Save the Baltic Sea is a hiking expedition and an environmental campaign around the Baltic Sea covering eight countries, taking place in 2024, according to HELCOM's release.
The main organizer is a Lithuanian NGO Už švarią Lietuvą (“For a clean Lithuania”). HELCOM will be one of the official partners in the campaign, along with the EU4Ocean Platform, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania and a network of scientific institutes and non-governmental organizations from the eight countries.
The purpose of the expedition is to further improve marine conservation culture in the Baltic Sea countries, inform citizens about the state of the marine ecosystems, and bring together local communities and stakeholders to break down barriers in halting marine pollution.
During the expedition, a team of activists will hike almost 6000 kilometers around the Baltic Sea in 9 months. In each of the countries the team will cross, they will gather local communities and stakeholders for ocean literacy activities and living labs – collaborative workshops that will aim to catalyze collective action in mitigating pollution in the Baltic Sea.
The campaign aims are aligned with HELCOM’s Baltic Sea Action Plan, especially HT27: “Increase knowledge exchange and awareness raising to promote public and stakeholder support and interest in understanding the state of the Baltic Sea and threats to its environment as well as promote opportunities for the general public to participate in citizen science” and HL7: “Launch educational and information campaigns by 2025 to raise public awareness regarding responsible handling of hazardous substances in household chemicals and articles to prevent their release into the environment.”