Russia and the Baltic Sea: frames and spaces of environmental problems

Abstract

The Baltic Sea is among the most polluted seas in the world, yet its protection in regional cooperation is often referred to as a success story of international environmental politics. Like other coastal countries, Russia is closely committed to the Baltic Sea environmental cooperation, although it does not have a specific “Baltic Sea environmental policy,” and the Baltic Sea environment is low on the list of political priorities. Based on interviews and media material, this paper analyzes Russian framings of the Baltic Sea environment by focusing on problem definitions and scale frames which affect management options. The analysis reveals that while Russian framings underscore the problems of untreated wastewater and risks connected to maritime activities, local-scale problems such as the construction of dams and landfills are not widely raised as issues related to the marine environment. Also, the spatial scales of the Baltic Sea environment are framed in terms of the entire sea. Consequently, the dominant framings echo the “Western concern” but belie the fact that due to the heterogeneity of the Baltic Sea, environmental problem solving requires local measures rather than region-wide solutions. Furthermore, the framings reveal that in the case at hand, “politico-economic” spaces overcome “environmental spaces” of action, indicating that motivations for participating in environmental cooperation stem from other than environmental concerns. The key proposition is that at least for the time being, political trade-offs may be a better way to develop international governance of the Baltic Sea environment than exclusive focus on environmental factors.