WWF warns of Baltic Sea 'Wild West'
The Baltic Sea faces the threat of uncontrolled growth of freight traffic and wind energy over the next 20 years, the World Wildlife Fund has warned in a new report, calling on governments to work together to avert a Baltic 'Wild West'.
According to the WWF report the number of vessels plying the Baltic Sea is expected to double by 2030 and oil transports to increase by 64 percent. Cruise and ferry traffic is expected to expand by 600 percent over the same period.
Wind energy resources are forecast to undergo significant expansion over the period, from a current 400 megawatts to 25,000 megawatts which correspond to a 60-fold increase by 2030. Much of the expansion in wind energy will occur at sea.
WWF argues that there is a coordinated strategy for the future of the Baltic Sea and that a lack of leadership and bad planning in the countries surround the Baltic Sea has led to contradictory decisions which have worked against environmental initiatives in the eutrophic inner sea.
The organisation cited the example of Sweden's decision to remove the tax on fertilizers and the ban on the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether (deka-BDE).
"Without better planning we risk getting the 'Wild West', increased conflicts between the various interests and an unsustainable pressure on an already stressed and exposed sea in the period by 2030," said Åsa Andersson at WWF.
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According to the WWF report the number of vessels plying the Baltic Sea is expected to double by 2030 and oil transports to increase by 64 percent. Cruise and ferry traffic is expected to expand by 600 percent over the same period.
Wind energy resources are forecast to undergo significant expansion over the period, from a current 400 megawatts to 25,000 megawatts which correspond to a 60-fold increase by 2030. Much of the expansion in wind energy will occur at sea.
WWF argues that there is a coordinated strategy for the future of the Baltic Sea and that a lack of leadership and bad planning in the countries surround the Baltic Sea has led to contradictory decisions which have worked against environmental initiatives in the eutrophic inner sea.
The organisation cited the example of Sweden's decision to remove the tax on fertilizers and the ban on the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether (deka-BDE).
"Without better planning we risk getting the 'Wild West', increased conflicts between the various interests and an unsustainable pressure on an already stressed and exposed sea in the period by 2030," said Åsa Andersson at WWF.
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