HELCOM RECOMMENDATION 19/4

Adopted 26 March 1998, having regard to Article 13, Paragraph b) of the Helsinki Convention

WATERBORNE POLLUTION LOAD COMPILATION 2000

THE COMMISSION,

RECALLING Article 5 of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992 (referred thereafter as the Helsinki Convention), in which the Contracting Parties undertake to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area caused by harmful substances, and Paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Helsinki Convention, in which the Contracting Parties undertake i.a. to co-operate in the development and adoption of specific programmes concerning emissions and inputs to water of harmful substances,

RECALLING FURTHER Paragraph 2 of Article 16 of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992 (Helsinki Convention), in which the Contracting Parties undertake to provide i.a. pollution load data, as far as available,

RECALLING ALSO Paragraph 5 of Article 3 of the Helsinki Convention, in which the Contracting Parties undertake  to ensure that measurements and calculation of emissions and inputs to water are carried out in a scientifically appropriate manner in order to assess the state of the marine environment and ascertain the implementation of the Convention,

NOTING the increasing concern on harmful effects of pollutants in the environment and that an essential amount of various contaminants is entering the Baltic Sea via rivers, from industrial and municipal sources as well as from non-point sources, 

DESIRING to obtain a reliable assessment of the waterborne load of pollutants entering the Baltic Sea from the land-based sources for the concerted action to limit the pollution of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 

RECOMMENDS to the Governments of the Contracting Parties to the Helsinki Convention that: 

a)  the monitoring of the waterborne pollution load should be performed from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 and cover the point and non-point pollution sources on the drainage area of the Baltic Sea located within the borders of the Contracting Parties in accordance with the Guidelines for the Fourth Pollution Load Compilation (PLC-4) to be adopted by HELCOM 20/99; 

b)  data on pollution load collected in the year 2000 should be submitted by all the Contracting Parties to the Data Manager in accordance with the agreed format as early as possible but not later than 31 December 2001, 

DECIDES that the Report of the Fourth Pollution Load Compilation should be submitted to the Commission by the Technological Committee in 2003.