First draft submitted 3rd March 2006
The Baltic 21 Action Programme and its reflection in Interreg projects
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- Use of regional fora and networks for sustainable development
- Establishment of demonstration areas and pilot projects for proving sustainable development in practice
- City co-operation and sustainable development issues in cities and communities
- Procurement of technologies for sustainable development
- Information for sustainable development
- Increasing consumer awareness of sustainable development
The Baltic 21 Action Programme and its reflection in Interreg projectsJoint Action relevant Interreg projectsIncreased production and use of bioenergy and other renewable energySupporting the increased production and use of bioenergy is at the heart of only a few, but very targeted INTERREG projects. Many of them are still ongoing so that the ultimate results can only be evaluated at a later stage. Within the Bioenergy Technology Transfer Network bioenergy strategies have been developed for the participating regions from Finland, Norway and Germany and a few pilot actions implemented. A student training package on wood energy has been facilitated and most importantly a network of Bioenergy Development Centres created. The ET Bioenergy Project deals with the economic implications of bioenergy utilisation. By assessing the business opportunities created by bioenergy utilisation in a number of pilot regions and drawing up realistic investment plans in this area, the project shall foster the increased use of bioenergy. Also the Baltic Biomass Network (ongoing) shall facilitate bioenergy investments. The project is, however, focused more strongly on the spatial planning implications and current biomass resource bottlenecks. It will result in new (GIS based) decision-making tools and policy recommendations also to be transferred to other regions throughout the BSR. In addition to supporting measures for energy crops, the facilitation of wind energy has been tackled by some Interreg projects as well. Due to its focus on spatial planning issues the BaltCoast project is covered under actions in that sector (see chapter 3.3). Most notably the BSR Wind Energy project has led to the Baltic Wind network, which bridges the know-how gap in this field between W-BSR and E-BSR countries. The use of energy crops from forests and forest residues has so far only been touched upon by forest sector specific projects (see 3.2.4) and are thus not covered under this Joint Action. Within the Bioenergy Technology Transfer Network -Project (BTN) (2002-2005) the current resources, production and use of bioenergy and resulting bottlenecks in the chain of bio energy utilization in the partner regions have been analysed. On this basis regional bioenergy strategies and development plans (i.e. Hadeland/Norway as an outstanding bioenergy region) have been prepared, international bioenergy training programme carried out (i.e. one-year student training programme on wood energy implemented 2004-2005 in Norway/Finland) and pilot actions and technology transfer projects resulting in more efficient fuel and heat production methods and technology implemented. As a result, the bioenergy markets have developed in participating regions. The project has led to the creation of a network of regional Bioenergy Development Centres in Finland, Norway, Brandenburg/ Germany (BDC-Network: www.bdc-network.jypoly.fi) The aim of the Emission Trading Bioenergy Project (2005-2007) is to define and evaluate different business concepts in the area of bioenergy utilisation. As the price level of biofuels is differs throughout the BSR, it may be economically viable to create a framework for international trade for products like wood fuel, energy or emission allowances. The purpose of the project is to find win-win opportunities to the benefit of both exporting and importing countries/regions. The project will show opportunities for feasible investments and estimate their socio-economic impacts in selected case regions (Finland, Germany, Estonia, Poland). Business areas like fuel production and transport, equipment manufacturing and maintenance, plant construction, as well as energy production and use might be positively effected. Forestry and agriculture might benefit from new value and utilisation options for their by-products. The tentative investment plans are to be used in regional development by local authorities as well as by potential investors. The Baltic Biomass Network (2005-2007) (www.balticbiomass.com) project works at a regional, spatial planning level with local authorities, biomass producers and bioenergy investors in drawing up optimal GIS based biomass production schemes for mobilising biomass resources and planning sustainable bioenergy investment projects. The Network does this by developing regional bio-energy development scenarios considering local and international market chances, new technologies, and biomass product lines, environmental, land- and resource use conflicts as well as the implications of GAP reforms and EU bio-energy directives. The BBN has selected 6 model regions (in Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania Estonia and Finland). By visualising future energy landscapes and identifying suitable areas for energy crop production and solid bio-fuel recovery the BBN will provide decision making tools for biomass production and bio-energy development and develop harmonised spatial planning assessment indicators for evaluating bio-energy impact and potential. BBN will develop simple, replicable and harmonised methods for resource planning for bio-energy investment projects and for integrating alternative cropping and solid bio-fuel harvesting systems in existing land-use