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Background Paper
Sustainable Urban & Rural Development
For the development of the Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................ 3
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Baltic 21 New Mandate ........................................................................................................................ 5
1.2 Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015 ............................................................................................................... 6
2. Sustainable Urban and Rural Development in the Baltic Sea Region ......... 7
2.1 Definitions of concepts ......................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Sustainable Urban Development .......................................................................................................... 8
2.3 Sustainable Rural Development ..........................................................................................................10
3. Policy Frameworks for Sustainable Urban and Rural Development ......... 11
3.1 EU BSR Strategy .................................................................................................................................11
3.2 Urban Policies .....................................................................................................................................12
3.3 Rural Development Policies ................................................................................................................12
3.4 Nordic Council of Ministers ................................................................................................................14
3.5 VASAB ...............................................................................................................................................14
3.6 UBC .....................................................................................................................................................15
4. Sustainable Urban and Rural Development in the context of Baltic 21 ... 16
4.1 Member States .....................................................................................................................................16
4.2 Other members and Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects ..............................................................................26
5. Review of Baltic 21 Action Programmes ............................................................... 30
5.1 Joint Actions ........................................................................................................................................30
5.2 Sectors and Spatial Planning ...............................................................................................................30
6. Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 33
6.1 Actions for the Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015 .....................................................................................33
6.2 Other action ideas ................................................................................................................................34
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Executive Summary
The majority of people in the Baltic Sea region live in small and medium size
cities, or rural areas in close proximity. Only a handful of larger metropolitan
areas exist in our region. The region is also characterized by vast remote areas,
which are mainly in the north.
Cities and urban regions experience the strongest economic development and
prosperity in the Baltic Sea Region. Cities are the transport hubs that link the
entire region together. The ‘city-region’ relationship, meaning the interactions
between cities and surrounding rural areas, can be mutually supportive if there
are positive partnerships that can capture the full benefits for both the city and
the rural region. This is normally the case. Farming and forestry remain crucial
for land use and the management of natural resources in the rural areas, and is
the dominating industry in rural communities. Fisheries are on a decline whereas
sustainable rural tourism can be seen as a growth sector.
The current main challenges that affect the attractiveness and sustainability, of
the urban and rural areas of the Baltic Sea Region, are the poor state of the
Baltic Sea, inefficient energy use, demographic changes such as increase in
aging population and migration of predominantly young people from rural areas
to cities as well as health and security related problems. Hence, there is an
increasing need to lift urban-rural interactions higher on the political agenda in
our own region.
Baltic 21 network has tackled the challenges related to sustainable urban and
rural development for more than 10 years. However, this has often been
approached as two separate issues, urban on the one hand and rural on the
other. The work has also been carried out mainly through sector platforms. As of
2010, Baltic 21 is an Expert Group within the Council of the Baltic Sea States,
with direct linkages to the highest political levels of our region. For the next five
years, sustainable urban and rural development will be one of our strategic areas
of cooperation. The emphasis will be focused on working together with
governments at the national or central level, at the local (municipal) level of large
cities, small and medium-sized towns and rural areas, in order to enhance the
potential of sustainable urban and rural development.
The report recommends the following actions to be included in the Baltic 21
Strategy 2010-2015:
1. Promote better management of urban-rural interactions
Understanding of residential preferences, mobility and accessibility patterns and
provision of services in both urban and rural areas are key elements for improving the
quality of life of people living in the Baltic Sea Region. We will support efforts to improve
the management of urban-rural interactions by the production of handbook on the
concept of quality of life, management plans for urban-rural interactions in a handful of
city –regions and new planning tools.
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2. Promote initiatives on integrated management of natural resources
Forested and agricultural landscapes are currently being used more intensively than ever
before. This development is happening without sufficient cooperation and coordination
among relevant stakeholders, leading to conflicts and to the unsustainable use of the
resources. We will create programs and initiatives to support integrated management of
natural resources, and thereby contribute to sustainable forest management and
sustainable agricultural practices.
3. Improve the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region based on natural and
cultural heritage
The awareness and knowledge about the rich natural and cultural potential in the region
can be improved, in particular in rural areas. We will support efforts to develop
commonly-branded heritage tourism in a sustainable way, and to promote that tourism
throughout the region.
4. Promote best practices in tackling marine litter
A wider employment of such methods as "fishing for litter" and removing lost fishing nets
will significantly contribute to a cleaner marine environment, including the protection of
biological diversity. We will support initiatives that raise awareness of the growing
problem of marine littering in the Baltic Sea and that take high-visibility steps to reduce
the problem.
5. Facilitate an exchange of lessons learned at the local and sub-regional levels on
sustainable urban and rural development
Municipalities and sub-regions in the Baltic Sea Region have been working for more than
a decade with sustainable urban and rural development. However, the rich experience
and lessons learned are often not transferred to the national, regional and international
policy dialogue. We will provide a forum for the local and sub-regional voices to be heard,
and seek to make their good examples more visible and more likely to be duplicated and
adapted around the Region.
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1. Introduction
1.1 Baltic 21 New Mandate
The 30th meeting of Baltic 21 Senior Official Group agreed to request the 15th
Ministerial Session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States to endorse a new
Baltic 21 mandate on 3-4 June 2009 in Elsinore, Denmark. Ministers of Foreign
Affairs in the Baltic Sea States endorsed key parts of the Baltic 21 new mandate,
including its mission, principal functions and strategic areas. The 15th Ministerial
Session of the Council also decided that Baltic 21 should, as of 1 January 2010,
become integrated into CBSS and operates as an expert group of the Council.
The overall objective and mission for Baltic 21 is to continue to actively contribute
towards advancing sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region, by
coordinating goals and activities, and by serving as a forum for cooperation
across borders and between stakeholders, as well as by supporting the long-term
priorities of the Council.
The key strengths of Baltic 21 are considered to be its multi-stakeholder and
integrated approaches to sustainable development. In the future, it is envisaged
that these approaches will be enhanced further. Baltic 21 will be working both
horizontally, involving many different sectors, and vertically, involving many
different stakeholders representing a variety of levels of society. In order to
achieve this, Baltic 21 will perform several principal functions. Baltic 21 will
continue to serve as a forum for policy development and dialogue among
governments and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region on sustainable
development. Baltic 21 will also strengthen practical project development and
implementation and thereby facilitate an efficient practice-policy loop.
Communication and raising awareness on sustainable development will also be
considered one of Baltic 21’s principal functions. Good practices and lessons
learnt on sustainable development need to be spread throughout the region and
beyond. Members of Baltic 21 have a strong track-record of developing
innovative and sustainable solutions, most notably stemming from Baltic 21
Lighthouse projects. However, in the past, these solutions have not reached a
wider audience of policy makers and practitioners. Baltic 21 could play an
instrumental role in making these solutions and good practices more visible and
in raising awareness, thereby contributing towards sustainable development in
the Baltic Sea Region.
Raising awareness and visibility on sustainability would also include fostering
synergies among relevant CBSS expert groups, Baltic Sea Region Energy
Cooperation (BASREC), Vision and Strategies Around the Baltic Sea (VASAB),
Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), the EU
Baltic Sea Region Strategy and EU Sustainable Development Strategy, and the
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UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Baltic 21 policy recommendations
need to feed into relevant processes in the region and beyond.
The biggest change for Baltic 21 with its new mandate is that it will focus on a
handful of key strategic areas of cooperation in the future. These areas include
climate change, sustainable urban and rural development, sustainable
consumption and production, innovation and education for sustainable
development. These areas cover a wide range of topics, which Baltic 21
members find essential in achieving the overall mission of Baltic 21. These areas
are largely built on the competence and focus of Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects
and Sector networks.
