Crown Princess Victoria visited the University of Gothenburg and the Sea and Water Authority during a visit to Gothenburg on Wednesday.
Victoria visited the Department of Biology and Environmental Science at the University, with the Royal House billing her visit as one that featured several important environmental issues “including marine littering, microplastics, the Baltic Sea status, new environmental requirements for hydropower and fisheries control in protected areas.”
After meeting with department heads Henrik Aronsson and Bethanie Carney Almorth, Victoria learned about the research Almorth has been doing with regards to how plastics and plastic-related chemicals are affecting aquatic organisms and got to see the research Almorth has been doing on microplastics and chemicals.
Victoria then visited the Sea and Water Authority, where she met with Jakob Granit, its Director General, and toured the facilities to learn more about its work.
“The Crown Princess is very familiar and interested in issues related to our marine environment,” Granit said in a press release following Victoria’s visit.
“We are very pleased that she visited us. Her interest also makes the public aware of the challenges that exist.”
Following a seafood lunch, Victoria met with a team of marine planners who are working on a government proposal for guidelines on how the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Bothnia can be made sustainable.
“We talked about how the sea is associated with land and [how] we handle it in sea planning,” said Thomas Johansson, head of Marine Planning.
“We also talked about which social services we have and can develop in the sea, such as energy production, transport, recreation and food through fishing. We gave examples of how the authority handles various interests that collide and how we try to find the consensus.”
Following this, Victoria met with the Head of the Marine Environmental Management Unit, Mia Dahlström, and learned how the team is working to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. She also met with Björn Sjöberg, a business analyst who is working on hydropower solutions.
Finally, Victoria visited the Centre for Fisheries Control to learn about fish regulations and how protected marine areas are being monitored.
Crown Princess Victoria visited the Sea and Water Authority in her role as an ambassador for the UN Global Sustainability Objective Agenda 2030, where she promotes causes related to water and health.
Only a day after her trip to Gothenburg, she was forced to cancel her events due to a heavy cold.