systems. The aim of the Wind Energy in the BSR Project (2002 – 2005) project was to alleviate the extreme disparities in development and experiences in the wind energy sector between the Western and the Eastern BSR. As one of its main outputs it has created a permanent BSR-wide wind-energy-network “Baltic Wind” (www.windenergy-in-the-bsr.net). It has created an intranet-based consultation and cooperation point for network members, wind energy online-courses for future specialists (in development, production and service) ending up with an official certificate, guidelines for wind energy planning/investments in E-BSR regions and countries and recommendations for international standards on wind energy planning. Use of regional fora and networks for sustainable developmentNine macro-regions are supported within the INTERREG programme. Their respective geographical coverage as well as their main activity fields are shown in the tables below. As can be seen from these tables all macro-regions have developed specific activities relevant to the Baltic 21 sectors such as agriculture, transport, tourism, education and energy. These activities – if relevant to sustainable development – have therefore also been taken into account under those actions. Each macro-region action plan aims towards the overall sustainable development of the respective region and therefore touches upon its three pillars – economy, environment and social aspects – in various sets of activities and pilot projects. At the same time, however, those activities seem to evolve in most projects rather independently from each other. Only one project (Seagull) has actually developed indicators to measure sustainable development within its macro-region and another project (ViaBalticaNordica) has drawn attention to the overall synergies between its three sectors chosen, i.e. railway, tourism and GIS. Whereas some of the macro-regions focus their activities mainly on reports/studies, others have concentrated on pilot activities. These activities are, however, rather limited in scope (i.e. one ecological farming workshop in one village or one tourism route brochure) with probably correspondingly rather limited impact unless these activities are picked up on a much large scale by other communities/regions as well. Even though most of the projects have therefore to some extend furthered the implementation of the Baltic 21 Action Programme, they can only be seen as a tiny element towards achieving the specific sectoral and even more the general goals of Baltic 21. Nevertheless this INTERREG facility has certainly offered a unique opportunity for the creation of such regional fora, increased transnational understanding and the development of strategies, which follow eco-region criteria rather than national borders. Table 1: Overview on Macro-regional INTERREG projects
Table 2: Geographic Scope of INTERREG macro-region projects Establishment of demonstration areas and pilot projects for proving sustainable development in practiceAs can be seen from Table 6: Overview on SD Results of Finalised INTERREG Projects and Table 7: Overview on expected SD results of ongoing INTERREG projects provided in chapter 4 INTERREG projects often include best practice pilot implementations. As they directly relate to sector or other joint action projects, they have also been mentioned in the respective chapters of this report. Given the current stage of project implementation many of them have, however, not yet been realised and are only at planning stage. The key issue to be noted is, however, not the lack of realised pilot projects, but the lack of a coherent dissemination system of those best practice cases sorted by sectors, countries, etc. At the moment best practices – if documented at all in case studies – remain “locked in” within the individual project structures and dissemination systems. With more than 100 projects and related project websites – access to those best practice cases could and should be organised in a much more user-friendly way as to fulfil the aim of this Joint Action to widely disseminate results to politicians, the business and other professional communities, media and the public. City co-operation and sustainable development issues in cities and communitiesThe INTERREG facility has greatly enhanced the process of city co-operation and strengthened / initiated city networks. Even though not all those projects are devoted to sustainable development issues (such as Defris, ABC and Baltmet Invest5), many of them cover sustainable development among other topics (such as Metropolitan Areas+, MECIB, Sustainable Historic Towns, European Route of Brick Gothic Cities) and issues of co-operation. Some are even exclusively devoted to certain aspects of sustainable development such as the setting up of sustainable urban transport systems and improvement of cross-sectoral cooperation in city administrations. The finalised projects BUUF and MECIBS have mainly resulted in current assessment reports (all available free for download) based on scientifically developed sets of indicators. The highly sustainable development focused projects such as BUSTRIP and SUSTAINMENT are, however, only in their initial phase and have therefore not yet lead to any noticeable policy change, best practice or new SD tools. But it is expected that they will do so in the coming years. Most of the projects, which focus on sustainable development, have either been initiated by the Union of Baltic Cities, which also then acts as the lead partner, or are at least supported by the Union of Baltic Cities as a co-project partner. There are, however, also other parallel initiatives such as the “MECIBS” project (medium sized cities in dialogue) which are not based on the Union of Baltic Cities association but