1.2 Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015
To guide the work of the CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Development –
Baltic 21 a Baltic 21 Strategy for 2010 to 2015 is currently being developed. The
core of this Strategy will be concrete actions grouped under the four strategic
areas of cooperation, as stipulated in the mandate. Accompanying this Strategy,
Baltic 21 will also develop a portfolio of actions. This portfolio is a pool of ideas
for actions that have been gathered from its membership and project partners
while developing the Strategy. It is envisaged that the portfolio of actions to be a
living document which may be updated as necessary.
A special event dedicated to the discussion of specific issues relevant for the
Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015 was held on 28 January 2010 in conjunction with
the EcoRegion project partnership meeting in Växjö, Sweden. Furthermore, a
separate consultation was organised particularly on the issue of sustainable
urban and rural development with some of the members from the Baltic 21 ad
hoc Working Group on Balanced Urban and Rural Development.
This paper aims at reviewing the specific challenges and opportunities of
sustainable urban and rural development in the Baltic Sea Region. Furthermore,
it also provides an overview of some of the policy frameworks, mainly EU and
BSR wide intergovernmental organizations and networks. Moreover, the paper
aims at giving a handful of examples of experiences, lessons learnt stemming
from Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects, Sectors and other members. Finally, the
paper will provide a list of concrete recommendations for future actions in the
field of sustainable urban and rural development. Some of these actions are also
highlighted to be suitable for the inclusion in the Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015.
The paper has been written as a joint collaboration between the CBSS
Secretariat and the UBC Environmental and Sustainable Development
Secretariat within the EcoRegion project partly financed by EU Baltic Sea Region
Programme 2007-2013.
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2. Sustainable Urban and Rural Development in
the Baltic Sea Region
2.1 Definitions of concepts
The concept of sustainable development reconciles economic, environmental
and social objectives (including gender equality and cultural heritage). In
practice, sustainable development requires a high level of cooperation across
sectors and disciplines; open and transparent decision-making and participatory
processes are key components. The most widely-referenced formal definition of
sustainable development is the one introduced by the World Commission on
Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission) in
1987: “development that meets the needs of present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
When applying the sustainable development concept to an urban context you are
dealing with sustainable urban development. During the preparatory meetings for
the Urban 21 Conference (Berlin, July 2000) the following definition was
developed to define sustainable urban development:
"Improving the quality of life in a city, including ecological, cultural, political,
institutional, social and economic components without leaving a burden on the
future generations. A burden which is the result of a reduced natural capital and
an excessive local debt. Our aim is that the flow principle, that is based on an
equilibrium of material and energy and also financial input/output, plays a crucial
role in all future decisions upon the development of urban areas."
Sustainable rural development is often defined as followed:
"Sustainable development is the management and conservation of the natural
resources base, and the orientation of technological and institutional change in
such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human
needs for present and future generations. Such sustainable development in the
agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors conserves land, water, plant and animal
genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate,
economically viable and socially acceptable." (FAO, 1988)
In this paper the term urban-rural linkages and urban-rural interactions are widely
used. Urban-rural linkage generally refers to the growing flow of public and
private capital, people (migration and commuting) and goods (trade) between
urban and rural areas. It is important to add to these the flow of ideas, the flow of
information and the flow of diffusion of innovation. Adequate infrastructure such
as transportation, communication, energy and basic services is the backbone of
the urban-rural development linkage approach. There is a positive relationship
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between adequacy of transportation infrastructure, ease of mobility and access to
employment and enhancement of income. Adequate investments in
infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastucture, also improve rural
productivity and allow access to markets, jobs and public service by both men
and women.
It is important that governments at the national or central level, at local
(municipal) level of large cities, small and medium-sized towns and rural areas,
recognize the potentials of rural-urban development linkages, the impact of their
development actions on urban and rural areas and the positive role they can play
for sustainable development.
2.2 Sustainable Urban Development
Approximately 80% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. The proportion
of people living in the urban areas is also increasing in the BSR. However, the
majority of people in the BSR live in mid-sized cities, small towns and in rural
areas. The 10 BSR metropolises together with their surrounding areas have
approximately 25 million inhabitants – which is equivalent to every fourth citizen
of the region. Opposite to this, the BSR is also characterized by vast remote
areas mainly in the northern parts of the region. There are also considerable
differences in the way how the cities and urban areas have been built in different
parts of the region. The land use with regard to the urban areas is much more
heavily concentrated in the eastern parts of the BSR than in the western parts.
Cities and urban areas are the drivers of economic development and prosperity
of the BSR. They are the centres of jobs, businesses, higher education
institutions, innovation and entrepreneurship. The significance of cities and urban
areas of the BSR are even more emphasized than in many other European
macro-regions as many of the BSR countries are small in population and the
scarce resources are concentrated in relatively few urban centres.
During the last twenty years, the sustainable development of the BSR cities has
become one of the success factors of the region’s rapid development and
integration. However, the region and its urban and rural areas will be facing
several notable challenges over the coming years. Some of the BSR’s main
challenges are connected to global issues such as the world’s economic and
demographic situation. These are often out of bounds for local governments to
change but preventive measures can and should be taken.
Many visible threats and challenges in the BSR can be approached by local
authorities, in cooperation with the governments. These challenges include; the
poor state of the Baltic Sea, inefficient energy consumption and low energy
efficiency, health and security related problems, aging population and increasing
migration. Migration in the BSR often means brain drainage of young, educated,
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skilled labor and it can lead to severe problems in particularly at the local level.
Therefore, it can be considered as a long term risk for the whole region and it’s
also related to the overall attractivity of the region.
It is in the interest of every city and region to allure more businesses that add to
average productivity and foundation for taxes. In order to improve attractivity
cross-sectoral cooperation and participatory planning processes is necessary. A
very important element in this respect is good and stable government that
provides a high level of public goods like an efficient and incorrupt administration,
good infrastructure and a fair legal system. Attractivity is also closely linked to the
multi-dimensional concept of quality of life. Ensuring high quality of life is a key
element in the development of attractive urban and rural regions in the BSR.
However, quality of life is also an individual concept that different people
determine in different ways, depending on their own preferences. For this reason,
the improvement and promotion of the attractivity and high quality of life
demands both an active involvement of the people living in the BSR and good
governance of local and regional authorities.
Good transparent governance aims at involving citizens and stakeholders in the
sustainable development processes. It increases fruitful co-operation and
integrated approaches between different sectors and units of municipal
administration, as well as between different levels of administration and
government.
Many cities in the BSR are already working more and more closely with their
surrounding local authorities and administrations to form ‘city-regions’. Cityregions comprise a complex network of urban-rural interactions – the geographic
scope of such interactions is dependant on many facilities, assets,
infrastructures, services, housing stock etc. City-regions offer a good framework
for authorities to work across a large urban area to coordinate developments and
actions, to create a critical mass, to deliver integrated transports, to improve the
level of services with lower costs or to address skills shortages. The city-region
relationship can be mutually beneficial if there are positive partnerships that can
capture the full benefits for both the city and region.
The sprawling nature of cities is a remarkable threat for sustainable development
because urban sprawl increases energy, land and soil consumption. These
impacts threaten both urban and rural environments, raising greenhouse gas
emissions and elevating air and noise pollution levels. Urban sprawl has
accelerated due to improved transport links and enhanced personal mobility
which has enabled people to live increasingly further away from city centres,
while retaining all the advantages of a city location.
