Olga Belous

Sustainable development of deep-water seaport: the case of Lithuania

IntroductionIn 2003, the Japan International Cooperation Agency carried out a development feasibility study of Klaipeda Seaport (Lithuania). The focus in this study was the evaluation of environmental impacts of the port expansion because it is located in an ecologically sensitive area. While the Japanese researchers focused on the environmental impact analysis, they did not provide unambiguous conclusions. The problems remained unresolved and required further, more detailed consideration and deeper analysis.PurposeEnvironmental sustainability in seaports is an issue of timely importance in many countries given the rapid increase in port-to-port traffic and harbor capacity. This paper explores the situation in Klaipeda Seaport (Lithuania) which is the northernmost ice-free port on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and its challenges in terms of environmental aspects and current pollution situation. This port plays an important role in the economic development of the region and in creating a sustainable society, i.e., a society that continues to develop economically without increasing its impact on our living environment and where the possible reduction of its current impact can be huge due to the fact that the seaport is a place where transport and logistics intersect and constitute large-scale industrial estates. Increasingly, they also turn towards sustainability.MethodsSociety faces the need for radical change because of increasing technological progress and increasing environmental impact. Environmental and public issues must be addressed by a systemic approach to find harmony among all the subsystems. Therefore, the authors of the article performed an assessment of the deep-water port of Klaipeda sustainable development opportunities tackling the following tasks: (1) Assessing Klaipeda port and the projected deep-water port of the current environment state; (2) Assessing the impact of the water quality of Klaipeda port, depending on the intensity of activity; (3) Assessing the projected impact of the deep-water port on the environment.Results and conclusionsThe results of the performed research allowed: (a) to reveal strengths and weaknesses of Klaipeda port development and the potential conflicts of interest among different stakeholders, (b) to identify the set of problem solutions seeking sustainable Klaipeda port development; (c) to develop the set of sustainability indicators to monitor the efficiency of the development.

Klaipeda seaport key sustainability points

The growing costs of road transport and its environmental impact stimulate loads on transportation and operation by marine facilities. Therefore a global comprehensive approach for the port development is needed. The establishment of a balance between economical and ecological interests will be the most important issue for further development of marine harbours. The purpose of this work is to show the main points of a seaport development fitted within the framework of the sustainable development paradigm. The paper analyses a basis of the sustainability concept for the port development in the relationship within economic, environmental and social issues. Special attention is dedicated to the policy selection and application of a suitable management instruments that allow limitation of the negative impacts. This work contributes a conceptual basis for incorporating environmental and social aspects into the port activity; and provides a general overview of “green” technologies promoted in the area of sensitive environment.

Coastal zone contamination mitigation means

Coastal zone industrial activity as well as settlements development and attractiveness for tourism generate persistent coast waste contamination. Appropriate industrial and domestic waste management and utilization are essential for ensuring reduction of coastal zone environmental pollution. Furthermore, the waste effectively managed close to its source, could be used as a valuable resource for reuse, recycling or recovery of different types of energy. In this paper a review of waste as potential energy resource with the contribution to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission by creating a balance between energy consumption and sustainable use of resources in the Baltic Sea region is presented. Western Lithuania wastes compositions and properties, its moisture, nutrients, heavy metals concentrations, heat of combustion, total and organic carbon rate, and main chemical elements content for comprehensive further operation and environmental impact assessment are investigated. The results of evaluation of current and prospective waste utilization technologies, determined during REMOWE project included in the EU funded Baltic Sea Region Program, are shown.