phenomena is decisive in order to assess the proportions and consequences of among other things the lack of oxygen and phosphorus release in the bottom water. These evaluations contribute to making useful predictions about the short-term and long-term effects of applying different technical measures, aimed at improving the oxygen balance in the sea and counteracting eutrophication.

The retired teacher Bertil Sundström from Kökar, Åland is awarded the Åland environmental prize of 3,000 € for his enthusiastic, long and persistent work with environmental issues on many different levels. All his life Bertil has kept track of the changes occurring in his home district. Besides, he has noted the negative trends with respect e.g. to algal bloom and diminishing fish supply. His anxiety urged him to acquire significant knowledge about many complicated environmental issues on his own. These issues he now discusses with both professional researchers and enthusiastic amateur scientists over the Internet and in other ways. During many years he has also conveyed his competences and experiences concerning the environment to camp-school students visiting Kökar.

Livrädda Östersjön (“Save the Baltic Sea”), a project carried out by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, is awarded for its initiatives to provide information and campaigns intended to influence public opinion concerning Baltic Sea environmental issues in an efficient and interesting way. The efforts have proved that it is possible for authorities, associations, researchers, industry, schools, artists and journalists to co-operate in order to obtain a greater commitment of a wide audience. The project has also contributed to creating the support that is needed for the politicians to make the right decisions. Furthermore, the project has succeeded in disseminating information about the reasons for and connections between issues concerning the Baltic Sea environment. The activities has contributed to a wider public interest in the Baltic Sea environment. The prize sum is 8,000 €.

Associate Professor Lars Landner of Sweden has been awarded for his work as a researcher and consultant, with the main focus on theoretical development and practical implementation of methods for evaluating the impact of industrial activities on the environment. He has been practising research work at the Swedish Water and Air Pollution Research Laboratory (IVL) and at the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (MFG), and has acted as a consultant at the Swedish consultancy company ÅF-IPK AB. Landner’s major interest has been the forest industry discharge into the Baltic Sea and into inland waters, but he has also been one of the leading researchers of metal speciation in the environment. In the spheres of ecological toxicology and ecology, Landner has co-operated with process technicians in order to diminish the impact of industrial plants on the environment. Landner was in charge of the ESTHER project of the Swedish Institute of Nature Protection’s, the aim of which was to improve data for environmental risk evaluation of industrial waste water. Landner has also made great efforts on experimental research work and he has developed a testing system based on a higher degree of ecological realism than before. A major part of the bleaching technique of today and that of the internal process control in industrial plants have been developed with the guidelines based on this research. Undoubtedly, the results have contributed to an evident and essential improvement of the Baltic Sea environment. Lars Landner has been one of the leading researchers in Sweden in the fields of environmental audits, environmental programme development and restoration strategies, as well as improvement of industrial processes. The prize sum is 12,000 €.

This year’s Åland prize is awarded to school catering supervisor Maj-Gun Sjöberg at the Strandnäs secondary school. She has made enthusiastic efforts in order to provide and serve ecologically grown food to school children and their teachers. With her commitment she has convinced the decision-makers and other persons of the importance of using organically grown produce in school catering. The prize sum is 3,000 €.

Associate professor, Agr.Dr. Artur Granstedt of Järna, Sweden, is awarded 11,000 €. For more than twenty years he has worked with agricultural environmental issues as a specialist advisor, researcher and research leader at different universities. On a scientific level he has documented, developed, and established organic farming and rotation based ecological farming as a real alternative to traditional farming in the Nordic countries. Granstedt has shown that the above-mentioned methods in agriculture make it possible to minimize phosphor and nitrogen emissions to the surrounding environment. As a co-ordinator of the EU-financed project Baltic Ecological Recycling Agriculture and Society (BERAS), he has contributed to proving that rotation farming can reduce the nutrition leakage to the Baltic Sea to a remarkable extent.

A prize of 11,000 € is awarded to professor emeritus Erkki Leppäkoski of Turku, Finland. Throughout his long career he has done versatile and influential work both in Finland and internationally in the entire Baltic Sea region, on environmental issues concerning the Baltic Sea. Above all, he has specialised on the Baltic Sea and archipelago issues that have been closely related to the impacts caused by human mechanic interference on archipelagic environment, socioeconomic and ecologic impacts on aqua culture, oil spills etc., his latest project being to research the significance of alien species for the marine environment. Professor Leppäkoski has had, and still has, an active and significant role in the Nordic and Nordic-Baltic co-operation on the Baltic Sea environmental problems, and he has successfully taken initiatives to new forms of co-operation.