Many urban people are attracted to live in suburban environments, provided that
they have access to adequate services and infrastructure. Still the urban sprawl
areas and the purely rural areas with fewer transportation options usually have a
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much higher dependence on the private car than urban areas. Urban sprawl
produces many adverse impacts that have direct effects on the quality of life for
people living in cities and suburban areas. The urban sprawl and the other
current development trends cause new requirements for the spatial planning in
the BSR. To meet the different needs and requirements and to be able to
respond to changing societies, spatial planning is required to be adaptive, crosssectoral and integrated. It has to try to take into account different stakeholders
and citizens’ preferences. This can be achieved only through close co-operation
and interaction between urban and rural municipalities and regions.
2.3 Sustainable Rural Development
Rural development is used to describe actions and initiatives taken to improve
the standard of living in non-urban settings, countryside and remote villages. At
the heart of sustainable rural development is the participation of rural people in
the setting of their own priorities and providing the local capacity, generating
income and investment in basic infrastructure and social services. Justice, equity
and security of the rural population as well as conserving the natural resource
base for present and future generations are also important components of
sustainable rural development.
The most viable sectors in rural areas in the Baltic Sea Region today are
agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism. Farming and forestry remain crucial
for land use and the management of natural resources in rural areas, and as a
platform for economic diversification in rural communities. Fisheries are on a
decline where as sustainable rural tourism can be seen as a growth area for the
future.
Fisheries are still an important source of livelihood in some parts of the Baltic
Sea Region. However, due to the use of larger boats and new tools for more
effectively catching fish in larger quantities, overfishing is a great problem in the
Baltic Sea. Despite efforts at both the national, EU and global levels to tackle
these problems it has not been possible to implement sufficiently stringent
restrictions which ensure sustainability in the Fisheries sector in the Baltic Sea
Region. The management of fisheries has been characterized by short term
interests, where economic gain has weighed heavier than ecological function and
sustainability.
Forest covers about 45% of the land area in the Baltic Sea Region. The forest
industry is important in the region and accounts for approximately 14% of the
global industrial roundwood production. Pulp and paper production and bioenergy are also important economic activities in the forest sector. A notably large
proportion of the forest areas are under management plans. However,
unsustainable use of forest resources is still a challenge in particular regarding
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illegal logging and the trade of illegally harvested forest products, predominantly
in Russia.
Rural areas provide places of beauty, rest and recreation – when we look after
them. They act as our lungs, and are therefore a battleground for the fight
against climate change and the loss of biodiversity. However, as regards to the
environmental condition of the Baltic Sea itself it has been steadily deteriorating
for decades. Large-scale algal blooms, declining water transparency, oxygen
deficits and the ever-increasing area of dead sea floor are all linked to excessive
nutrient discharges, mainly from the agricultural sector.
Rural tourism is increasingly important and provides a potential alternative and
complementary source of income in rural communities. Moreover, many people
are attracted by the idea of living and/or working there, provided that they have
access to adequate services and infrastructure.
3. Policy Frameworks for Sustainable Urban and
Rural Development
Since a majority of the states in the BSR are members of the EU it is important to
understand the legal and policy frameworks that govern sustainable urban-rural
linkages within the EU context. However, other policy frameworks and fora such
as VASAB, Nordic Council of Ministers and Union of Baltic Cities are essential to
politically frame sustainable urban and rural development in Baltic Sea Region.
3.1 EU BSR Strategy
The European Commission adopted the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
on 10 June 2009. The Strategy aims at coordinating action by Member States,
regions, the EU, pan-Baltic organisations, financing institutions and nongovernmental bodies to promote a more balanced development of the Region.
The four cornerstones of the Strategy are to make this part of Europe more:
1. Environmentally sustainable (e.g. reducing pollution in the sea);
2. Prosperous (e.g. promoting innovation in small and medium enterprises);
3. Accessible and attractive (e.g. better transport links, education, tourism
and health);
4. Safe and secure (e.g. improving accident response).
Accompanying the Strategy is an Action plan which includes fifteen priority areas
and eighty flagship projects. The Plan will be reviewed regularly. Sustainable
urban and rural development is not highlighted as a priority area as such.
However, aspects of this concept are covered in many of the priorities and
flagship projects.
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3.2 Urban Policies
Sustainable urban development appears prominently in many European policy
commitments. European policies influence the urban level often also indirectly,
with the aim to support positive developments at the local level. The EU policies
that address the urban level directly or provide direct guidance to cities include:
 The Territorial Agenda of EU – Towards a More Competitive and
Sustainable Europe of Diverse Regions
 The Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities
 Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion – Turning territorial diversity into
strength (EC 2008/C)
 Green Paper on Urban Mobility – Towards new culture for urban mobility
(EC 2007d)
 Community Strategic guidelines of cohesion policy 2007-2013 (EC 2006b)
 The Thematic Strategy on Urban Environment (EC 2006/d)
 EU Directive on Ambient Air Quality (Directive 2008/50/EC)
 EU Directive on Environmental Noise (Directive 2002/49/EC)
Furthermore, several EU programmes promote and fund sustainable urban
development, in whole European context including the LIFE+ programme, the EU
Research Framework Programmes, and the CIVITAS initiative for clean and
better transport.
3.3 Rural Development Policies
The main EU rules governing rural development policy for the period 2007 to
2013, as well as the policy measures available to Member States and regions,
are set out in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005.
Under this Regulation, rural development policy for 2007 to 2013 is focused on
three themes (known as "thematic axes"). These are:
 improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector;
 improving the environment and the countryside;
 improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification
of the rural economy.
To help ensure a balanced approach to policy, Member States and regions are
obliged to spread their rural development funding between all three of these
thematic axes. A further requirement is that some of the funding must support
projects based on experience with the Leader Community Initiatives. The "Leader
approach" to rural development involves highly individual projects designed and
executed by local partnerships to address specific local problems.
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Considerable funding for rural development activities in EU is provided from the
EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which receives around 55 billion EUR
per year and this represents about 40% of the total current EU budget. The CAP
consists of two main policy pillars and each pillar consists of its own set of policy
actions. The first pillar contains mainstreaming of farm subsidies and market
support for agri-business sectors. This pillar is financed directly from the central
EU budget. The second pillar contains the EU’s rural development policy. This
includes support for activities that improve rural competiveness, sustain
environmental resources, enhance quality of life and diversify the economic
bases in rural areas. This pillar is normally co-financed by Member States’ own
funds. In recent years there has been some steps towards streamlining and
somewhat modernizing the CAP. In November 2008 the CAP Heath Check was
adopted.
The main EU policies guiding the Forest Sector is the EU Forest Action Plan
which was adopted on 15 June 2006. The Action Plan focuses on four main
objectives:
1. to improve long-term competitiveness
2. to improve and protect the environment
3. to contribute to the quality of life; and
4. to foster coordination and communication.
Eighteen key actions are proposed by the Commission to be implemented jointly
with the Member States during the period of five years (2007–2011).
Also important as a policy forum for the Forest Sector in Europe is the Ministerial
Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE). The ministers
responsible for forests in Europe have developed common principles, criteria and
guidelines for sustainable forest management.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the European Union's instrument for the
management of fisheries and aquaculture. The CFP was reformed in 2002 to
ensure sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources. The reform introduced
a precautionary approach to protect and conserve living aquatic resources, and
to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine eco-systems. The reform
aimed to contribute to efficient fishing activities within an economically viable and
competitive fisheries and aquaculture industry, providing a fair standard of living
for those who depend on fishing activities and taking into account the interests of
consumers. In 2008, the Commission launched a review of the CFP which will be
based on an analysis of the achievements and shortcomings of the current
policy, and will look at experiences from other fisheries management systems to
identify potential avenues for future action. The European Fisheries Fund is the
financial component of the CFP. The EFF will run for seven years (2007-2013)
with a total budget of around € 3.8 billion. The EFF aims to support the objectives
of the CFP.
