HELCOM RECOMMENDATION 13/10
Adopted 6 February 1992, having regard to Article 13, Paragraph b) of the Helsinki Convention
REDUCTION OF PHOSPHORUS LEACHING AND EROSION
THE COMMISSION,
RECALLING Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1974 (Helsinki Convention), in which the Contracting Parties undertake to take all appropriate measures to control and minimize land-based pollution of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area,
HAVING REGARD also to Article 3 of the Helsinki Convention, in which the Contracting Parties shall individually or jointly take all appropriate legislative, administrative or other relevant measures to prevent and abate pollution,
RECALLING FURTHER the Ministerial Declaration of 1988 and the Baltic Sea Declaration of 1990, calling, inter alia, for a substantive reduction of the inputs caused by diffuse sources,
RECOGNIZING the fact that a substantial part of the eutrophication problems observed in the Baltic Sea Area is caused by nutrient inputs from diffuse sources,
DESIRING to limit this pollution,
RECOMMENDS to the Governments of the Contracting Parties that:
a)artificial fertilizers and animal manure should be applied according to crop need. This principle should be promoted e.g., by the use of:
-economic incentives used by the authorities to reduce phosphorus application and to promote the development of a sustainable agriculture;
-fertilizer and crop-rotation planning, and calculation of phosphorus balance, i.e., with a specification of crop need and applied amounts of phosphorus fertilizers;
-prognosis tools for phosphorus application, such as assessment of soil phosphorus content, soil phosphorus availability, or the use of calculation methods;
b)reduction of soil erosion by means of, e.g., green fallowing, catch crops, winter crops and reduced tillage techniques (e.g. avoidance of mouldboard plowing in autumn);
c)green fields should cover 50% of the agricultural land, or the highest possible percentage depending on climate and soil conditions;
d)sufficiently broad vegetation zones (filter strips) along water courses should be considered as an additional measure;
e)programmes should be developed and action taken to implement the above mentioned measures and to report on the effect of these measures or any other measures taken to reduce phosphorus leaching and erosion,
RECOMMENDS ALSO that the actions stated in a) - e) should be implemented by the Contracting Parties within 5 years,
RECOMMENDS FURTHER that the action taken by the Contracting Parties, e.g. economic incentives, recommendations, regulations, agricultural advice, should be reported to the Commission in 1994 and thereafter every three years.