Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. The Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, entered into force on 17 January 2000. The States-Parties to the Convention agreed individually or jointly to take all appropriate legislative, administrative or other relevant measures to prevent and eliminate pollution in order to promote the ecological restoration of the Baltic Sea Area and the preservation of its ecological balance. The Parties undertake to apply: The aim of the States-Parties to the Convention is to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea
Postage stamps and postal history of Latvia Postal Service routes in Finland. In 1685 the Duke of Courland Friedrich Casimir initiated his own postal service and asked the Swedish authorities to cease their postal operations within his territory, but King Charles XI of Sweden ignored his request and stood for his rights in Courland. On 5 July 1710, Russian troops under the command of Tsar Peter I of Russia took over Riga and made it a part of the Russian Empire. During World War I, Latvia was occupied by Germany, and used German stamps overprinted by the Ober Ost. In 1919, German stamps were handstamped "LIBAU", but