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As regards to dealing with nutrient losses that contribute to the eutrophication of
the Baltic Sea, the EU Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) concerning the Protection
of Waters against Pollution caused by Nitrates from Agricultural Sources as well
as the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) are both
important legal frameworks. The EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) is
designed to improve and integrate the way water bodies are managed
throughout Europe. Member States must aim to reach good chemical and
ecological status in inland and coastal waters by 2015. This includes river basin
management, which is by its nature often trans-national and requires cooperation between two or more countries. Helsinki Commission’s (HELCOM)
Baltic Sea Action Plan (November 2007) also provides and important policy
framework for tackling the issue of eutrophication and improving the environment
of the Baltic Sea.
3.4 Nordic Council of Ministers
Input still pending.
3.5 VASAB
Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea (VASAB) is a cooperation of
ministers responsible for spatial planning and development of 11 countries of the
Baltic Sea Region, including Belarus, Norway and Russia. It was founded in 1992
at the Ministerial Conference in Karlskrona, Sweden which decided to work out a
common vision and strategies for spatial development of the Baltic Sea Region
till 2010. VASAB is steered by the Committee on Spatial Planning and
Development in the BSR (CSPD/BSR) composed of senior representatives of
respective ministries and regional authorities of Germany (MecklenburgVorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein) and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast, Pskov
Oblast and St. Petersburg City representing NW regions of Russia).
VASAB has created an on-going forum for discussing spatial framework of the
Region. Spatial planning is increasingly acknowledged as an interactive,
interdisciplinary and democratic instrument to promote sustainable and balanced
spatial development and cohesion in the Region.
VASAB has developed and supported trans-boundary projects on spatial
integration and improvement of urban-rural interlinkages. Number of VASAB
stakeholder meetings has been devoted to the analysis of urban development
and creation of urban-rural partnerships.
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3.6 UBC
The Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) is a network of cities and a Baltic Sea
regional policy actor, representing the cities. Since the founding of UBC in 1991,
the amount of the network’s member cities has more than tripled (now 107) and
the activities have continuously developed. The UBC network provides plenty of
channels to advance sustainable development in BSR. The general goals of the
UBC are to promote and strengthen cooperation and exchange experiences
among cities, to advocate for the interests of the local authorities, and to act on
behalf of the cities and local authorities in common matters of interest. UBC aims
for a democratic, economic, social, cultural and environmentally sustainable
development of the Baltic Sea Region.
The UBC has 13 thematic commissions that deal with practical co-operation
between the member cities and provides access to large numbers of leaders,
experts and practitioners in all Baltic cities. All UBC commissions organise
meetings and exchange information and experiences. The commissions also run
projects, produce publications and use web-sites and other e-communication.
These regular services and activities provide a channel for awareness raising
and promotion of sustainable development actions in the BSR.
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4. Sustainable Urban and Rural Development in
the context of Baltic 21
Baltic 21 has identified sustainable urban and rural development as one of its
strategic areas of cooperation. At the core of our work will be to work with
governments at the national or central level, at local (municipal) level of large
cities, small and medium-sized towns and rural areas, to recognize the potentials
of sustainable urban-rural linkages. There is a need to gain a better
understanding of the relationships between urban and rural areas and the variety
in the nature of these linkages.
The Baltic 21 network has a long track-record to work on sustainable urban and
rural development. The Baltic 21 sectoral platforms such as agriculture, tourism,
forestry and joint actions have all contributed to balanced urban and rural
development. Moreover, several of both past and present Baltic 21 Lighthouse
projects have addressed sustainable urban-rural development.
A policy input was submitted to the CBSS high-level representatives on
Agriculture and Environment at a meeting held in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden (April
2007). At the meeting Baltic 21 was called upon to support the implementation of
the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and to work on the issue of sustainable rural
development. This launched the Baltic 21 campaign “Save the Sea on Land” and
efforts to gather all Baltic 21 activities and projects related to sustainable rural
development. A seminar was held in Uppsala, Sweden (November 2007) and a
progress report was elaborated with a policy input to the 7th Baltic Sea State
Summit in Riga (June 2008).
In 2007 Baltic 21 Senior Official Group set up ad hoc working groups to facilitate
the development of strategic projects in the BSR. One ad hoc working group on
balanced urban and rural development resulted in the development of the New
Bridges project and policy input to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region as
well as a portfolio of policy recommendations / actions on sustainable rural
development.
The following are examples of experiences and lessons learnt gathered from
Member states, Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects, Sectors and other members in the
field of sustainable urban and rural development.
4.1 Member States
Denmark
Input still pending.
Estonia
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Regional Development Stragey of Estonia 2005-2015 states that achievement
of the objectives of regional policy should take into account the particular
characteristics of individual regions, potential socio-economic impact of different
measures, as well as the impact on cultural and natural environment. The
problems, strengths and development perspectives related to the population,
economic activities and infrastructure of the regions are variable with regard to
both differently sized growth regions and rural regions. Different urban and rural
regions have specific and unique roles in the development of the country as a
whole.
Integrated development activity should be launched in all growth regions, which
would involve spatial planning and planning of infrastructures, solving and
prevention of environmental and social problems, development of residential
construction and competitive economy. Particularly, the implementation of the
innovative potential of growth regions needs reinforcement in the course of
development activities to stimulate cooperation between different institutions, and
generate region-specific preconditions, skills and knowledge.
Additional information:
http://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/Eesti_regionaalarengu_strateegia_2005_2015_eng_tolge.
doc
Estonian Rural Development Strategy 2007-2013:
According to the Estonian Rural Development Strategy (ERDS) 2007-2013,
increasing the competitiveness of agriculture and forest management will require
more attention to increasing the proportion of higher value-added production by
product development and the assurance of stable quality. This will require more
emphasis on the development of technology and closer co-operation with
different research establishments. At the same time, considering the great need
for investment accompanying agricultural production and agricultural produce
processing since 1990s, which is increasing due to the new additional
requirements, modernisation of agriculture and the processing industry will be of
the greatest importance in the development of the competitiveness of agriculture
and forest management in 2007-2013.
Additional information:
http://www.agri.ee/public/juurkataloog/MAAELU/MAS/ERDPS2007-2013.pdf
Enterprise Estonia has a special program for local initiatives which is financed
from the Estonian state budget. The objective of the grant is the local
development and increase in the competitiveness of the regions through the
involvement and strengthening of the community.
Additional information:
http://www.eas.ee/index.php/for-public-and-non-profit-sectors/civil-society/local-initiative-grant
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications:
 The Ministry runs an on-going social infrastructure project in Estonian rural
areas.
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The project advances from mapping the situation of the areas into a
design of regional plans. The project addresses quality standards and
criteria for accessibility, and aims at decreasing the gap between the
expected and provided quality.
The project is expected to provide the basis for development decisions on
different sectors.
Estonia has successfully overcome the digital gap between urban and
rural areas by providing country-wide free WLAN-access.
One good example of the co-operation on local level is the Woods Crone Family
Park which was initiated in Southern part of Estonia, Võru County in 1999. Main
aim of the Park is to promote natural healthy lifestyle in rural environment,
supprot the health tourism and acitvate local entrepreneurs. Woods Crone Family
Park consists of nine rural settlements which are co-operating and each of them
has a specific role, for example there is a bee yard in one farm, others are
keeping horses, thirds are having a bakery and fourths are offering the sauna
services. Every farm is developing its own speciality, but for marketing and
advertising they are using the common brand – Woods Crone Family Park.
