Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund allocates EUR 1 mln to 10 new environmental projects
Total funding from the latest BSAP Fund call for proposals amounts to EUR 1 million, which will be distributed to 10 approved projects in Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Poland. The new projects focus on forestry, nutrient discharge, hazardous substances and sea-based activities. The majority of the new projects, six out of ten, will contribute positively to biodiversity.
The latest call for proposals for the Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund closed in February 2023, with a total of 16 applications received from four different countries. The proposed projects cover eight countries. About 60% of applications were sent from new partners, highlighting the relevance of the BSAP Fund among project candidates. Sweden’s latest contribution to the BSAP Fund will secure the continuation of these projects.
To continue improving the state of the Baltic Sea, Sweden has made a new contribution to the BSAP Fund of EUR 386,000 (SEK 4,500,000).
With current pledge funding from Sweden and Finland of EUR 15 million, the BSAP Fund had financed a total of 73 projects at the end of 2023, with a disbursed amount of EUR 11.2 million. The leverage of the Fund is substantial: the total value of grants provided for completed projects represents about 26% of total project investments. Since its establishment, the Fund has been co-managed by Nefco and the Nordic Investment Bank.
One of the projects receiving grants from the BSAP Fund in Sweden is Ekoskog. The NGO will focus on raising awareness of the benefits of ecoforestry among forest owners to reduce land-based nutrient input to the Baltic Sea. To do so, it will establish a certification scheme and promote the use of an Ecoforestry label already registered in the EU.
A cross-boundary project, led by the company Innofor Finland, will partner with Swedish, Estonian and Finnish forestry associations to establish a basis for scientifically backed sustainable forestry and develop National Forestry Standards.
In Finland, Flexens will initiate a pilot site in preparation for testing oxygen injection into the Baltic Sea and investigate opportunities for green hydrogen production.
The Estonian company Narva Vesi will prepare all the necessary documentation for the renovation of the Narva wastewater treatment plant, whereas in Poland, Scopus Sp. z o.o will design and implement actions for avoiding litter discharge into the Baltic Sea with the use of PortBins, a trash trawl that collects waste from rivers using natural currents.
The Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund (the BSAP Fund) was set up in 2010 to help speed up the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, which is a roadmap to improve the ecological state of the Baltic Sea, including concrete actions addressing biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances and sea-based activities. The key purpose of the BSAP Fund is to facilitate and speed up the preparation of bankable projects from both public and private entities.
