KIMO International is increasing its remit to include all the countries around the Baltic Sea in the biggest expansion in its 17 year history. Representatives from KIMO and Baltic Municipalities met in Simrishamn, on the Swedish Baltic Coast, in October to discuss how they could cooperate on marine pollution issues in the Baltic Sea. The event, hosted by Simrishamn Kommun who proposed the expansion, saw 17 Municipalities from Sweden, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia attend and resulted in a commitment to establish a KIMO International Baltic Forum as part the KIMO Network.

Delegates at the KIMO International Baltic Forum in Simrishamn, Sweden

All the municipalities that attended shared common concerns about problems that are affecting the Baltic Sea and the impact they would have on biodiversity and natural habitats as well as industries such as tourism and fisheries. Issues such as the over use of fertilisers causing eutrophication, algal blooms and oxygen depletion, the increase shipping and associated risk of accidents, high concentrations of chemical pollutants, the introduction of alien species and coastal erosion.

KIMO International Secretariat John Mouat stated: “ I can see many parallels between the situation in the North Sea that led to the formation of KIMO back in 1990 and the situation in the Baltic today. With almost 100 million inhabitants living around the Baltic and challenges such as over fertilisation, coastal erosion, chemical and nuclear emissions, algal blooms, and increased shipping there is the same need for municipalities to take action. As pollution obeys no boundaries it is essential to develop international co-operation to tackle these problems at the local as well as the international level and I am happy that so many municipalities share this view.”

Mayor Christer Akej stated: “Simrishamn Kommun has been concerned for some time that the Baltic Sea is in a state of unbalance. It is one of the world’s most sensitive waters and is increasingly under pressure from coastal development, shipping and over utilisation of its resources. We believe it is essential that those who live closest to the sea, the municipalities, take action to return it to a healthy state. Therefore we are delighted that KIMO accepted our invitation to establish a KIMO International Baltic Forum and hope that all municipalities around the Baltic Sea will join the forum in the future.”

Below is a toolbox of documents including the KIMO Constitution translated in to Baltic Sea languages, the KIMO Strategic Plan 2008 and a presentation on the Baltic Forum and KIMO (this document is 50 MB and may take some time to download) which you may find useful.