Together they are organising health holidays separately for men and women and
children, giving advises about healthy food, natural medicine and herbs. In last
years the ecological products of the Family Park have been very successful, for
example they are offering handmade soaps, sauna honey and other kind of body
care products, but also sweets, for example candies made with fir thorns.
Additional information: http://www.metsamoor.ee/metsamoor_en
Finland
Finland is a sparsely populated country, where landscapes are largely dominated
by natural forests and lakes. Settlements are generally concentrated in coastal
regions and alongside important lakes and waterways. Built-up areas cover less
than three per cent of Finland, but they are home to more than 80% of the
population. Most urban areas are relatively small, with fewer than 10,000
inhabitants. Only ten cities have more than 50,000 residents, and even the
largest cities are not densely built up by international standards. The economic
depression of the 1990s was a turning point for the development of the regional
and urban structure. After the depression the concentration of the regional
structure has strengthened.
In Finland land use, spatial planning and construction are controlled by the Land
Use and Building Act which came in force in 2000. It aims to organize land use
and building to create the basis for high quality living environments, to promote
sustainable development, to ensure open planning and participatory processes
and to ensure that a wide range of planning expertise is available.
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One strategic aim of the environmental administration is to integrate the spatial
structure of communities better, in order to reduce traffic and emissions, and to
improve the aesthetic aspects and functioning of communities.
Finland’s Environmental Admistration (SYKE) develops new methods for
sustainable urban planning together with the 12 biggest cities in Finland. The
main focus is to analyze the system of urban structure as an interaction between
land use and transportation where zones of the urban structure are divided in
three main classes: walking city, transit city and car city.
On-going projects in Finland:
Automobile dependent urban structure and its alternatives:
 The project analyses the aspects of the automobile dependence of urban
regions. It perceives the ongoing development trends and estimates the
characters of polycentric urban structure. The project aims to find out how
automobile dependent the Finnish urban regions are and how the
dependency could be reduced.
Monitoring system of urban structure (YKR):
 The geographic information system (GIS) offers tools for analyzing,
monitoring and planning purposes. It offers long-term comparable
information about the development and state of Finnish urban regions and
rural areas. A fundamental tool for all spatial planning challenges.
The PLUREL project:
 Peri-urban Land Use Relationships - Strategies and Sustainability
Assessment Tools for Urban-Rural Linkages is a European integrated
research project within the European Commission's sixth framework
programme.
Germany
The key strategic document on sustainable urban development is the Leipzig
Charter on Sustainable European Cities agreed upon in 2007. On the sustainable
rural development a key initiative is the Federal Ministry of Agriculture strategy
on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for food, agriculture, forestry
and fisheries.
Sustainable urban development in Germany is particularly focused on the
following key issues:
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Settlement development under changing general conditions - orientation
towards cities
Develop co-operation between cities on a regional scale
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Use the decline in land take as an opportunity - make residential areas
more attractive for families with children
Create socially stable urban neighbourhoods - use migration as an
opportunity
Redevelop infrastructure to meet the needs of older people
Design mobility to be compatible with the objectives of urban development
and the environment
Strengthen cities as centres of business and innovation
Maintain retail diversity - strengthen central supply sectors
Improve interaction between local authority planning and private investors
Promotion of urban development
To enable cities to cope better with their new tasks and challenges, the Federal
Government supports the creation of sustainable urban structures with urban
development promotion programmes. To do this, the Federal Government
guarantees the federal states financial assistance in accordance with Article 104
a Paragraph 4 of the constitution; this assistance is supplemented by federal
state and local authority funds. This federal financial aid is made available to the
federal states on the basis of an administrative agreement (promotion of urban
development administrative agreement).
The objectives of promoting urban development are:
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Strengthening inner cities and town centres in their urban function, also
under consideration of protection of historic buildings
Creating sustainable urban structures in areas affected by significant
urban function losses; the principle indication of such function losses is
permanent oversupply of structural works, such as, vacant dwellings or
derelict sites in inner cities, particularly industrial sites, former military sites
converted for appropriate re-use and railway sites
Urban development measures for eradicating social deprivation.
The ultimate aims of the strategy on conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity for food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries are to:
 Achieve transparency as regards the objectives being pursued and the
measures deemed necessary to achieve them
 Incite and encourage action in other areas of society
 Foster dialogue and cooperation between key social actors and facilitate
their participation in implementation of the strategy and that of the national
action plan Inform the general public about the role of agricultural
biodiversity, the need to conserve and use it sustainably, and measures
needed to do so
The strategy has three primary action-based objectives:
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1. As a precautionary strategy, improve the conditions for long-term conservation
and finding sustainable innovative uses for genetic resources for food,
agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
2. Better linkage between conservation and use of biological diversity as part of
an innovation strategy towards sustainable development in rural regions.
3. Strengthen international cooperation to foster a cooperative, equity-based
approach to global management of biological resources for food, agriculture,
forestry and fisheries.
As examples for sustainable urban and rural development the following initiatives
are highlighted:
Regionen Aktiv (Active Regions – Shaping Rural Futures). Eight model regions
have been selected and over the next four years these regions will present
innovative ideas and provide useful examples of integrated rural development
and successful rural-urban connections. The main objectives of the project is to:
strengthening rural areas and creating additional sources of income, naturefriendly and environmentally compatible agriculture, and consumer focus.
Broadband supply of rural areas. Broadband internet has now become a
fixture in our lives. However, rapid Internet access is still not available to
everyone. The gaps in broadband supply are mainly to be found in sparsely
populated rural areas. Germany has adopted a Broadband Strategy that has a
target of nationwide availability of efficient broadband access by the end of 2010.
Social city programme. Sustainable Development for deprived neighbourhoods.
The "Social City" programme provides an opportunity to work together with the
inhabitants of problem neighbourhoods in order to find new solutions to
counteract the downward trend in their neighbourhoods. During the programme
period from 1999 to 2008, the Federal Government provided financial assistance
amounting to around 760 million euros for the "Social City" programme.
Iceland
Input still pending.
Latvia
Input still pending.
Lithuania
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One-third of Lithuania’s population lives in rural areas and 15.8 per cent of
residents are employed in the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishery sectors. In
rural areas, great dependency on the primary economic activity of agricultural
production prevails. In 2006, it employed 87.3 per cent of the country’s
agricultural, hunting, forestry, and fishery sector workers, which amounts to
approximately 48 per cent of all employed residents of rural areas.
The Strategy Plan for Rural Development 2007-2013 is one of the basic
documents outlining the policy. The vision of Lithuanian rural development for
2013 focusing on the following:
 Improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by supporting
restructuring, development and innovation.
 Improving the environment and landscape by supporting environmentally
friendly methods of land management.
Territorial/spatial planning is one of the most effective governance instruments
allowing organization of all types of activities in the planned territory. Territorial
planning in Lithuania is performed at national, regional and local levels. The main
territorial planning principles, including principles of sustainable development, are
set in the Comprehensive Plan of the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania as
well as in the comprehensive plans of lower levels of planning. Special (thematic)
territorial plans are also based on the principles of sustainable development.
Every year the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania with partners
organizes Lithuanian Urban Forum to stimulate co-operation of business,
administrative public authorities and the public in order to seek qualitative and
sustainable solutions for the emerging problems of urban and housing
development.
“Birštonas - ECO City” - could be presented as an example of the project for
sustainable development. Birštonas municipality with partners form Lithuania,
Denmark and Belgium has launched the international Seventh Framework
Programme ECO Life project for 2009-2013 period of the ambitious energy
saving, efficient use of renewable energy sources, city block multiflat dwelling
and public buildings modernization, social issues and other complex urban
sustainable development solutions.
