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Innovative societies Water-smart societies Climate-neutral societies 

Interreg makes
a difference!

Explore how people in the Baltic Sea region have been benefitting
from our projects.

#MadeWithInterreg solutions for

Cleaner waters

Cleaner waters thanks to viable monitoring system, new methods for removing micropollutants from wastewater and sharing knowledge

What are we doing?

Coordinated actions are the key to cleaning Baltic Sea waters efficiently. Interreg projects that bring people together across sectors and countries stand behind many of them. Not only do they introduce new systemic methods to clean wastewater, but also ensure the spread of knowledge of those methods in the region. Trust in project recommendations directly translates into new policies and investments. In a long run, cooperation in projects exceeds original partnerships and builds grounds for new initiatives and actions to respond to arising challenges.

Examples of #MadeWithInterreg solutions:
  • a platform collecting best practices in smart water operations
  • a risk assessment system to monitor concentrations of micropollutants
  • novel methods to clean wastewater from micropollutants, e.g. pharmaceuticals
  • new technologies to reduce phosphorus losses
  • enhanced water treatment to improve water quality in lakes

 

What we’ve achieved so far? 

The Baltic Sea is one of the most heavily eutrophicated seas in the world. Interreg projects helped improve wastewater treatment, which is one of the factors influencing eutrophication. At the beginning of the 2000s, more than 20 cities collected best practices in water management and shared them with other city administrations around the Baltic Sea region. In 2009-2013, projects showcased that it was possible to reduce discharges of nutrients from wastewater treatment facilities to the level set in the Baltic Sea Action Plan of HELCOM. The HELCOM Action Plan targets were stricter than the EU requirement.

In 2016-2021, projects in cities and villages focused on improving the treatment of wastewater from residents and industries. Partners in projects tested new technologies that increased nutrient removal and reduced energy consumption in cities such as Daugavpils, Gdańsk, Tartu, Jūrmala, Kaunas, and Grevesmühlen. Rural municipalities benefitted from solutions like septic tanks and soil infiltration in Kolgaküla, Gennarby, Ainaži, and Leitgiriai. In other projects, partners tested the pre-treatment of wastewater at poultry, meat, and dairy factories in Leszno, Doruchów, Põltsamaa, and Jelgava. Following this joint work, the partners synthesised more than a hundred examples of smart water operations. Using this knowledge, they helped develop the new Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy of HELCOM, and revise the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. These two strategic documents help achieve a healthy state of the Baltic Sea.

 

Ongoing projects

The ongoing projects explore new methods to clean wastewater more efficiently and better monitor concentrations of harmful substances and micropollutants in water environments. They address various stages of water management, starting from pollution prevention at its source, extending to robust monitoring and risk assessment practices, and culminating in the adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies. The projects aim to influence policy-making processes and implement practical measures for long-term improvements.

 

Supporting the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region 

Our projects play a vital role in achieving the ambitious goals of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) to save the Baltic Sea. In collaboration with the coordinators of the EUSBSR policy areas Nutri, Bioeconomy, Hazards, and Tourism, our projects make water and wastewater management more efficient and less resource-intensive in cities, rural areas, and tourist destinations. Together, our projects and the EUSBSR coordinators drive changes in water-related policies in our region, ensuring that the outcomes of our projects are integrated into legislation and continue to contribute to clearer, cleaner waters in the region.

 

Explore project solutions in more detail:

EMPEREST

Eliminating Micro-Pollutants from Effluents for REuse STrategies
The project EMPEREST tests advanced treatment technology that helps water utilities and companies better remove organic micropollutants such as PFAS or pharmaceuticals from wastewater.
Read more about the project

APRIORA

Improved risk assessment for strategic water management to reduce micro-pollutant emissions in the Baltic Sea Region
In the project APRIORA, environmental protection agencies and wastewater treatment plants get equipped with a GIS-based risk assessment system to monitor and model concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in order to improve water management and reduce emissions.
Read more about the project

BEACON

Application of biological effects methods in monitoring and assessment of contaminants in the Baltic Sea
In the project BEACON, public authorities and governmental organisations develop harmonised methods to assess contamination in the Baltic Sea waters, sediment and biota.
Read more about the project

