Joint cross-border environmental monitoring system (Eco-bridge)

Eco-Bridge project belongs to Karelia CBC Programme (code KA5016) and it strengthens the environmental awareness of citizens, authorities and public organisation through introduction of joint approaches and principles of environmental monitoring in Finland and Karelia.

The new measurement container at the Ilomantsi Pötsönvaara air quality monitoring station. Photo: Timo Anttila.

At the moment, water users, stakeholders and authorities don't get real time data about water and air quality which are comparable between Finland and Karelia. It is our ambition to enable best possible availability, fit and comparability of water and air quality data for the management of waters on both sides of the border. We take into account and try to harmonize national monitoring standards, guidelines, methods and technologies as much as possible.

We'll create a common operation plan for the implementation of environmental monitoring, modernize monitoring network, methods and instrumentation in pilot areas and put an internet based map service into operation for the management and dissemination of data and knowledge. In addition, stakeholders and authorities will be trained in the monitoring and in the usage of data management and dissemination system to be implemented.

Eco-bridge project is financed by the CBC Karelia programme managed by the Council of Oulu Region.

The partners of ECO-bridge project

Autonomous no-profit organization Energy Efficiency Centre (ANO EEC), project coordinator, one of the most active non-governmental organizations with experience of working as a coordinator and/or partner in several international projects in the field of energy-efficiency, housing, nature protection, ecology and communal services development.

Karelian Centre for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Karelian CHEM), the organisation responsible for the state environmental monitoring system in Karelia. This organization is a part of the All-Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet). The Karelian Centre for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring has its own state network of monitoring stations for water objects and the atmosphere in Karelia and the Laboratory for Environmental Monitoring. It provides observations of the state and pollution of the atmosphere, surface water and radioactivity.

Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE, Helsinki and Joensuu) is the national environmental reference laboratory appointed by the Ministry of the Environment in Finland. The tasks of the reference laboratory include the support to the authorities as well as to the research and surveillance laboratories and institutes in Finland.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is the official expert authority on air quality in Finland. The FMI is a weather service and research institute working under the Ministry of Transport and Communication of Finland. The FMI operates meteorological, air quality, radioactivity and space weather observation networks, delivers meteorological service to the society and conducts research in these fields of science.

Arbonaut Ltd. has developed with SYKE in the EU founded Life project GISBLOOM an open source web GIS platform, named Vesinetti, which provides an information infrastructure for operational and interactive use and exchange of data and models, including estimation of nutrient loading as well as its ecological impacts and cost-efficiency of management measures.

The FMI's contribution to the project

  • Update of the Ilomantsi Pötsönvaara air quality monitoring station<

  • Arrangement of Karelian Centre for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring staff's study visit to the FMI's air quality laboratories

  • Arrangement of Karelian Centre for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring staff's study visit to the Ilomantsi Pötsönvaara air quality monitoring station

More information: jussi.paatero@fmi.fi