The co-operative Odlarringen on the Åland Islands is awarded a prize of 3,000 € for efforts in farming and marketing organically grown agricultural produce, mainly vegetables and root vegetables. This is a new prize which will be awarded annually to an environmental project on the Åland Islands.

Dr. Krzysztof E. Skóra of Gdansk, Poland, is awarded 12,000 €. During the last fifteen years he has – with determined actions and unwavering enthusiasm – made the marine research centre Hel on Poland’s Baltic Sea coast into a key resource centre in Baltic Sea issues. Today the centre, which is administered by Gdánsk University, has taken significant measures to research and survey the introduction of alien species in the Baltic Sea, as well as to provide education and information programmes in environmental issues. Dr. Skóra has focused on remediation of affected marine environments in the Baltic Sea. The projects include efforts to reintroduce bladder rack into the Bay of Gdánsk, as well as reintroduction of sturgeon (the biggest fish in the Baltic Sea). Krzysztof Skóra has been very active in his work and his participation in international co-operation in marine environments and in the Baltic Sea issues especially, has been highly appreciated. At the Hel centre he has arranged seminars and meetings within the framework of HELCOM and the Baltic University Programme. The centre has become an important supplier of information in marine environmental issues with the young generation as primary target group. (Deceased 13 Feb 2016)

A prize of 12,000 € is awarded to Maria Staniszewska of Gliwice, Poland, for her long-term efforts to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. She has conducted outstanding work in the environmental organization PKE (Polski Klub Ekologiczny) in order to minimize nitrogen load from the Polish farming. In her work she has primarily focused on introducing ecological farming with low demand of chemical fertilizers. She has also taken initiative in promoting sales of ecologically grown products. As an active lobbyist she has created understanding and awareness of environmentally friendly farming among the wide public. Maria Staniszewska has been an active promoter of an annual ecological fair in Poland. With the fair she has succeeded in engaging Polish politicians to support ecological farming. The fair has also become an important event in promoting environmentally friendly farming.

Director Roustam Sagitov, from St. Petersburg, Russia is awarded with 5 000 euro. Director Sagitov has as a founder of the Baltic Fund for Nature (BFN) as well as a private person strived to strengthen environmental work in the Russian part of the Baltic Sea catchment area. He has contributed to the development of regional and bilateral environmental work in the Baltic Sea area. Under Roustam Sagitov’s leadership the BFN has become a leading NGO and a respected co-operation partner for Russian authorities and international organisations. Mr Sagitov’s great commitment, patience and sense for diplomacy have enabled several different kinds of projects which would had been difficult to implement in many economically and politically complicated situations. These projects include, among others, projects for ecological agriculture, developing of ecological tourism, and environmental education. (Deceased 19 Aug 2018)

General Manager Felix Karmazinov, from St. Petersburg, Russia is awarded with 5 000 euro. General Manager Karmazinov has had a central role in planning and implementation of the south-western sewage treatment works in St. Petersburg. The project aims at eliminating one of the largest direct sources of contamination of the Baltic Sea. Mr Felix Karmazinov has shown great determination in implementing the project despite several complications and considerable risks concerning the project. In his work he has been prepared to carry many burdens and has not hesitated to spare any efforts necessary for the benefit of the project. Mr Karmazinov’s strong will, motivation and capability to co-operate with a great number of interested parties has been crucial for the project which is considered a great breakthrough for the environmental work in the Baltic Sea. (Deceased 13 June 2019)

A prize of 10,000 € is awarded to Kaliningrad Regional Children’s Centre for Environmental & Biological Education and Tourism (CEBET) in Kaliningrad, Russia. The Centre runs extensive environmental education activities in Kaliningrad and its surroundings. The Centre also works in close co-operation with numerous environmental organisations. Furthermore, international co-operation is conducted with several Danish environmental organisations. The Centre’s main activities include education and research work for teachers and students carried out in a new, innovative manner combining the experience of methodological work of the teachers with the educational and research work of the students. Annually thousands of people participate in activities arranged by the Centre. Many of these persons are also involved in different kinds of environmental protection projects. Visible results of the Centre’s activities include, among others, campaigns against hazardous oil transports, programmes for biological versatility, and publishing of brochures.

A prize of 2,500 € is awarded to Agenda 21 of the Åland Islands for its important environmental work for the Baltic Sea throughout the years.

A prize of € 10,000 is awarded to Tvärminne Zoological Station in Hangö (Hanko), Finland. The Station is awarded for its extensive research work on the Baltic, the world of organisms and the changes in ecosystems going back a hundred years. The research can be characterised as unique and of especially high quality. The Station has under the leadership of distinguished scientists been able to offer graduates and post-graduates fine opportunities for studies and research projects, the results of which have attracted national and international attention. The work led by the Station is performed in all seasons and included in several curricula at the Helsinki University.