AdvIQwater

Improving quality of BSR waters by advanced treatment processes
The project AdvIQwater tests photocatalysis, fungal treatment and biofilms methods to efficiently clean wastewaters from pharmaceuticals.
Read more about the project

NonHazCity 3

Reducing hazardous substances in construction to safeguard the aquatic environment, protect human health and achieve more sustainable buildings
The project NonHazCity 3 helps municipalities, entrepreneurs and individuals construct and renovate buildings with tox-free materials in order to protect health and the environment.
Read more about the project

TRUST ALUM

Building trust in target groups for ALUM treatment - an effective, yet misunderstood method for water quality improvement
The project TRUST ALUM helps public authorities in the Baltic countries make better use of ALUM water treatment and improve water quality in lakes.
Read more about the project

MUNIMAP

Baltic Sea Munitions Remediation Roadmap
The project MUNIMAP develops a legal and administrative framework for public authorities to initiate joint remediation of dumped munitions from the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak, which pose threats to the marine ecosystem and hinder the maritime economy.
Read more about the project

Capacity4MSP

Strengthening the capacity of MSP stakeholders and decision makers
Knowledge collected by Interreg, Horizon and other EU-funded projects helped maritime spatial planners review the implementation of national maritime spatial plans and set baselines for a coherent MSP across the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

VillageWaters

Water emissions and their reduction in village communities – villages in Baltic Sea Region as pilots
The Interreg project Village Waters produced comprehensive knowledge about technical solutions for cleaning waste water in the countryside and successfully made it available to municipal officials, home owners and companies - now they can improve the waste water treatment and comply with EU directives also where large waste water treatment facilities are missing.
Read more about the project

BATS

Baltic Sea region Active mobiliTy Solutions - in darkness and all weather conditions
The project BATS helps local authorities plan and set up suitable infrastructure for year-round walking and cycling, and build an active mobility culture among people, as a green and healthy transport option regardless of the season.
Read more about the project

TENTacle

TENTacle - Capitalising on TEN-T core network corridors for prosperity, growth and cohesion
The Interreg project TENTacle equipped public authorities and industry around the Baltic Sea with recommendations on how to benefit from the core transport network corridors in order to boost prosperity and growth around the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

REVITALISE HERITAGE

Architectural & Landscape Heritage as a Driver for Economic, Cultural and Community Development in Peripheral Regions
Architectural and landscape heritage is an expression of history, and it helps us to understand the relevance of the past to contemporary life and cultural identities. Despite their potential, many heritage places remain underused – in particular in peripheral regions. REVITALISE HERITAGE aims at empowering peripheral communities across the Baltic Sea region to transform underused heritage sites into interventions for economic, cultural and community development – and promote these approaches to potential adopters and decision-makers through media, film and gaming.
Read more about the project

MI-RAP

Music Industry Resilience Acceleration Programme
The project MI-RAP helps local authorities, sectoral agencies and business support organisations attract fresh talents to the music industry, while ensuring more cross-sectoral cooperation and integration of emerging technologies and green practices at the same time.
Read more about the project

ConnectedByBiobord

Biobord open innovation platform connecting bioeconomy developers in BSR
The project upgraded and extended the earlier developed digital innovation platform for bioeconomy developers Biobord.
Read more about the project

Climate-4-CAST

A Climate Action decision Support Tool to accelerate cities’ progress towards climate neutrality
Climate-4-CAST provides local public authorities with an open-source Decision Support Tool to plan climate-smart public budgets, model action scenarios with climate neutrality measures, and track progress toward climate goals.
Read more about the project

Co2mmunity

Co-producing and co-financing renewable community energy projects
The Interreg project Co2mmunity helped municipalities, regional energy planning agencies and citizens’ associations across the Baltic Sea region to implement community energy projects and ultimately move towards renewable energy sources.
Read more about the project

