Operation Mermaid is a campaign for the Baltic Sea. It gives every Finn the opportunity to help protect the most polluted sea in the world. Hartwall Novelle is supporting the WWF’s Operation Mermaid for the third year in a row by providing current information on the state of the Baltic Sea at summertime events all over Finland. In addition, Member of Parliament Kimmo Tiilikainen has pledged to take a sample from the Baltic Sea and dive in to investigate its condition – his boat trip is scheduled for 4 July, during the Hanko Regatta.
Hartwall wants to do its part to protect the Baltic Sea in order to preserve the Finnish natural environment, keeping it in a good and clean shape for generations to come. One means of promoting sustainable lifestyles is environmental education for children and youth – this is on Operation Mermaid’s agenda this year. Once the summer event tour has ended, environmental education will move into the classroom in the autumn. The theme of the WWF’s environmental education programme for schools is the Baltic Sea.
At the summer events and on the Internet, people can vote for one of three Operation Mermaid projects. Hartwall Novelle will allocate its support to the project the voters feel is most important. In addition to environmental education, participants can vote for the prevention of the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea or the development of oil spill response.
“Even small actions are important for helping the Baltic Sea. However, people often don’t know how they can make a difference. We’ll participate in the campaign by donating one cent to the WWF for each bottle of Hartwall Novelle sold in June to August. All 1.5 litre bottles and the 0.5 litre unflavoured Hartwall Novelle mineral water are included in the campaign,” says Karla Frisk, brand manager for Hartwall Novelle.
Last summer, Hartwall donated EUR 60,000 for the protection of the Baltic Sea as part of the campaign.
Evaluating the condition of the Baltic Sea at the Hanko Regatta
Blue-green algae will once again form on the Baltic Sea this summer. The Finnish Environment Institute forecasts that this will be a relatively typical summer for algae. In the early summer, blue-green algae are most commonly suspended in the water, turning it murky.
“Under certain weather conditions – when it’s warm and calm – the blue-green algae blooms, forming thick accumulations on the surface of the water,” says Sampsa Vilhunen, a marine expert at the WWF. Extensive blooms are to be expected this summer, too, especially in late July and early August.
Hartwall Novelle will organise a boat trip during the Hanko Regatta to assess the situation and take a water sample. The boat will head out onto the Baltic Sea on Friday, 4 July. Member of Parliament Kimmo Tiilikainen has pledged to take the sample. In addition, he will head under the waves with a diving instructor to have a close-up look at how the Baltic Sea is faring.
According to a recent study by the Finnish Environment Institute, the ecological state of the Baltic Sea in areas close to Hanko varies from satisfactory to poor.
“In the summertime, when events are taking place all over Finland, everyone takes an interest in the condition of the Baltic Sea. We hope that by showing them the hard facts about the Baltic Sea – and giving them a look below the surface – we can get people to commit more firmly to protecting it,” says Karla Frisk.
For additional information, contact:
Hartwall Ltd, Brand Manager Karla Frisk, karla.frisk@hartwall.fi or
tel. +358 20 717 2849
Requests for interviews concerning the WWF’s Operation Mermaid: Communications Officer Mira Hannuksela, mira.hannuksela@wwf.fi or tel. +358 9 7740 1051
Operation Mermaid projects:
Environmental education for children and youth
The WWF’s environmental education efforts seek to promote sustainable lifestyles. The WWF wants to challenge children and young people to learn the facts about these issues, observe the state of the environment and be environmentally responsible. Naturewatch is the WWF’s environmental education programme, intended to spur schools to take environmental action. The theme for the 08/09 school year is the Baltic Sea. In addition, the WWF supports the sustainable development efforts of schools by organising events, awareness raising campaigns at schools and competitions for students, educating teachers and publishing suitable teaching materials on current issues.
Preventing eutrophication
Eutrophication has taken a severe turn for the worse in the Baltic Sea due to human activities, such as emissions from agriculture and traffic. Eutrophication leads to greater algal growth in the water, including toxic blue-green algae. It is the number one challenge targeted by the WWF’s Operation Mermaid. Eutrophication cannot be brought under control solely by purifying the wastewaters of St Petersburg. The WWF is thus working to reduce eutrophication emissions from agriculture and sparsely populated areas and to both establish and rehabilitate wetlands that prevent eutrophication. The WWF is also keeping a close watch on the realisation of the Baltic Sea protection programme of the Finnish government and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.
Oil spill response efforts and improving marine safety
The threat of a massive oil spill hangs constantly over the Baltic Sea. The consequences would be catastrophic. In 2006, 140 million tonnes of oil were transported in the Gulf of Finland – five times as much as in 2000. Operation Mermaid is successfully taking action to reduce the risks of oil spills and improve oil spill preparedness. For instance, over 4,500 Finns are part of volunteer oil spill response teams. The WWF campaigned for years to have the Baltic Sea designated as a particularly sensitive sea area. Stricter regulations now apply to shipping on the Baltic Sea.