Almost Arctic?: Protecting the Baltic marine environment through international law

• Published in: Strani pravni zivot
• Main Authors: Kirchner Stefan, Dervovic Medy
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Croatian; srp
• Published: Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade 2021
• Subjects: baltic sea; bay of bothnia; environmental law; law of the sea; arctic; Law of Europe; KJ-KKZ; Comparative law. International uniform law; K520-5582; Arctic; Arctic Bay; Arctic bay; Law of the Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5937/spz65-34644; https://doaj.org/article/7814ac5a8bc042eca5dff146504876cb

The Baltic Sea, the heart of the Baltic region, is one of the most polluted seas worldwide. For the countries of the Baltic region, the relative importance of the Baltic Sea varies, but all coastal states of the Baltic Sea use the sea and influence it through their manifold activities. The protection of the Baltic Sea therefore is a shared concern for the coastal states. This shared concern has led to the emergence of a specific international legal régime governing the Baltic Sea. In this text, current threats to the Baltic Sea's natural environment and the international legal measures that are taken to protect the sea are described, in particular with a view to possible improvements. Particular emphasis will be placed on the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea, the sub-Arctic Bay of Bothnia that faces particular environmental challenges.