OREANDA-NEWS. Dmitry Medvedev's article, "The Baltic states' priority for the 21st century — the environment," has been published ahead of the Baltic Sea Forum by Aftenposten (Norway), Helsingin Sanomat (Finland), Rzeczpospolita (Poland), Jyllands-Posten (Denmark), Morgunbladid (Iceland), Neatkariga Rita Avize (Latvia), and Eesti Pдevaleht (Estonia).

Environmental protection is an area of interstate relations where there is no alternative to cooperation. Today all Baltic countries share historic responsibility for the future of the Baltic Sea and the preservation of its unique natural diversity.

Collaboration on the Nord Stream project is a good example of the productivity of this approach. The pipeline passing along the Baltic Sea bed can supply Europe with up to 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year for at least 50 years.

This was the first project where all the five countries whose exclusive economic zones the underwater pipeline crosses managed to balance out their international and national environmental requirements. More than 100 million euros were spent on preliminary environmental research that was unprecedented for the Baltic. Another 40 million euros will be spent to organize permanent monitoring of the entire route in the next three years.

Technological and engineering solutions that were often unique were not adopted only out of economic considerations. The primary motive was to observe the strictest environmental standards. The impact on the environment was minimal, local and limited in time. Incidentally, the preparations for the construction of the pipeline considerably expanded our knowledge about the Baltic Sea ecosystem and made it accessible.

Importantly, modern society is becoming increasingly responsible in its attitude to the environment. The development of new energy production technology and effective use of natural resources is becoming a powerful driver of economic growth. Sustainable development opportunities lie in ecological innovations and green economy. This is extremely important now that the failures of the global financial and economic system have become more frequent.

Entrepreneurs should play a more active role in regional environmental projects, such as the Modernization Partnership for the South Eastern Baltic Area (SEBA). Cooperation of national and regional authorities, municipalities, the business community, inter-regional organizations and NGOs should be oriented to promoting economic growth in the region. Eventually, it should improve the quality of life and upgrade the living standards.

I am confident that the steady development of the Baltic region can only be ensured if environmental goals are pursued in conjunction with economic and social aims. The introduction of the eco-systemic approach is a priority of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Helsinki Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission.

CBSS, which is currently chaired by Russia, will be 20 years old this year. While retaining its commitment to long-term priorities, it should search for new formats and mechanisms of cooperation. The council should make the most of the advantages of private-public partnership, especially in implementing large infrastructure projects, developing cooperation in modernization and supporting innovative projects of medium companies. These are the issues we will discuss at the High-level Conference of the Baltic Sea States on the Protection of the Baltic Sea Environment, to be held in St. Petersburg.

It is difficult to overestimate the potential of public diplomacy in environmental protection. I hope the St. Petersburg initiative that Russia is going to launch at this conference will logically supplement and develop the available instruments. Its main goal is to pool the efforts of civil society, government agencies and business and financial circles.

I'd like to emphasize once again that we are all aware of our growing interdependence and that we cannot resolve our domestic affairs without considering the interests of our neighbors. Naturally, we all bear responsibility for the future of the Baltic Sea and the people who live on the Baltic Sea coast.