Local activism works   

By Mirjami Kuoppala

According to The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the ecological condition of surface waters in Finland is 'good' or 'very good' for 65% of rivers, 85% of lakes and 25% of coastal water systems. But what if the opinion of local residents differs from the official classification of a particular water system? Is there anything that citizens can do in order to improve the quality of their local lake or river when the official classification does not support their aim? Luckily there is. Let’s take Lake Kuivasjärvi in Parkano as an example to demonstrate some activities which can be and have been done in real life by the public in order to improve the ecological condition of a lake. 

Algal bloom in Lake Kuivasjärvi, summer 2013. Source.

The dissatisfaction of locals with the condition of the lake lead them to form a movement of residents of lake Kuivasjärvi in August 2013. The aim of the movement is to remediate the water system, the lake and its catchment area to the level where it fulfils 'good' ecological condition according to the EU Water Framework Directive. The current status is ‘moderate’ according to SYKE. After the movement was established, it applied for money from the EU for the project, and received it.

With the help of the financial support from the EU, the Kuivasjärvi movement was able to commission from a university the water analysis and other feasibility study activities required to enable a remediation plan to be made for the catchment area. While the university was doing their part of the work, the members of the Kuivasjärvi movement were interviewing people about the current status of the lake and collecting historical data going way back 150 years. Recorded knowledge included information about changes in the lake’s biota such as fish stocks, bird life and vegetation. They also collected data related to changes in recreational usability of the water system.

The project is said to be unique as it utilizes a multidisciplinary approach, connecting empirical data with natural science. In my opinion, the most impressive thing is that the project is really getting things done, achieving set milestones one by one. The project has many players but they manage to organize it in such a way that clear progress is being made. Currently, it is quite a massive project and it all started from residents of Kuivasjärvi deciding that the condition of the lake was important for them, and that they wanted to improve it. It is truly impressive what citizens can achieve – without being paid - if they consider the issue important enough.