CEforestry

Innovation in forestry biomass residue processing: towards circular forestry with added value products
The project CEforestry establishes cooperation among researchers, SMEs and large companies to support industrial symbiosis using forestry biomass residues in a more efficient way.
Read more about the project

cities.multimodal

Cities.multimodal – urban transport system in transition towards low carbon mobility
The Interreg project cities.multimodal presented environmentally friendly alternatives to driving, enhanced sustainable urban mobility planning for multimodal transport in ten cities and introduced six mobility points and smartphone-based travel planning.
Read more about the project

Baltic Sea Food

Baltic Sea Food
The Interreg project Baltic Sea Food developed a new business model for business-to-business (B2B) distribution in the local food sector and helped small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas to improve business performance.
Read more about the project

Blue Supply Chains

Blue Supply Chains for a better integration of Motorways of the Sea and Inland Waterways
Blue Supply Chains is about achieving climate neutrality in the shipping sector. Utilising the potential of inland waterway, short sea shipping and railway transport plays a crucial role in decarbonising freight transport in the Baltic Sea region. This requires intensified actions by ports and transport operators. The projects aims at reducing CO2 emissions from freight transport in two ways: 1. Supporting a modal shift from road to more environmentally friendly modes such as rail or waterway and 2. Improving the CO2 balance of rail and especially waterborne transport through the implementation of new technologies.
Read more about the project

CWPharma

Clear waters from pharmaceuticals
Seven countries across the region joined CWPharma to reduce pharmaceutical emissions released to waters of the Baltic Sea and improve water quality and biodiversity in the marine space.
Read more about the project

REPHIRA

Reduction of Pharmaceutical Emissions from Dispersed Point Sources in Rural Areas
Pharmaceuticals are essential for health care but difficult to remove from our waste waters. The Baltic Sea receives constantly loads not only emitted in the coastal areas but also within the catchment areas. In these rural areas, many small point sources accumulate and may pose a risk to the environment. The project attempts to identify, quantify and evaluate the pharmaceutical loads as well as developing an approach to prioritize point sources regarding advanced treatment technologies.
Read more about the project

ENGAGE Islands

Enabling Green Action and Growth for Everyone
The project ENGAGE Islands helps public authorities, educational institutions and business support organisations in peripheral and island regions better engage local communities, making the benefits of green investments more visible through stronger local economies, new opportunities for youth and more inclusive communities.
Read more about the project

MAMBA

Maximised Mobility and Accessibility of Services in Regions Affected by Demographic Change
The Interreg project MAMBA introduced innovative mobility solutions making public transport, welfare services and goods delivery more convenient and accessible in rural areas across the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

IWAMA

Interactive WAter MAnagement
The Interreg project IWAMA equipped waste water managers with new audit tools and a durable platform for life-long learning and exchange so that they can better protect our environment, in particular by optimising the energy use and sludge management of waste water treatment plants.
Read more about the project

Light in the Dark

Light in the Dark – Increasing resilience in rural and coastal tourism in the northern Baltic Sea Region by developing off-season experiences
The project Light in the Dark helps small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector create an off-season nature-based offer to attract tourists to rural and coastal areas of the northern Baltic Sea region all year long.
Read more about the project

Blue Supply Chains

Blue Supply Chains for the Baltic Sea Region
The Blue Supply Chains project supports port authorities and port operators to decarbonise port operations by advancing electrification, providing alternative fuels strategies and setting up green transport chains.
Read more about the project

Distance LAB

Distance LAB – remote service hub for SME’s and public sector
The project Distance LAB equips public and private organisations with intercultural skills and business support to help them work remotely in an efficient way.
Read more about the project

Baltic DigiTour

Baltic DigiTour
For the dynamic knowledge area of digitalization in touristic attractions, the project is directed to setting up a new way of continuous online learning based on connectivist massive open online courses. Focusing the collaboration of learners, such connectivist massive open online courses potentially allow to tackle the fast changing learning content in a knowledge community. Towards a main project we now analyze existing connectivist massive open online course models, IT platforms as well as needs of content matter experts and potential participants.
Read more about the project

GoSmart BSR

Strengthening smart specialisation by fostering transnational cooperation
The Interreg project GoSmart BSR helped small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in seven countries to get the needed support, and successfully transformed smart specialisation strategies into practical joint actions of SMEs across the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

