The decision to celebrate the International Day of the Baltic Sea was made by the Helsinki Commission in 1986. In general, the Day of the Sea is a holiday, the main task of which was to inform the public about the ecological condition of the whole Baltic region, attracting the attention of world scientists, the public and politicians to the issues of nature protection. By the way, on the same date, the celebration of World Water Day, as well as the anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Convention (1974) falls.
History and traditions of celebration
A decade ago, the International Day of the Baltic Sea was celebrated only formally - by announcement in some media. All festive events since 2000 are held in St. Petersburg, since the St. Petersburg organization "Ecology and Business" is the main initiator and organizer of the festivities. At the same time, activists are supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, as well as the authorities of St. Petersburg, the governments and financial organizations of the Baltic countries. It is interesting that St. Petersburg not only respects the sea, but also built a water museum .
Gradually, the traditional holiday turned into holding thematic forums. Every year in St. Petersburg an ecological forum "The Baltic Sea Day" is held, where the issues of the region's ecology are discussed, solutions are being sought for their solution, and experience is exchanged. Representatives of the Baltic region, guests from Canada and the United States, representatives of political forces, various companies, public organizations, representatives of the European Commission, the IFIs and the Council of Ministers of the Nordic countries come to the forum. After each forum, the relevant Resolutions are adopted. They are sent to the highest state stations, which make effective decisions aimed at combating pollution and destroying the environment.
Also in St. Petersburg are international exhibitions, videoconferences, student and school competitions, which are devoted to the problems of the Baltic ecology. All these events contribute to the preservation of a unique natural historical and cultural ensemble - the Baltic Sea.
Day of the sea in other states
In 1978, the 10th UN Session established the World (International) Sea Day, which is part of the system of international, world days. It is devoted to the ecological safety of transportation by sea and the conservation of biological resources. Until 1980, celebrated this holiday in March , and later moved to the last week of September. Each country determines a specific date on its own.
In addition to the World (International) Sea Day, which has been celebrated annually since 1978, various states have established their own seafaring holidays. So, every year on October 31, the International Day of the Black Sea is celebrated in memory of the events of 1996. It was then that Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Georgia decided to sign an important document - the Strategic Action Plan for the Protection, Rehabilitation of the Black Sea.
In Japan, Sea Day is a public holiday. The inhabitants of the state thank the water element for prosperity and prosperity. Since 2003, according to the newly introduced system of happy Mondays, the Sea Day is celebrated in the third July
Celebrating the days of the water element is of great importance, because technological progress, ever-growing human needs for natural resources and inept use of them lead to global changes of the planet. Today, the cases when not the place of a lake or the sea in a few years a desert is formed, are not uncommon. Thus, at the bottom of the almost dried Aral Sea, the city of Aralsk is now expanding, and twenty years ago the installations of fish factories and ships were on the rise.