cover sustainable development as well and have – through the creation of Baltic Sea Solutions - resulted in other sustainable development networks for cities of the BSR. The SUSTAINMENT project with UBC as the lead partner (2006-2007) has only recently been approved during the 8th call. The main goal of the project will be to improve cross-sectoral cooperation in city administration in such a way, that it takes into account economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainable development. Sustainment will strengthen the communication between political decision-makers and administrators as well as between municipalities and citizens, NGOs and other stakeholders. The project will also improve information for sustainable development (see 3.1.6) via the organisation of various local events in the participating cities. The ultimate output will be a “Competence Development Package” to be made available to any other city interested in developing a sustainable project portfolio. The BUSTRIP project – also with UBC as the lead partner (2005-2007) supports the participating 12 cities in their preparations of Sustainable Urban Transport Plans. Based on the experience gained with these SUTPs and related pilot actions (i.e. bioenergy use in public transport – thus the project also touches upon 3.1.1, 3.1.3 and 3.1.5) a so-called SUTP toolbox will be prepared drawing on the best practices learnt and methods developed within the project. This toolbox will be made available to any other city interested in restructuring their urban transport plans according to sustainable development criteria. The Baltic University Urban Forum - Implementing Sustainable Development in Urban Areas (short: BUUF) (2003-2006) was a joint initiative of two Baltic 21 members: the Baltic University Programme and the Union of Baltic Cities This cross-sectoral partnership is also reflected in the project activities and target groups: BUUF promotes cooperation between universities and city administrations. The project has focused on sustainable development as the management of limited resources. It has led to sustainability strategies in the following integrated areas of 1) Urban Flows (water/waste/energy), 2) Urban Space (green structures/built environment/transport&traffic) and 3) Human Resources (education/work/social care). Each of these topics has been discussed in best practice conferences, treated in a guidebook and tracked by a set of indicators by each of the participating 20 municipalities. In a following step a region-wide scientific advisory council has then reported back and benchmarked the reports from the various partners. The main outputs (10 guidebooks) will from now on be used in university education as well as seminars for staff from the city administrations. The project MECIBS (2002-2005) established a co-operation and exchange of experience between medium sized cities in the BSR as well as between practice and research. During a series of conferences the cities presented experiences on planning and development and compared them to researchers outlooks on planning practices and development patterns. A solid data base has been established by cities and researchers whereby cities produced urban profiles on key statistics and key subjects, which – together with interviews – were used by the researchers for comparative and case studies. As a result MECIBS has produced an extensive series of case studies, urban profiles, policy options and recommendations on restructuring of medium sized cities in general as well as specific topics (* Socio-economic regeneration, * Regional enlargement, * Urban planning for transformation, * Business and development strategies, * City branding, * Cultural policy and urban development, * Public participation in urban planning and strategies, * Sustainable development * Regional impacts of economic integration) all to be downloaded for free from www.MECIBS.dk. Specific publication include: * Business clusters in spatial planning. Three Danish case studies. Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, Frederiksberg / * Cities of the Baltic Sea Region - Development Trends at the Turn of the Millennium to be ordered from www.nordregio.se Furthermore MECIB has resulted in the creation of the Baltic Sea Solution network, which wants to develop new and innovative approaches to sustainable development for peripheral regions in the Baltic Sea Region Procurement of technologies for sustainable developmentDespite the fact that numerous projects are dealing with business and economic promotion measures, procurement of environmentally sound technology is only a minor side-effect of some more recently approved projects, which deal with some of the potential areas for regional procurement mentioned in the Baltic 21 Action programme. Examples include the Bioenergy Technology Transfer Network (renewable energy), BUSTRIP (city buses) and BEEN (building materials). Overall the topic of developing procurement policies as a means to stimulate development and dissemination of environmentally sound technology to advance sustainable development has not been dealt with in any kind of coherent way within the INTERREG programme framework, which is not surprising as any kind of specific project might have only been covered by measures 2.3 or measure 3.1. Information for sustainable developmentThe objective of this joint action is to establish an indicator-based information and reporting framework for the BSR, which should ensure the timely provision of data for sector and overall indicators on sustainable development and assessments thereof and consequently enable monitoring of Baltic 21 and other efforts. Actually all INTERREG projects – through the establishment of transnational networks and know-how exchange