Norway
For many years Norway has implemented a range of political and economic
measures to counter the international trend towards migration from rural to urban
areas. The main force behind this trend is a strong increase in productivity in
agriculture, forestry and fishing. The excess labor has to move to cities to find
alternative employment. It is the aim of the government to reduce the decline in
rural population and it uses several measures to carry out this policy. Among
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these are support to agriculture, lower taxes on employment and budget support
of local government in rural areas.
Norwegian agriculture is still relatively small-scaled compared to the more
industrialized agriculture in many other countries. Farmers receive more financial
support in Norway than in any other country, and domestic production is
protected by import tariffs and quotas. Even though Norway has seen a strong
reduction in the number of farms over the years, the cultivated area has
remained stable and production has increased. The policies have contributed to
reaching securing sufficient domestic food production, food safety and supporting
rural communities. It is the Government’s goal that 15 pct of the production and
consumption of food should be ecologic in 2015.
Balanced urban – rural planning, including development of roads and public
transport systems, the localization of shopping centers etc, is handled by the
County governments and overseen by the Ministry of Environment. National
guidelines for planning have been announced on a number of issues, including
the prevention of urban sprawl. New shopping centers now need a public permit,
and must be in line with a county-wide plan.
A number of projects and policies have been launched over the years to improve
urban – rural linkages including transport systems, and reducing the global
ecological “footprint” of cities.
Municipalities and counties can play an important role in the efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to climate change. It has been
estimated that the municipalities can exert an influence on about 20 pst of
Norwegian GHG emissions through planning and measures in their own
activities.
A new Plan and building act was passed in 2009, giving the municipalities new
instruments for governing land-use and transport, energy consumption and
alternative energy sources. National guidelines have been provided for local
climate- and energy planning.
The development program “Cities of the Future” is coordinated by the Ministry of
Environment. It runs from 2008-2014 and involves the 13 largest urban
municipalities in Norway. The program focuses on planning and transport;
consumption and waste; energy use in buildings and adapting to climate change.
The program states that the city of the future is compact – thus reducing landuse, it is well adjusted to public transport, walking and cycling and has parks
functioning as green lungs. One of the aims of the Cities of the future program is
to reduce GHG emissions in the participating municipalities by 24 pct within 2020
and by 35 pct within 2030.
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Poland
The Polish National Development Strategy 2007-2015 was adopted by the
Council of Ministers on 29 November 2006. It is a principal strategic document
which provides guidelines for other Government and local government strategies
and programmes.
The NDS determines the goals and identifies major areas that will be the focus of
the state's activities. It also sets out priorities of Poland’s social and economic
development and the conditions that should sustain this development.
Priorities:
1. Improvement of competitiveness and innovativeness of the economy
2. Improvement of the condition of technical and social infrastructure
3. Increase of employment and improvement of its quality
4. Building an integrated social community and its security
5. Development of rural and urban areas
6. Regional development and the improvement of territorial cohesion
The National Development Strategy:
 determines goals and identifies areas regarded as the most important
from the point of view of attaining those goals, on which the state’s
activities will be concentrated,
 takes into account major development trends of the global economy and
the objectives set by the European Union in the Lisbon Strategy,
 gives priority to the activities to be undertaken by the Government
between 2007 and 2015 in order to pursue the vision of Poland,
 it is a principal, long-standing strategic document of the country’s
socioeconomic development, which serves as the point of reference for
other strategies and programmes prepared by the Government and local
governments,
 it is the basis premise for preparing the National Cohesion Strategy
(National Strategic Reference Framework), the National Strategic Plan for
2007-2013 Rural Development and the National Strategic Plan for
Fisheries Development as well as the operational programmes resulting
from it.
The National Development Strategy includes all of the development
actions that were taken with the aim of improving the social and economic
conditions. The document enables as well to integrate and coordinate the
cohesion policy with other policies co-financed from the community funds.
In January 2010 Minister of Agriculture prepared draft of the document”
Directions of development of rural areas – assumptions to the Strategy for
sustainable development of counties and agriculture” . With accordance to this
document the rural regions should become an attractive aries for residence,
work, recreation and agriculture and non-agriculture actcivities with preservation
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of unique values of nature, landscape and cultural of these areas for the future
generations.
Russia
Input still pending.
Sweden
Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign
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The European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign has been working
since 1994 to mainstream sustainable actions throughout Europe and gain
wider political significance to support sustainable policies.
It helps local governments across Europe to replicate the best local
practices and to implement the Aalborg Charter and the Aalborg
Commitments to achieve tangible results in local sustainable
development.
The Campaign is built around a partnership between eight local
government networks and the Campaign founders, combining the
expertise and the tools for the creation of sustainability policies and
providing the means to reach out to local governments across Europe.
The aim of the Campaign is to secure the integration of social, economic
and environmental dimensions, and an important element of this work is
the exchange of good practices between the municipalities via the
supportive activities of several pan-European city networks.
Focus on Nutrients
Focus on Nutrients is a joint venture between the Swedish Board of Agriculture,
the County Administration Boards, the Federation of Swedish Farmers and a
number of companies in the farming business. Focus on Nutrients is the largest
single undertaking in Sweden to reduce losses of nutrients to air and water from
livestock and crop production. The project takes the form of a campaign to
provide training and advice and its name reflects the project’s aim of
encompassing the entire flow of nutrients on the farm. The background to the
project is the new Swedish national goals for environmental quality.
The purpose of the project is to:
 reduce losses of nitrate from farmlands
 reduce ammonia emissions from manure
 reduce losses of phosphorus from farmlands
 avoid spreading of pesticides into surface and groundwater
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In order to fulfill these objectives the project works with increasing nutrient
management efficiency on the farms by increasing awareness and knowledge.
The farmer is in focus and therefore the core of the project is education and
advising by individual visits by farm advisers.
4.2 Other members and Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects
AGORA 1 and 2
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The AGORA-project proved that sustainable rural tourism can produce
economically profitable outcomes without compromising ecological values.
Tourism is a highly cross-sectoral field, and the AGORA project had 4
working groups which investigated specifically: 1) tourism and farms; 2)
tourism and nature; 3) tourism and culture; 4) tourism and IT
Sustainability must also be seen in terms of developing and creating
products in rural areas, such as jobs and tourism products. This will be
taken into consideration in the AGORA follow-up project.
A.S.A.P.
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The dynamics and specifics of rural development require administrations
which are able and willing to detect people’s needs and to continuously
adjust their scope of action, both across sectors and levels. More than
other institutions, local and regional authorities in rural areas are
committed to the quality of life and life of their population which makes
them natural agents and a key resource for sustainable rural development.
The A.S.A.P. project addressed the comprehensive development of rural
areas in demographic transition by using an integrated approach based on
adapted administrative government structures and strategies. It included a
broad investigation on human development potentials and effective
administration structures.
A.S.A.P. developed examples for the usage of e-governance in rural areas
A.S.A.P. also promoted the dynamic interaction of universities and rural
areas.
Key partners of the A.S.A.P. preparing a follow-up project ReMode. This
would develop further tools for the application of e-government services
for rural areas.
Further development of e-services would be expected to decrease
transport needs and contribute positively to the attractiveness and quality
of life of rural areas, as well as advance social equity by overcoming the
“digital gap” found between urban and rural areas.
Baltic University Programme
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The Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture (EHSA) project is
producing a comprehensive course for undergraduate and graduate
university education to be offered to higher learning institutions in the
Baltic University Programme (BUP) and Envirovet Baltic networks in the
Baltic Sea (Europe) and Great Lakes (North America) regions.
Three books on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture are being
produced: 1. Land Use and Rural Development; 2. Sustainable
Agriculture; 3. Ecology and Animal Health
Seminars, training courses and teachers conferences are being held.