BSGI

Baltic Sea Game Incubation – Piloting Network Activities to Foster Game Incubation in the BSR
The project BSGI equipped game incubators and business developers with tools that allow them to be better prepared in a fast growing and constantly developing industry.
Read more about the project

DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH

Early Forecasting and Monitoring System for Genetic Biodiversity Loss in Keystone Forest Tree Species
The project DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH teams up scientists, sectoral agencies, forest owners, and NGOs to establish a transnational genetic diversity monitoring system that enhances ecosystem resilience and supports the forest economy.
Read more about the project

MentalHealthMatters

Mental Health Matters – Making Enterprises in the BSR more Resilient by Tackling Psychosocial Risks in the Workplace
The project MentalHealthMatters connects public health experts and employers to prevent psychosocial risks at the workplace and thus improve the well-being of employees.
Read more about the project

Go LNG

LNG Value Chain for Clean Shipping, Green Ports and Blue Growth in Baltic Sea Region
The Interreg project GO LNG explored new business opportunities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a green fuel for shipping in the Baltic Sea region and other international markets by bringing together scientists and business.
Read more about the project

StratKIT

Innovative Strategies for Public Catering: Sustainability Toolkit across Baltic Sea Region
The StratKIT project built a path for more sustainable public catering services by addressing relevant procurement strategies in the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

MANURE STANDARDS

Advanced manure standards for sustainable nutrient management and reduced emissions
Agriculture releases large amounts of nutrients into the Baltic Sea, with a significant amount of emissions from animal manure. In this project, policy makers, authorities, advisors, farmers and researchers create, test and implement tools to determine manure standards for farming practices and policy instruments. The new manure standards are to improve nutrient recycling and reduce nutrient inflow in the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

BBR

Baltic Blue Resilience
The BBR project brings together municipalities, water utilities, and civil society to better coordinate stormwater management and develop action plans for a wider use of nature-based solutions, such as wetlands and green infrastructure.
Read more about the project

BSR electric

BSR electric - Fostering e-mobility solutions in urban areas in the Baltic Sea Region
The Interreg project BSR electric fostered and integrated e-mobility solutions such as e-logistics, e-bikes, e-buses, e-scooters, and e-ferries, in urban transport systems in eight countries across the Baltic Sea region.
Read more about the project

BSR S3 Ecosystem

Baltic Sea Region Smart Specialisation Ecosystem
Multiple smart specialisation strategies synthesised from Interreg projects enabled public administrations and development agencies to strengthen innovation ecosystems and develop pathways for green transition.

Read more about the project

BEST ACE

Biogas - Established Sustainable Technology in A Circular Economy
The project BEST ACE helps develop natural gas grid infrastructure and use biomethane efficiently in long-haul transport and maritime industry.
Read more about the project

Solutions stay with the people: listen to our #InterregVoices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© UBC SCC/Mariia Andreeva

Thanks to Interreg (...), we created momentum for essential aspects of sustainable water management connected to climate change, for example improving the wastewater and storm water management, reducing water pollution, and increasing the application of circular economy principles. [IWAMA; BSR Water]

 

 

 

Agnieszka Ilola 

Head of Secretariat, Union of the Baltic Cities, Sustainable Cities Commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky

I can name a large number of examples of project outputs directly integrated into the regional policy framework. The first one is the recommendation on sludge handling. It was largely based on the PURE project. What’s more, the technologies tested in the project PURE to treat wastewater are in regular use now.

 

 

 

Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky

 Special Advisor to HELCOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© City of Turku

Thanks to Interreg projects, we have improved our public services for our citizens. Our water treatment facility has been involved in benchmarking water management processes and our water management processes have continuously been improving. Now, we have even better water quality and managed to keep the price of our water services at a moderate level.

Minna Arve

Mayor of Turku, Finland

#MadeWithInterreg solutions by topic

Agriculture

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Attractive cities for people

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Cleaner waters

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Digitalisation

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Energy efficiency

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Fewer hazards

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Health &
well-being

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Healthy & sustainable
food

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communities

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