mechanisms – greatly enhance the general exchange of information throughout the BSR in various field. Nevertheless as mentioned above (see 1.2) it was already noted by the INTERREG Ex-Ante Evaluation that the “use and meaning of sustainable development varies throughout the programme”. Also the subsequent implementation of the programme has not yet lead to the development of a comprehensive set of indicator-based data and information exchange framework. Nevertheless it should be noted that INTERREG contributes to the goal of this Joint Action in numerous more narrowly defined fields: Especially in the area of maritime cooperation and management of cultural heritage some INTERREG projects have started to establish indicator-based information and reporting frameworks for the BSR. These are often based on new information technology methods (esp. GIS), which are well suited to promote a fast and efficient transnational information exchange mechanism and can respond quickly to changing parameters. Baltic Haz Control and BaltCoast have probably been the most comprehensive projects for generating and collecting data and establishing indicators on specific topics (HazardousWaste; Offshore activities), whereas other projects have focused more on developing new presentation tools which facilitate decision making (SEAREG, SEBCo, Biomass Network, etc.). Furthermore many transport related sectors have and are using GIS methods to develop various impact assessment tools for cross-border transport initiatives and many of the spatial planning related projects also include improved tools for information exchange and decision making. Most notably the COMMIN project aims to create and promote a reliable linguistic basis and common planning systems and approaches for spatial planners throughout the BSR to be published via an e-portal and information system. The objective of the COMMIN (2004-2007) project is to create and promote a reliable linguistic basis from which all BSR countries can work, harmonizing in English, for example, the use and meaning of the most relevant planning terms specific to the BSR. The project will produce an e-portal and information system related to the handling of spatial planning and regional development in the Baltic Sea States. This system will be available in all BSR languages and in English. Secondly, it will promote training sessions in addition to setting the foundations for a more permanent network of further education in the BSR. And thirdly, it will encourage greater knowledge-transfer activities and the publication of ‘good practice’ examples for decision-makers. The project Baltic Haz Control (2004-2007) aims towards the development and implementation of high-quality data waste stream data and a transnational monitoring system for hazardous waste streams in the Baltic Sea Region. For this purpose the project pursues the following activities: regional mapping of hazardous waste streams (HazWaste Inventories); implementation of EU waste legislation into national regulations; aligned BSR hazwaste data management with uniform monitoring, waste tracking and reporting systems (design of digital interactive GIS-based waste communication platform visualising waste streams in the BSR and facilitate future regional hazwaste management); listing and assessment of capacities of hazardous waste facilities within the BSR and establishment of the Baltic Waste Management Council to oversee ongoing implementation of the coordination initiative. Probably the most comprehensive progress in improving information exchange in sustainable development has been achieved by the Baltic 21 Lighthouse Project BaltCoast (2002-2005). It lead to the creation of the very first GIS based (map) overview on the current state and possible future plans of offshore activities in the various countries. In some parts data has been newly generated for this purpose. The project has established procedures for the continuous exchange of GIS formatted information beyond the project duration. The project SEAREG (2002-2005) presented results of climate modelling and subsequent changing shorelines and flood prone area calculations to end-users (such as planners and stakeholders). Within the framework of this project a tool to support the communication and decision making process was developed. A follow-up project ASTRA (2005-2007) focuses on other impacts of climate change on hazards, i.e. terrestrial floods, droughts, storms, extreme temperatures, etc. Increasing consumer awareness of sustainable developmentMany projects – especially those related to maritime (i.e. LHP projects: BalticSeaBreeze, NewHansa, Balance), education (i.e. BUUF) and sustainable tourism issues – include initiatives, which lead to increased public awareness on sustainable development issues. None of them tackle, however, the more specific field of increased consumer awareness and improved consumer information. Those fields have only partly been covered by some focused activities within the regional projects (i.e. Baltic+). Actually even the overall strategic objectives of the INTERREG programme can quite easily be interpreted in such a way as to cover also the topic of this Joint Action, it has to be noted that it is difficult to see where it could have been reflected more strongly within each of the priorities and measures. Overall – as can also be seen from the assessment of INTERREG projects covering education sector actions – INTERREG has so far not made a great contribution towards such activities as increasing public awareness of sustainable development regarding industrial activities and products, strengthening public education and increasing knowledge of sustainable development or implementing eco-labelling systems. 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