Baltic Sea Day (22/03)

The decision to celebrate Baltic Sea Day annually was made in 1986 at the 17th meeting of the Helsinki Convention. And the date of March 22 was chosen due to the fact that on this day in 1974 this convention itself was signed.

The history of the emergence and development of the Baltic Sea, located in northern Europe and belonging to the Atlantic Ocean basin, began with the retreat of the last Valdai Glacier approximately 15 thousand years ago, when the edge of the glacier stretched along the southern border.

The size of the glacier was enormous — its thickness reached more than a kilometer, and when it retreated, it smoothed out the hills along its way, scratching hard rocks and taking with it a lot of loose material, crushed stone and boulders.

At the same time, the ice turned into huge masses of water, the ocean level rose, and a series of pre-glacial lakes appeared. As the glacier retreated, the lakes united into a single Baltic glacial lake; it was very cold, even icebergs floated in it.

From ancient times until the 18th century, the Baltic Sea was called the «Varangian Sea» in Russia. The average depth of the Baltic Sea is approximately 51 meters, and the greatest — is 470 meters.

Today the Baltic Sea — is the most important transport corridor connecting Russia, Europe and Asia. It washes the shores of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In recent years, however, environmentalists have argued that this water corridor is littered with garbage and is in dire need of cleaning.

It was to attract public attention to the issues of preserving the ecology of this important natural site on the planet that Baltic Sea Day was established, when many countries traditionally host various scientific, educational and environmental events.

Today the Baltic Sea — is the most important transport corridor connecting Russia, Europe and Asia (Photo: Robert Rozbora, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

Thus, in Russia, the celebration of Baltic Sea Day takes place in St. Petersburg, where the organizers and initiators of events within the framework of the Day are public environmental organizations with the active support of government and business representatives.

In addition to traditional international video conferences, exhibitions, school and student work competitions dedicated to the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea, the International Environmental Forum of the same name — «Baltic Sea Day» is also held here, within the framework of which serious discussions of the region’s problems take place, the search for ways to solve them, exchange experience representatives of different countries. Moreover, not only residents of the Baltic region and the European continent, but also representatives of other countries take part in the St. Petersburg Forum. After all, the main goal of all ongoing events is the preservation of the unique historical natural and cultural ensemble of the Baltic Sea.

It should also be noted that March 22 marks another important «water» environmental date — World Water Day.



• Infographics – poster «22 March — Baltic Sea Day»

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