The 18th International Environmental Forum "Baltic Sea Day", which has already become a traditional event for St. Petersburg, was held on 22-23 March 2017. The main theme of the event was the relationship between sustainable development goals and environmental strategies at the global, regional and local levels with a focus on how to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". Other priority topics covered agriculture, the problems of the toxic legacy of the Baltic Sea, combating marine debris, the role of the public in the ecosystem approach to river basin management and coastal areas. Separate round tables were devoted to the Nord Stream 2 AG project and marine infrastructure projects.

The Forum plenary session, held under the motto "The Baltic Sea - the Territory of Sustainable Development", was opened by the Children's Environmental Center of GUP Vodokanal of St. Petersburg with the traditional entry of children of different ages. Further the participants were greeted by the Ministry of Environment of Finland, the Government of St. Petersburg and the Government of the Leningrad Region. IUCN ECARO Director, Boris Erg, gave a keynote speech presenting activities in the region and conclusions from the Hawai’i Congress 2016 for the period 2017-2020.

In total, 590 people were registered at the Forum "Baltic Sea Day", 60 of them - foreigners. HELCOM member states (Finland, EU, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia) as well as Belarus, the Netherlands and China participated in the round tables and plenary session. Representatives of authorities of different levels and international organizations, as well as the scientific community and public organizations were widely represented amongst the participants.

The Forum hosted 8 roundtables, which prepared resolutions with an overview of the issues discussed and the solutions proposed. The materials of the Forum will be issued for publication in the national electronic library http://elibrary.ru/project_risc.asp .