ASSESSING THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN LENINGRAD REGION FOR COMPLIANCE WITH HELCOM ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA
The study object was the large livestock complexes in the Leningrad Region, in particular, their activity from the viewpoint of the compliance with HELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission) recommendations. The study aim was to assess the current state of the Russian “hotspot” No. 24 of the Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Programme by 14 HELCOM criteria and to prepare scientifically grounded proposals to exclude this “hot spot” from the list following HELCOM criteria and procedure. The assessment revealed a high livestock concentration in Leningrad Region, with the average animal density being 2.2 LU/ha, which exceeds the HELCOM recommended standard by 32%. The most striking example of non-compliance with the HELCOM criteria is that the majority of agricultural enterprises do not have a sufficient volume of leak-proof manure storage facilities. The positive facts include strictly regulated work with plant protection agents and accelerated activity aimed to introduce the best available techniques (BAT) systems on livestock complexes for intensive pig and poultry rearing. Taking into account the specific features of regional farming with the significant prevalence of large-scale farms in the total agricultural production, it seems advisable to consider the agricultural objects in more detail, to identify the so-called “sub-hotspots” and to prepare a reasonable procedure for further actions aimed to reduce gradually the diffuse load on water bodies and bring the agricultural activities to meet the HELCOM criteria.