News » CCB Report on Industrial Livestock Production in the Baltic Sea Region
27.12.2013
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The final project report on intensive livestock farming in the Baltic Sea catchment area is now available on-line! The report contain information on overall characteristics of the industrial farm sector in the Baltic Sea Region, an inventory of existing industrial livestock farms (with a size that require permits according to national legislation and IE Directive). The focus is on installations in Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Russia and Ukraine, but information will also include description of the situation in Czech Republic, Finland, Norway and Slovakia. It also include recommendations for important steps needed for a better implementation of existing legislation and regulations.
Intensive animal production carries within a number of serious risks which are not lim-ited to the farm area, but are directly related to the neighbouring areas and indirectly impact the environmental conditions of the whole Baltic Sea Region. It affects all components of the natural environment ? living organisms, air, soil and water (surface water, groundwater, precipi-tation water). What is more, the negative consequences of industrial livestock production has not only environmental, but also social, economic, and legal connotations.
The only solution appears to be a sustainable agriculture, reconciling the needs of the present and future generations. This idea was born out of very pragmatic assumptions defined by a much broader notion of sustainable (lasting) development, safeguarding both environmen-tal and social interests. Many examples from all over the world can be provided to demonstrate that preventing disruptions in and the future redevelopment of environmental homeostasis are perfectly feasible and that agricultural activities and the needs of the natural environment are not mutually exclusive.
What is the scale of intensive livestock industry in the region? What is the current status of the implementation of the agriculture-oriented Annex III to the Helsinki Convention? What are the main problems connected with industrial livestock production in the Baltic Sea catch-ment area? Are there any methods to prevent negative impact of industrial livestock farming to make it, if not friendly, then perhaps neutral to the natural environment? The authors of this paper will explore these questions, looking for possible answers, hoping to make the present report the first such comprehensive study of the issue ever made in the Baltic Sea Region.
The present report is built on the foundations established in the CCB Report on industrial swine and cattle farming in the Baltic Sea catchment area published by the Coalition Clean Baltic in 2007.