WELCOME!
The Riga Initiative is a forum promoting Baltic Sea Region Defence Environmental Co-Operation (BALTDEC) with the overall goal of sustainable use and development, without hindering military readiness. BALTDEC meets the need for sharing experiences, resources and expertise in the Baltic Sea Region on defence environmental issues. As in many regions of the world, Baltic Sea Region countries are willing to interact on defence environmental issues regardless of limits to cooperation on other issues.
RIGA INITIATIVE BACKGROUND
Sustainable development and security in the Baltic Region are mutually dependent and call for international co-operation. There is already close co-operation on the basis of partnership between the armed forces of the Baltic Sea region states within various structures and with diverse objectives in a number of areas. Sustainable development in the Baltic Region is not a primary task of the armed forces, but is governed by international agreements and NATO/EU regulations and is directed at protecting the Baltic Sea.
Military/environmental co-operation has been determined up to now by bilateral projects with various aims and focusing on a number of areas. However, there is still considerable room for improvement as far as exchange of information and co-ordination.
Understanding that many environmental problems in the military sector can be solved trough cooperation, the Ministry of Defense of Latvia took the initiative to organize the first Baltic States Environmental/Military Cooperation Workshop, which was held in Sigulda, Latvia 12-14 September 2001. This Workshop was supported by the US and Sweden within the framework of a joint Baltic/Swedish/United States defence environmental training program. Through discussions in working groups, the workshop identified several possible areas of cooperation among the Baltic States and other countries involved in the Baltic Sea region.
In order to discuss improvement of environmental/military activities among the Baltic Sea region countries, as well as the necessity to establish a framework for coordinated cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, the Latvian Ministry of Defence organized the Baltic Environmental/Military Cooperation Conference in Riga, Latvia on 20-22 August 2002. The Conference was supported by the US National Guard and the Ministry of Defence of Sweden.
This international forum concluded that work on a Baltic Sea Region Defence Environmental Co-operation Strategy should be started. The general aim of the work is to improve defence environmental co-operation in the Baltic Sea region.
Some specific work arrangements have been established, named BALTDEC (Baltic Sea Region Defence Environmental Co-Operation). Together, the Baltic Sea Region Defence Environmental Co-Operation Strategy and BALTDEC form the Riga Initiative.
BALTDEC is an informal forum of experts to promote teamwork between Ministries of Defence of the Baltic Sea littoral countries and other interested countries in the field of defence environmental work. The work arrangements consist of:
- Plenary Meetings
- Informal Secretariat
- Points of Contact
In order to facilitate continuous discussions and the Riga Initiative work, each participating country (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States) appointed a Ministry of Defence Point of Contact. Each individual country is responsible for her decisions on, and conducting her defence environmental action.
At the second Riga Initiative Plenary meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania in October 2003, the participants agreed on the strategy. Furthermore, they expressed the view that the Riga Initiative work would gain by a political endorsement or decision on the strategy. Such an action would underline the importance of defence environmental co-operation in the region and support national as well as international efforts in the field.
Results of the Riga Initiative were presented at the meeting of the Defence Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries in Stockholm, Sweden in November 2003.
Last Plenary Meeting was held in Stockholm, Sweden in November 2006. Now in 2007, there is a clear political acceptance regarding the Strategy among the Riga Initiative participating countries. This political endorsement forms an excellent basis for future work and will strengthen our joint efforts regarding defence environmental work in the region.
It is understandable, that military/environmental co-operation in the Baltic Sea region is essential not only for environmental stability, but also for regional stability at the social and political level.
WEBSITE PURPOSE
This website is intended to facilitate the sharing of information among BALTDEC members and other eksperts interested in BALTDEC work.
1st Meeting, Riga 2002