The Baltic University Programme elaborated and delivered a policy input
into the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum
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Network of experts from local authorities, NGOs and various other
organisations around the Baltic Sea who share a dedication to sustainable
development.
Established to implement the Rio Process at the local and regional level
and thus to strengthen and support Local Agenda 21 processes in all
countries in the Baltic Sea Region.
Continuous action to encourage the local level to carry out sustainable
development and to find out means to protect the Baltic Sea. BLA21F
aims at creating an active co-operation network to put the Rio Process into
practice.
BSR Bioenergy Promotion project
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The Baltic 21 strategic project for the mobilization of the bio-energy
potential of the Baltic Sea Region, as prepared by the Working Group Bioenergy (WGBE) targets decision makers on national, regional and local
level (political, public administrative, private stakeholders)
The project aims at promoting the sustainable use of bio-energy in the
Baltic Sea Region by connecting the bio-energy potential of the Baltic Sea
Region. The project has been running one year (out of three years).The
project is mentioned as one of the flagship projects in the latest version of
the EU BSR Action Plan, which means high political recognition.
The project will develop a major BSR wide platform for cross-sectoral and
transnational networking to facilitate information and knowledge
exchange, coordinated policy development and design and application of
bio-energy promoting instruments
Coalition Clean Baltic
Input still pending.
Eco-region project
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The overall objective of the Eco-region project is to contribute to developing the
Baltic Sea Region into the world’s first EcoRegion. The project works with 10
experienced model EcoRegions from a majority of the BSR countries. These
regions are preparing strategic plans showing the sustainable development
targets for their region and realise a selected set of concrete measures. For the
identification of priorities and needs the Model EcoRegions conduct a planning
and management process based on the Aalborg Commitments. Moreover, the
regions are supported in the realization of sectoral measures through sectorregional and inter-regional exchange. Several project partners represent many
different Sectors and they are responsible for collecting, evaluating and
documenting good practices on how to foster sustainable development. All
Sectors are dealing closely with issues highly relevant to sustainable urban and
rural development not only in the good practice database but also in conducting
workshops, studies, thematic periodicals.
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
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ICLEI is an international association of local governments as well as
national and regional local government organisations that have made a
commitment to sustainable development.
Worldwide over 1107 cities, counties and their associations are ICLEI’s
members. It co-operates with its members and hundreds of other local
governments through international performance-based, result-oriented
campaigns and programs.
ICLEI is and has been involved in several projects and programs in BSR
too, and many BSR cities are active members of ICLEI.
ICLEI also provides technical consulting, training and information services
to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local governments in the
implementation of sustainable development at the local level.
Keep Baltic Tidy / Keep Sweden Tidy
Keep Baltic Tidy and Keep Sweden Tidy’s activities aim to address and reduce
marine pollution, including litter, so that good environmental status can be
achieved. Keep Baltic Tidy will maintain and strengthen established networks
and initiate cooperation with new actors, gathering Best Practices. Activities
include raising public awareness on the negative effects of marine litter.
A goal is to have municipalities, national authorities and transnational
organisations, in the region, introduced to common tools and best practice for
dealing with marine litter related issues. Main targets groups are municipalities,
boat owners, marinas, fishermen, teachers and pupils, coastal accommodations.
UBC Commission on Environment and Sustainable Development
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Union of the Baltic Cities, Commission on Environment and Sustainable
Development, has several on-going and already completed projects
aiming to foster interaction between urban and rural areas in the Baltic
Sea Region: NEW BRIDGES, SUSTAINMENT and BUSTRIP.
NEW BRIDGES (2009–2011) project aims to improve the management of
the urban-rural interactions and to strengthen the quality of life within
these interactions. There are certain main elements within urban rural
interactions that influence the quality of life, and thus also the
attractiveness of particular regions as a places to live and work in. These
three elements are residential preferences, mobility and accessibility and
provision of services.
SUSTAINMENT (2006–2008) developed integrated solutions for the
sustainability management in Baltic cities. The project aimed to meet the
needs and challenges of local authorities towards a more integrated
sustainability process. The initiative improved and integrated the work
already done on sustainable development, created in cooperation with the
12 partner cities resource units, Sustainability Management Centres
(SMC) to work with sustainability issues, enabled the abilities of the local
authorities to develop their working methods, skills and personnel in order
to significantly contribute to all the dimensions on sustainable
development. Cross-sectoral co-operation was a key element in the
project.
BUSTRIP (2005–2007) focused on breaking the link between growth in
economic production and the consequent growth of transport. It provided
practical tools for cities to deliver sustainable urban transports. By doing
that it reduced congestion, improved the quality of life and decreased the
environment impacts of transport. The project was the first initiative to
refine, test and implement the EU defined Sustainable Urban Transport
Plans.
World Wildlife Fund
Input still pending.
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5. Review of Baltic 21 Action Programmes
Sustainable urban and rural development has been at the core of Baltic 21 since
its inception. Naturally, the Baltic 21 Action Programme from 1998 includes
several references to the issue. Below are a summary of the most relevant parts
from the Action Programme as well as a brief summary of the actions carried out
to implement the specific action.
5.1 Joint Actions
Joint Action 1: Increase production and use of bio-energy and other renewable
energy.
In particular the Action programme highlights the potential of bio-energy from
surpluses from agricultural land or forests. This work was mainly carried out by
the Forest Sector and the BASREC Working Group on Bio-energy. The Forest
Sector even included in its own Action Plan from 2005 a specific objective of
increasing the use of wood as a renewable and environmentally friendly
resource. The BASREC Working Group on Bio-energy and Baltic 21 jointly
developed the Baltic Sea Region Bio-energy Promotion Project as response to
need to increase the production and use of sustainable bio-energy from biomass, see more information above.
Joint Action 3. Establishment of demonstration areas and pilot projects for
providing sustainable development in practice.
In 2004, this action led to the articulation of Baltic 21 Lighthouse Projects, which
are region wide, high visibility projects that demonstrate sustainable development
in practice. So far 9 Baltic 21 Lighthouse project have been implemented and five
are currently on-going and three are pending funding. Many of these projects are
related to the topic of sustainable urban and rural development and have been
described in the previous chapter, see above.
Joint Action 4. City cooperation and sustainable issues in cities and local
communities.
This action has been lead mainly by the UBC and BLA21F and the work of these
networks as regards to city and local level are described in more detail in
previous chapters.
5.2 Sectors and Spatial Planning
As regards to Sector Actions it is mainly those related to Agriculture, Forests and
Spatial Planning that are most relevant for the topic of sustainable urban and
rural development.
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The focus of the Agriculture Sector Action programme was on building
sustainable structures, improving the viability of agriculture in the region and
strengthening farm management with respect to environmental, biodiversity,
landscape, cultural heritage, social and economic issues.
The first action was on education, training and information on sustainable
agriculture where both farmers and consumers were highlighted as important
target groups. The work of the Baltic 21 Agriculture Sector has the last few years
been active to organizing a series of seminars and thereby contributed to
information sharing on a wide range of topics such as the use of fertilisers, the
sustainability of organic farming and the production of crops to be used for
generation of energy. However, the main target groups involved in this work have
been research institutions in the Baltic Sea Region.
Moreover, the Baltic 21 Lighthouse project Ecosytem Health and Sustainable
Agriculture is directly linked to the action to education, training and information on
agriculture since on of the books will focus on sustainable agriculture. Some
extension services and teaching training are also in the pipeline once the book
will be finished in 2010.
The second action to develop a “Virtual Research Institute” for sustainable
agriculture in the Baltic Sea Region was never realised.
