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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

BIS

Baltic Industrial Symbiosis
By strategically connecting companies from different industries, the project BIS promoted industrial symbiosis and helped boost eco-innovation.
Read more about the project

BREC

Bridging the gap between research and education for the circular bioeconomy
The project BREC connects agricultural schools, authorities and researchers to spread circular agricultural practices among practitioners and test technologies driving circular bioeconomy.
Read more about the project

SUMBA+

Sustainable urban mobility and commuting in practice
SUMBA+ helped city planners and authorities boost sustainable mobility in urban areas.
Read more about the project

3I solutions for PS

Enabling better public services in BSR with immersive, intelligent and innovative solutions
The project 3I solutions for PS helps public authorities make good use of digital technologies, e.g. augmented or extended reality, to deliver public services more efficiently.
Read more about the project

HYBRIDGE

HYBRIDGE Bridging Research, Innovation, and Practice to Counter Shadow Fleet Hybrid Threats
The project HYBRIDGE strengthens prevention and response to environmental and security hybrid threats from shadow fleet vessels in the Baltic Sea by improving cooperation, coordination and decision-making among maritime, environmental and defence authorities across borders.
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

SchoolChanger

Empowering young generations to help municipalities and public institutions in the Baltic Sea Region develop smart, nature-based, sense-friendly, and socially responsible solutions reinforcing their well-being
The project SchoolChanger involves students in co-creating school spaces with teachers, school management, and experts to better address their psychological and social needs and prepare them for community-minded roles in the future.
Read more about the project

Smart Blue Regions

Smart Blue Regions: Smart Specialisation and Blue Growth in the BSR
The Interreg project Smart Blue Regions helped public authorities of coastal regions at the Baltic Sea review and improve their research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation to trigger sustainable blue growth in the marine and maritime sectors.
Read more about the project

BaltSe@nioR 2.0

Innovative solutions to support BSR in providing more senior - friendly public spaces due to increased capacity of BSR companies and public institutions
Manufacturers, public institutions and experts jointly developed solutions for smart senior-friendly furniture in public spaces, while advancing innovative and social business development.
Read more about the project

SUMBA

Sustainable urban mobility and commuting in Baltic cities
By developing master plans on commuting for nine municipalities in five Baltic Sea region countries, the Interreg project SUMBA paved a way for sustainable and greener transport transformation in the region.
Read more about the project

BSR Go-abroad

BSR Go-abroad - building market and supply chain opportunities for micro SMEs within the Baltic Sea Region
The project BSR Go-abroad develops a blueprint for micro SMEs to help them expand business offers and enter new markets across the Baltic Sea region in order to keep their businesses thriving regardless of any disruptions to come.
Read more about the project

HAZBREF

Hazardous industrial chemicals in the IED BREFs
The Interreg project HAZBREF provided valuable recommendations and paved the way for legally binding commitments on the use and risk management of hazardous substances and chemicals to prevent their release into the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

TEST-4-SME

TEST-4-SME
The Interreg project TEST-4-SME helped electronics small and medium-sized enterprises to better, faster and easier demonstrate the conformity of electronic products with international standards and speed up the product development.
Read more about the project

Sense BSR

Enhancing accessibility of public recreational services for the neurodivergent individuals in the Baltic Sea Region
In the project Sense BSR, municipalities, cultural, sports and tourism centres work with neurodiverse communities to redesign public recreational spaces, making them more inclusive, welcoming and better suited to the needs of neurodiverse people.
Read more about the project

VETMED

Veterinary medication and its impact on antimicrobial resistance in the environment
Antimicrobial resistance is a global challenge. Both the World Health Organisation and the European Union state that increasing knowledge is key to facing this challenge. Antibiotics in animal husbandry are a known source of antimicrobial resistance, but the fate of active pharmaceutical ingredients, and the generation and spread of antimicrobial resistance from wider veterinary sources is unclear. VETMED aims to quantify the environmental occurrence of veterinary active pharmaceutical ingredients, improving the understanding of the significance of these medications as a source of active pharmaceutical ingredients and antimicrobial resistance.
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