A prize of 5,000 € is awarded to professor emeritus Åke Niemi of Esbo (Espoo), Finland. Mr Niemi has with his long-term scientific studies proved how different organisms are affected by changes in environmental conditions. His concise wisdom derives from countless hours of field studies in all seasons and all around the Baltic Sea during several decades. Today, he is especially credited with his classic study on the impact of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) on the ”crucial” balance between nitrogen and phosphor. His studies have also gained international acknowledgement, and have contributed to greater recognition of the expanding Finnish marine research. Mr Niemi has also had a central role in creating international co-operation between the Baltic States. As a member of many national and international committees, he has contributed to joint efforts for a “healthier” Baltic Sea.

A prize of 5,000 € is awarded to Alexandra Koroleva of Kaliningrad, Russia. Alexandra Koroleva has with great commitment participated in different campaigns for environmental protection. She has as the president of the organisation ”Ecodefense” and as a private person contributed to important efforts for the benefit of the Baltic Sea environment. Worth mentioning is her great engagement against oil drillings in the unique and extremely fragile Curonian Spit nature area. Further, she has created an environmental education programme in order to provide teachers and their pupils with important basic knowledge of the Baltic ecosystems. She has participated, and will continue participating, in several expert panels concerning environmental issues. Since 1998 she has been a member of the IUCN committee for education and communication.

The project Båtlivet och miljön (Boating life and the environment) is carried out as a cooperation between Håll Sverige Rent (“Keep Sweden tidy”) and Svenska Båtunionen (“Swedish boating union”) and is awarded with 12 500 euro. Båtlivet och miljön has, in a similar way as Håll Skärgården Ren, been working with issues concerning reduction of toilet waste, use of poisonous hull paints, exhaust and noise problems, etc. among boat users. Svenska Båtunionen and its members, in about 840 boat clubs, represent a strong and effective organisation which actively gets involved in environmental issues. Boat users are of course directly dependent on a sound and sustainable nature. Through education of environment representatives in boat clubs and boat associations, important environmental knowledge is disseminated on a local level. The cooperation between Håll Sverige Rent and Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) has led to the effect that the environmental work is lying in the frontline.

The organisation Håll Skärgården Ren (HSR) (“Keep the arcipelago tidy”) which has been working eagerly for a cleaner and more pleasant water environment among boat users is awarded with 12 500 euro. HSR was founded in 1969 in the Turku archipelago with the aim to prevent littering in the archipelago. The visionaries in the newly founded association understood already from the beginning, that increasing boating tourism would become a strain to the vulnerable archipelago and its nature and water environment. HSR is a organisation for the protection of the environment of the archipelago and coastal waters and also the lakes of Finland. Today the organisation is responsible for the emptying and maintenance of about 400 waste terminals and for the transportation of waste products to centrally located refuse collection terminals. HSR has taken responsibility for the environment of the Baltic Sea and also in many cases shown the way to a new kind of environmental thinking. Furthermore HSR has devoted its time to environmental training through lectures on current environmental issues and attitude campaigns addressing both children and young people.

Monika Jansson in Mariehamn is awarded a prize of 15,000 FIM (approx. 2,500 €) for documenting her voluntary work, using a rake as instrument. She has in a very concrete way showed the negative effects wrought by the eutrophication of the sea. The information she has brought to the attention of politicians and other decision-makers has received wide attention and stimulated a debate. It also demonstrates how significant the efforts of a single individual, committed to proving the environmental conditions, can be.

Husö Biological Station in the Åland Islands is awarded a prize of 40,000 FIM (approx. 6,500 €) for its wide-ranging and important regional environmental monitoring activities as well as research with an emphasis on water environments (lakes/sea areas) in and around the Åland Islands. These monitoring and research activities have made a great contribution to environmental projects in Åland and has also attracted some international attention, not without reason.

A prize of 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) to be shared equally between:

• Rurik Skogman, the now retired environmental manager at the UPM-Kymmene in Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), and
• Reino Lammi, environmental manager at UPM-Kymmene in Jakobstad.

  The Prize Winners have been responsible for devising and carrying out a long row of projects which have significantly cut emission levels in the paper industry. One of the most important and most extensive of these initiatives concerns biological purification of waste water through longtime aeration and the use of active sludge.