Regarding the third action on the elaboration and implementation of agroenvironmental legislation and policies is very difficult to see how the Baltic 21 has
contributed to at the national level. However, Baltic 21 contributed to the Highlevel Meeting of Representatives of Ministries of Agriculture and Environment in
2007. As a policy input to this meeting, Baltic 21 provided 21 actions. Moreover,
the meeting was also the starting point for Baltic 21’s more coordinated work on
sustainable rural development under the slogan “Save the Sea on Land”.
The focus of the original forest action programme from 1998 was on the
sustainable development of the forests in regional cooperation. The programme
built upon education and exchange projects, model projects, market tools, public
awareness campaigns, publication and seminars. In 2005, a new revised Forest
Action Plan was developed with more focus on sustainable forest management
concept. The Action Plan highlighted sustainable private forestry, multiple use of
forests, transparent timber flow in the Baltic Sea Region and an increase use of
wood as a renewable and environmentally friendly resource.
Some of the activities carried out by the Forest Sector the last five years include:

The Baltic 21 Forest Sector developed a Baltic 21 Lighthouse project
Baltic Forest and follow up project Baltic Landscapes.
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

Baltic Landscapes is currently seeking funding with the aim of advancing
sustainable forest and landscape management and multiple use of forests
in co-operation with different levels and sectors of administration as well
as stakeholders.
Forest in School seminars to share experiences on the use of forest as a
learning tool in schools.
The Lead Partner for Spatial Planning has been VASAB and the focus of the
interaction between Baltic 21 and VASAB has been on sustainable spatial
planning. Particular focus has been on the actions related to integrated costal
zone management and input to European spatial planning documents. On the
project side, VASAB has ensured participation of spatial planning experts in the
development of strategic projects on balanced urban-rural management.
Between 2006 and 2009 VASAB focused on the preparation of the Long Term
Perspective for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region. In
cooperation with regional authorities and other stakeholders VASAB identified
the most important regional development assets, integrative trends and main
global processes influencing our long-term spatial development, underlined
common interests and potential conflict areas, illustrated the Region in a 15-20
year perspective, developed tools to guide and coordinate spatial development
policies to improve our integration of the Region and specified the most important
actions to be taken in the Region in order to strengthen our territorial
development and cohesion in the long term.
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6. Recommendations
During the process of developing this paper many ideas of actions have been
collected, mainly from Baltic 21 Lighthouse project partners, representatives of
the former Baltic 21 Sectors and organisations such as UBC, VASAB, BUP and
Keep Baltic Tidy that already have rich competency and experience working on
sustainable urban and rural development.
During the Stakeholder Event on the Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015 organised on
28 January 2010 in Växjö several ideas were proposed. Below you will see a
summary of a majority of the ideas for action that has been collected.
It is not feasible to include all action ideas in the Baltic 21 Strategy. However,
those action ideas that are not recommended to the Strategy will nevertheless be
included in the portfolio of actions. This is a comprehensive pool of actions and
project ideas as well as concrete actions that will be carried out in already ongoing Baltic 21 Lighthouse projects.
6.1 Actions for the Baltic 21 Strategy 2010-2015
The report recommends the following actions to be included in the Baltic 21
Strategy 2010-2015 (the following list does not imply any priorities):
6. Promote better management of urban-rural interactions
Understanding of residential preferences, mobility and accessibility patterns and
provision of services in both urban and rural areas are key elements for improving the
quality of life of people living in the Baltic Sea Region. We will support efforts to improve
the management of urban-rural interactions by the production of handbook on the
concept of quality of life, management plans for urban-rural interactions in a handful of
city –regions and new planning tools.
7. Promote initiatives on integrated management of natural resources
Forested and agricultural landscapes are currently being used more intensively than ever
before. This development is happening without sufficient cooperation and coordination
among relevant stakeholders, leading to conflicts and to the unsustainable use of the
resources. We will create programs and initiatives to support integrated management of
natural resources, and thereby contribute to sustainable forest management and
sustainable agricultural practices.
8. Improve the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region based on natural and
cultural heritage
The awareness and knowledge about the rich natural and cultural potential in the region
can be improved, in particular in rural areas. We will support efforts to develop
commonly-branded heritage tourism in a sustainable way, and to promote that tourism
throughout the region.
9. Promote best practices in tackling marine litter
A wider employment of such methods as "fishing for litter" and removing lost fishing nets
will significantly contribute to a cleaner marine environment, including the protection of
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biological diversity. We will support initiatives that raise awareness of the growing
problem of marine littering in the Baltic Sea and that take high-visibility steps to reduce
the problem.
10. Facilitate an exchange of lessons learned at the local and sub-regional levels on
sustainable urban and rural development
Municipalities and sub-regions in the Baltic Sea Region have been working for more than
a decade with sustainable urban and rural development. However, the rich experience
and lessons learned are often not transferred to the national, regional and international
policy dialogue. We will provide a forum for the local and sub-regional voices to be heard,
and seek to make their good examples more visible and more likely to be duplicated and
adapted around the Region.
6.2 Other action ideas
The report recommends the following actions to be included in the Baltic 21
portfolio of actions. They have been grouped under the actions suggested for the
Strategy. This is the main pool of ideas for activities to be supported by the Baltic
21 Expert Group on Sustainable Development – Baltic 21. However, these ideas
for actions are just a starting point. It is suggested that the portfolio of action
should be a living document, regularly updated and reviewed.
Promoting better management of urban-rural interactions
Promoting the Quality of Life concept and the better management of urban-rural
interactions in regional planning and spreading good practices in urban-rural
interactions.
Commissioning a study on special service provisions for populations in ageing
and depopulated rural and peripheral areas of the Baltic Sea Region.
Promoting a Wireless Local Area Network throughout the Baltic Sea Region and
thereby bridge the existing digital gap between urban and rural areas.
Promoting initiatives on integrated management of natural resources
Promoting education and increasing the knowledge on ecosystem health and
sustainable agriculture by offering courses to students at universities in the Baltic
Sea Region.
Supporting advisory services to farmers by promoting education and training on
ecosystem health and sustainable agriculture.
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Facilitating knowledge and research exchange on sustainable agriculture
practices as well as on water and soil protection and animal welfare and health
by organizing seminars and building of cross-sectoral partnerships.
Supporting initiatives, such as the Biosphere Reserves and Model Forests,
focused on developing integrated management of natural resources through
addressing the landscape perspective and building cross-sectoral partnerships.
Promoting sustainable bio-energy by facilitating national allocation plans which
include sustainability check and cross-sectoral work between agriculture, forestry
and energy sectors.
Supporting the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan through
active participation in its Implementation Group and in particular on the issue of
sustainable rural development.
Encouraging efforts to ensure long-term spatial development and the cohesion of
the Baltic Sea Region and foster synergies with activities of other pan-Baltic
organizations implementing VASAB’s Long-Term Perspective for the Territorial
Development.
Improving the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region based on natural
and cultural heritage
Contributing to the successful implementation of EU BSR Strategy flagship
projects: “Attract tourists to rural areas especially the coastal ones”; “Promote the
cultural heritage and the unique landscapes”; and, “Develop strategies for a
sustainable tourism”.
Improving the possibilities of additional income for rural population and to avoid
unsustainable development in suburban regions.
Facilitating an exchange of lessons learned at the local and sub-regional
levels on sustainable urban and rural development
Enhancing participation of inhabitants in local policy making concerning
sustainable urban and rural development.
Sharing lessons learned from the 10 regions involved in the Eco-region project
on how to prepare strategic plans and setting targets at the local and/or subregional level using the working method of integrated sustainability management
cycle.
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