GrePPP

Green Public Procurement of Pharmaceuticals for the Baltic Sea Region
Pharmaceutical emissions to the environment are a major concern in the Baltic Sea region and beyond. GrePPP works towards a sustainable public procurement of pharmaceuticals to protect the aquatic environment in areas where pharmaceuticals are produced. The aim of the project is to develop and test criteria and tools for sustainable public procurement applicable to the aquatic environment. This shall incentivise more sustainable production methods, and, consequently, reduce harmful emissions.
Read more about the project

Liveability

Liveability - Designing public services for resilient neighbourhoods
The project Liveability trains public administrations in innovative ways to engage people to create liveable and attractive city environments that adapt to people’s needs.
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

CONTRA

Baltic Beach Wrack - Conversion of a Nuisance To a Resource and Asset
The CONTRA project helped local authorities and businesses in coastal destinations that rely on beach tourism identify viable solutions for managing and recycling beach wrack whilst protecting the Baltic Sea.
Read more about the project

GreenSAM

Green Silver Age Mobility
The project GreenSAM helped to involve the senior citizens more actively in developing green transportation solutions.
Read more about the project

Enercracy

Enercracy - energy plans and communities towards energy democracy for green transition
The project Enercracy equips municipalities with climate and energy plans to support the growth of energy communities and prosumers, while inspiring others to see how active engagement drives the green energy transition
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

BSR CLIMATE BUDGET

Cities and regions for a BSR climate resilient development by means of climate budgeting
Municipalities have made the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the climate change mitigation goals. Carbon budgeting efforts pin down emissions targets, but do not include financial or management measures. In contrast, climate budgets elevate the climate mitigation contribution of a project or measure as a primary consideration in financial budgeting and negotiation processes. The project explores this concept to support its introduction in planning and decision making practices.
Read more about the project

Future Cities

Future Cities Platform - Co-Creating the Future of BSR Cities Through Culture and Civic Participation
The project platform Future Cities supports local public authorities and NGOs in small and medium-sized cities in co-designing resilient and liveable spaces through participatory, creative, and people-centred tools and methods. Future Cities consolidates results from 12 projects.
Read more about the project

InBets +

Innovative business transfers in the BSR +
InBets+ organised events and training courses, to train small and medium sized enterprises all across the Baltic Sea region in successful business transfers.

Read more about the project

CITYAM

CITYAM - Preparing cities for sustainable Urban Air Mobility
The project CITYAM equips cities with tools to improve airspace management in dealing with emerging urban air mobility and scaling drone operations.
Read more about the project

GREEN CRUISE PORT

GREEN CRUISE PORT - Sustainable Development of Cruise Port Locations
In the Interreg project Green Cruise Ports, eight major cruise ports at the Baltic Sea lifted sustainability up on their agenda and committed themselves to decoupling growth from negative environmental impact of port and vessel operations; they jointly established an action plan for more sustainable investments over the next ten years.
Read more about the project

ClimateAligned

Climate-Aligned budgeting at municipalities
The idea of ClimateAligned focuses on the matter that today many municipalities in Europe address the problem of climate change by implementing certain climate mitigation and adaptation policies and goals, but a concept which takes the whole municipal policy and the available budget into account is lacking. The main project wants to deliver a concept for guidelines for municipalities where budget decisions can be examined in terms of climate relevance over a longer time horizon. This would mean to develop a decision support methodology how to assess planning decisions and budget proposals in terms of their climate mitigation and adaptation relevance and their potential to contribute to mitigation and adaptation efforts in a systematic fashion.
Read more about the project

Supported by Nature

Supported by Nature - nature based solution learning sites for a sustainable Baltic Sea
The project Supported by Nature unites six Baltic Sea countries in one mission: to increase the understanding of nature-based solutions. Learning sites for local authorities and education- and research institutions are being set up in coastal, wetland, and watercourse areas to showcase best practices.
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

EnTRA

Energy Transition for Climate Neutrality in the BSR
EnTRA builds a resource hub with planning and management tools, training materials, self-audit guides, and a mentoring programme that anchors practical know-how to help public authorities and sectoral agencies scale up the energy transition in the region. EnTRA consolidates outcomes from 18 EU projects.
Read more about the project

UROSCO

Update and Recalculation of national oil spill contingency plans in the Baltic Sea
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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well-being

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