The environmental organisation Green World, in Sosonovy Bor, 80 km to the west of St Petersburg, led by the chairman Oleg Bodrov is awarded 70,000 FIM (approx. 11,000 €) for its wide-ranging environmental projects in a nuclear zone by the Gulf of Finland. The organisation, founded in 1988, gathers information about the actions taken by the authorities concerning nuclear power stations and also about nuclear safety hazards.

A prize of 80,000 FIM (approx. 13,000 €) to be shared equally between:

• Stefan Lemieszewski, environmental manager of the National Maritime Administration of Sweden,
• Stig Mattsson, environmental manager of the cruise-ship company Birka Line in Mariehamn,
• Henrik Bachér, environmental manager of the ferry company Silja Line in Helsinki, and
• Kaj Jansson, deputy managing director with responsibility for environmental issuses of ferry company Vikig Line in Mariehamn.

  The Prize Winners and their employers have shown what can be achieved in practice when public authorities and private enterprises work together for the protection of the marine environment.

A personal prize of 40,000 FIM (approx. 6,500 €) is awarded to Dr. Liudmila P. Romanuyk, at the St Petersburg Scientific Research Centre for Ecological Safety of the Russian Academy of Science. She has, through her great creative energy, organisational ability and singularly well-structured work, managed to turn the institute into an international inter-disciplinary centre of co-ordination.

Dr.Eng. Curt Nicolin from Stockholm is awarded 40,000 FIM (approx. 6,500 €) for his work with the extraordinary industrial project ”Baltic Sea 2008”, which aims to cut emissions in the most afflicted areas of the sea to 1940s levels by 2008. The motto of the project is ”Economic growth through optimal resource allocation for better water quality”. This was the first time the prize was given to the business sector. (Deceased 8.9 2006)

The World Wildlife Fund is awarded 70,000 FIM (approx. 11,000 €) as a prize to the sea eagle project. As representatives of the project’s practical work, Associate Professor Torsten Stjernberg from Finland and Ph.Dr. Björn Helander from Sweden have been entrusted to allocate the prize money in the project. The project has succeeded not only in saving one of the Baltic Sea’s most characteristic and most endangered species but has also shaped opinions against emissions of environmental toxins into the sea, notably the bans on DDT and PCB. The sea eagle project clearly shows what can be done through voluntary efforts.

A personal prize of 30,000 FIM (approx. 5,000 €) is shared by Marilyn Barden, an international co-ordinator from Värmdö in Sweden, and Konstantin Nemchinov, the chairman of the Neva River Clearwater environmental group in St Petersburg. The two prizewinners represent the spontaneous, civic environmental work which is evolving on all sides of the Baltic. NRC is an important shaper of opinions for the marine environment in the St Petersburg area.

Professor Fredrik Wulff of the Institution for Systems Ecology at Stockholm University receives 60,000 FIM (approx. 10,000 €) for his leading role in ecosystems research in the Baltic Sea region. He participates in common research projects for the Baltic and assists researchers in other countries, notably the Baltic states. (Deceased 20.5.2016)

A personal prize of 60,000 FIM (approx. 10,000 €) is awarded to the marine biologist Gunni Ærtebjerg, M.Sc., a researcher at state-run Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser (Environmental Investigations) in Roskilde, for his work in building an effective system of marine-environmental supervision in Denmark, now regarded as a model for the whole Baltic Sea region. Mr Æertebjerg is one of the researchers who initiated the study of the algal bloom threatening the Baltic.

Professor Eugene Krasnov, a geoecologist at the state university of Kaliningrad, is awarded 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) for pedagogic work of importance to environmental programmes across Russia. He has raised awareness of the need for new ways to solve existing environmental problems.

Professor Paavo Tulkki in Helsinki is awarded 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for his long-term contribution as the Nestor of marine biology in Finland. He was the first person to pay attention to the dead sea beds of the southern Baltic in the 1960s. Professor Tulkki was active in the setting-up of the Finnish delegation in the Helsinki Comission and today’s Baltic Monitoring Programme.

State Minister of Environmental Protection Dr. Biol. Indulis Emsis, Riga, Latvia, receives 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) for making – as the first Latvian minister for the environment – significant contributions as a pragmatic environmentalist politician, and for continuing to be an inspiration in the environmental field both domestically and internationally.

Environmental activist and marine botanist Ph.Lic. Bertil Hägerhäll and science journalist Britt Hägerhäll Aniansson of Uppsala, Sweden, receive 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for joint efforts in making contacts across the Baltic Sea and for information work in the struggle to protect the sensitive environment of the inland sea.

M.Sc. Sergej M. Nikiforov, member of the Civic Administration of St Petersburg, Russia, and manager of the Russian department of the international Environmental Centre for Administration and Technology, ECAT, in the city, is awarded 40,000 FIM (approx. 6,500 €) for his persistent work for environmental protection in political circles in the metropolis, not least in the field of reducing polluting emissions into the Baltic Sea.

