Brighten up the Baltic Sea!

Sabine Eigmina

The Baltic Sea and Latvians are like Parisians and the Eiffel Tower. 494 km of the total length of Latvian territory bordering the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is unique not only because it is one of the Earth’s youngest sea and the sea is an active way of shipping, it  ships in around 15% of global sea freight. But also because it is an incredibly beautiful, with a untouched natural sandy beaches. The Baltic Sea is a crandle of amber. The Baltic Sea is a symbolic force for whole region and source of inspiration for every passers-by.

However, the romantic pastel colors beach and water hides a sad secret  – 70 000 km2, or more than one sixth of the Baltic Sea is dead – they are massive sea areas where the oxygen starvation as a result no longer living absolutely nothing. The Baltic Sea’s unique ecosystem become supersaturated nutrients, an eutrophic environment. This is made by human. The main reason for this is the influx of organic pollution in the sea. Most of the pollution comes from agriculture, traffic, industrial, Urban Waste Water Treatment and shipping. Every year in the Baltic Sea come in about a million tons of nitrogen and 35 000 tonnes of phosphorus.

One thing is clear, if the problem is created by human, it could be solved by human too. Everyone could take a part in the Baltic Sea saving.  Good examples are local people initiatives, for example, “Spēks ir tīrā jūrā” (“Power is hidden in the clear sea.”) and other campaign “Mana jūra” (“My sea”). Together, we can brighten up the Baltic Sea!

Sabine Eigmina

The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of ALDA and the European Union.