As noted by the Chairman of the Committee for external relations of St. Petersburg Evgeny Grigoriev, "it Is valuable for us that we are in dialogue not only with partners in the administrations of foreign cities through official channels, but also build cooperation with non-governmental organizations, such as the Union of Baltic cities. This makes it possible to get as broad and objective an idea of the real problems and needs that exist in society today, which, in turn, allows you to effectively and co-ordinated to solve common problems."
President of the international organization "Union of Baltic Cities" Per Bodker Andresen (Denmark) moderated the meeting. The event was also attended by the heads and staff of the consulates General of the countries accredited in St. Petersburg and participating in the work of the organization. Environmental protection and interaction with young people, including issues of employment of young people were identified as the main topics of the meeting.
Olga Rublevskaya, Director of the Department of analysis and technological development of water supply and sanitation systems of sue "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg", made a report on water treatment, water treatment and sanitation in St. Petersburg. According to her, since St. Petersburg is the largest metropolis in the region, it is its impact on the ecology of the Baltic sea that is the most significant, and, ultimately, consumers of the services of sue Vodokanal of St. Petersburg can be considered residents not only of the Northern capital of Russia, but also of all other Baltic sea countries.
O. N. Rublevsky made a detailed statistics on wastewater treatment (currently, St. Petersburg is cleared 98.6% of the wastewater). She also spoke about the measures used for water conservation, in particular, the introduction of new water supply management systems, reducing the volume of water intake for domestic purposes, etc. Examples of reconstruction and modernization of water supply stations were given. The introduction of chemical methods for removing phosphates from water within the framework of the international project "Clean Baltic", implemented in 2005-2011, was also called a great achievement. In the future, according to Olga Rublevskaya, sue "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg" plans to find a new application of sewage sludge, to recycle biogens, for example, for the preparation of soils and fertilizers, which meets the new requirements of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). A special emphasis was placed on cooperation with the industrial enterprises of the city, which discharge water and encourage "honors" special award "crystal drop".
Representatives of the environmental organization "Friends of the Baltic" Olga Senova and Elizaveta merinova, as well as the head of the project "Clean games" Dmitry Ioffe spoke on behalf of public organizations of St. Petersburg.
Representatives of the ecological organization "friends of the Baltic" talked about advocacy and public actions, including the preparation of the questionnaire of the population in areas subject to flooding, conducting public lectures and excursions with the aim of forming a responsible attitude to nature. Elizabeth merinova also raised the topical issue of water pollution with microplastics and the work carried out by the organization to monitor and combat this problem. The next action of "Friends of the Baltic" will be held on April 27 at 11.00 on the beach in Lakhta. Everyone is invited to participate.
The head of the project "Clean games" Dmitry Ioffe, in turn, spoke about the competitions held by his organization for citizens to clean up parks, beaches and other areas of rest from garbage. The next such tournament on "the Cup of purity of St. Petersburg" will take place in 10 districts of our city on may 18 this year. Among the participants, the organizers are waiting for everyone. Foreign partners are invited to get acquainted with the project for possible holding in their cities around the world.
As confirmed by the President of the "Union of Baltic Cities" Per Bodker Andresen, the organization was created precisely in order to share successful practices and involve new partners in their projects.
Also during the meeting was the Chairman of the Commission Youth cities SBG Karsten, Adamsen and the chair of the Task group "of the Baltic States" in youth employment and well-being Matti mäkelä. A presentation of the municipality of yonava (Lithuania) was held, as a result of which the city was included in the Union of Baltic Cities, becoming the 94th member of the organization.
They also discussed the holding of forums and conferences organized with the participation of the Union of Baltic cities, including Gdansk, Riga and Kaunas. The Baltic sea House initiative from Aarhus (Denmark) was discussed.
On April 25, the members of the Executive Council will visit the water Museum and Children's environmental center of sue "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg", as well as make a sightseeing bus tour of St. Petersburg.
Reference: The event was attended by representatives of all 10 countries that are United by the Baltic sea: Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Estonia (Russia is currently the only member of the organization of St. Petersburg, the city is a member of the Union of Baltic cities since the founding of the organization in 1991).