The artist Zita Daugintyte, president of the Klaipeda Green Union, and the engineer Rimantas Braziulis share 80,000 FIM (approx. 13,000 €) for courageous contributions on behalf of the environment in Lithuania, requiring personal sacrifices and deep commitment to the voluntary protection of the Baltic Sea and its coasts.

The Baltic Marine Biologists organisation (executive secretary Bernt I. Dybern from Lysekil, Sweden – president professor Gunars Andrushaitis at the Institute of Biology in Salaspils, Latvia) is awarded 80,000 FIM (approx. 13,000 €) for more than 25 years of work across political frontiers in the Baltic Sea region and for having built scientific bridges between East and West during a difficult time when such frontiers were much more sharply defined than at present. BMB has given valuable advice to government and international authorities and stimulated research into the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea.

Superintendent Terttu Melvasalo at the Ministry of the Environment in Helsinki receives 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) for ten highly active years as programme coordinator for the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM, which monitors the International Environmental Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea.

Scientist Andris Urtans from Riga, head of the Vidzeme Nature Complex in Latvia, is awarded 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) for contributions as a nature activist and researcher. He has taken the initiative in the area of training and field courses for young people concerning the biology of running water and the importance of these ecosystems.

Dr. Heye Rumohr of the Institut für Meereskunde in Kiel, Germany, receives 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for his seabed studies using advanced video equipment and his demonstration to a wider audience of how the ecological condition of the Baltic Sea is deteriorating as a result of lack of oxygen and increased quantities of hydrogen sulphide. (Deceased in 2013).

Associate Professor Lars Rydén of Uppsala receives 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) for work on “The Baltic University, The Baltic Sea Environment” which, with the aid of modern communications technology, disseminated environmental knowledge to students at various universities around the Baltic Sea.

Coalition Clean Baltic in Stockholm, a coordinating body for environmental movements around the Baltic Sea, is awarded 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for its work in improving the environment in and around the Baltic Sea and for its many concrete proposals for action. The prize was received by Gunnar Norén.

Dr. Sigurd Schultz from Rostock, Germany, is awarded 83,000 FIM (approx. 14,000 €) for research into the biological dynamics of open bodies of water, especially in the southern Baltic Sea.

Professor Bengt-Owe Jansson, of the Department of Systems Ecology at the University of Stockholm, is awarded 83,000 FIM (approx. 14,000 €) for his contributions as an internationally recognised Baltic Sea researcher and environmental commentator. (Deceased 29.3 2007)

Associate Professor Arvi Järvekülg of the Institute of Zoology and Botany, Estonian Academy of Sciences in Tartu, Estonia, recieves 83,000 FIM (approx. 14,000 €) for his work on seabed-living organisms in the Gulf of Finland and the north-eastern Baltic Sea. (Deceased 2.11.2002)

Commodore Raimo Tiilikainen of the archipelago coastguard section in Turku receives 50,000 FIM (approx. 8,500 €) as manager of the large-scale operation in which the RORO vessel Transgermanica was rescued and salvaged.

Professor Mats Olsson of the National Natural History Museum in Stockholm receives 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for his research on the Baltic seal and the environmental toxins DDT, the PCBs and other chlorine compounds.

Professor Anna Trzosinska of the Institute of Meterology and Water Management, Maritime Branch, in Gdynia, Poland, receives 100,000 FIM (approx. 17,000 €) for her contribution to the increased understanding of Baltic chemical oceanography. (Deceased 7.9 2000)

Professor Harald-Adam Velner of the Department of Environmental Engineering at the Tallinn Technological University, Estonia, receives 60,000 FIM (approx. 10,000 €) for his work during the period 1984-88 as executive secretary of the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM, which monitors the International Environmental Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea.(Deceased 25.12.2012)

The journalist Ilkka Hannula from Helsinki receives 60,000 FIM (approx. 10,000 €) for the TV-series “The Baltic Sea”.

Scholarship:

M.Sc. Kaj Ådjers of Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, is granted a research fellowship of 60,000 FIM (approx. 10,000 €) for taking part in the project “Year of the Gulf of Bothnia 1991”.

The Baltic Sea Fund’s biggest prize to date, 120,000 FIM (approx. 20,000 €), is awarded to Ph.Dr. Stig Fonselius, former head of the SMHI oceanographic laboratory in Gothenburg, in recognition of his status as a leading figure in environmentally oriented Baltic Sea research. (Deceased 19.1 2003)