101
result section starts with a problem presentation and a description of the more specifi c governance measures taken in the EU and by HELCOM, respectively, and is
followed by an analysis of trends and approaches. In doing so, the policies, laws and
other tools discussed are brought up chronologically and related to each case. The
article ends with a discussion on potential roads ahead that may promote policy
objectives in place.
5.2 Governance of Industrial Chemicals in the Baltic Sea
Region over Time
Chemical risks in BSR are dealt with at local, regional, national, EU and international levels. Measures taken at the local level, being largely those of implementing
law, are dependent on decisions taken at the national level and, in the case of traded
products, on supranational agreements, made either within the EU or internationally. Governance structures at high levels in particular have evolved and changed
substantially since the mid-1900s, the time period when industrial chemicals
increasingly have come into use.
When the debate on chemical risks and their governance was initiated in the
early 1960s, West Germany was the only country in BSR that was then a member
of what was known as the European Community (EC) . It was only a decade later or
so that another Baltic Sea country, Denmark, joined the EC. At that time, the EC
had no more than a rudimentary chemicals policy. What was in place in parallel was
the Helsinki Convention ( 1974 ) for the protection of the Baltic Sea, which entered
into force in 1980, as a binding framework agreement for the seven contracting parties. The convention aimed to control all types of pollution and imposed various
obligations on parties to counteract hazardous substances. The Soviet Union was a
part to the convention and dominated the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. In spite
of the cold war, however, the HELCOM operative body of the convention managed
to adopt a large number of ‘recommendations’ over the coming decades, one example being for hazardous substances (Selin and VanDeveer 2004 ).
Eventually, the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell, and soon thereafter, the
convention was amended and other (Eastern European) countries and the EC joined
the cooperation (Helsinki Convention 1992 ). The revised convention was extended
and strengthened with specifi c and technical provisions and action points addressing the prevention and control of pollution including chemical pollution . The precautionary principle was explicitly included, even if the concept was referred to
already in a 1988 ministerial meeting, and precautionary measures were taken
already from the start, e.g. by recommending phase-out of substances not fully scientifi cally proven to cause damage (Pyhälä et al. 2007 ).
In 1995, Finland and Sweden joined the EU. Most of the countries of the Baltic
Sea shoreline were then part of the EU. Due to a treaty revision in the mid-1980s
(EC 1986 ), the EU had set explicit treaty-based environmental objectives, which
over time led to a more comprehensive – and binding – environmental legislation in
the union, including in the fi eld of chemicals and the marine environment. It is
5 Governance of Chemicals in the Baltic Sea Region: A Study of Three Generations…
result section starts with a problem presentation and a description of the more specifi c governance measures taken in the EU and by HELCOM, respectively, and is
followed by an analysis of trends and approaches. In doing so, the policies, laws and
other tools discussed are brought up chronologically and related to each case. The
article ends with a discussion on potential roads ahead that may promote policy
objectives in place.
5.2 Governance of Industrial Chemicals in the Baltic Sea
Region over Time
Chemical risks in BSR are dealt with at local, regional, national, EU and international levels. Measures taken at the local level, being largely those of implementing
law, are dependent on decisions taken at the national level and, in the case of traded
products, on supranational agreements, made either within the EU or internationally. Governance structures at high levels in particular have evolved and changed
substantially since the mid-1900s, the time period when industrial chemicals
increasingly have come into use.
When the debate on chemical risks and their governance was initiated in the
early 1960s, West Germany was the only country in BSR that was then a member
of what was known as the European Community (EC) . It was only a decade later or
so that another Baltic Sea country, Denmark, joined the EC. At that time, the EC
had no more than a rudimentary chemicals policy. What was in place in parallel was
the Helsinki Convention ( 1974 ) for the protection of the Baltic Sea, which entered
into force in 1980, as a binding framework agreement for the seven contracting parties. The convention aimed to control all types of pollution and imposed various
obligations on parties to counteract hazardous substances. The Soviet Union was a
part to the convention and dominated the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. In spite
of the cold war, however, the HELCOM operative body of the convention managed
to adopt a large number of ‘recommendations’ over the coming decades, one example being for hazardous substances (Selin and VanDeveer 2004 ).
Eventually, the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell, and soon thereafter, the
convention was amended and other (Eastern European) countries and the EC joined
the cooperation (Helsinki Convention 1992 ). The revised convention was extended
and strengthened with specifi c and technical provisions and action points addressing the prevention and control of pollution including chemical pollution . The precautionary principle was explicitly included, even if the concept was referred to
already in a 1988 ministerial meeting, and precautionary measures were taken
already from the start, e.g. by recommending phase-out of substances not fully scientifi cally proven to cause damage (Pyhälä et al. 2007 ).
In 1995, Finland and Sweden joined the EU. Most of the countries of the Baltic
Sea shoreline were then part of the EU. Due to a treaty revision in the mid-1980s
(EC 1986 ), the EU had set explicit treaty-based environmental objectives, which
over time led to a more comprehensive – and binding – environmental legislation in
the union, including in the fi eld of chemicals and the marine environment. It is
5 Governance of Chemicals in the Baltic Sea Region: A Study of Three Generations…