HELCOM to consider further activities in support of the Baltic recovery plan

Helsinki, 17 January (HELCOM Information Service) - The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) will convene its 25th Meeting of the Heads of Delegation of the Member States on 22-23 January in Helsinki, Finland, to discuss working programmes, intersessional work, and ongoing projects.

The implementation of the overarching HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to drastically reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021, which was adopted last year, will top the agenda of the two-day Meeting. Representatives of the coastal countries will consider the draft Terms of Reference for an international ad hoc Implementation Group for the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan which will be established later this year.

“This Group shall give political guidance with regard to the plan’s implementation process,” said Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “It will set up a review mechanism to monitor the implementation of the plan, as well as monitor and further the revision of the initial maximum allowable pollution inputs and reduction requirements by sub region and country. The Group will also consider financial issues, including the cost of non-action/benefits of a healthy sea, the financing possibilities of the agreed measures and national programmes, and the cost efficiency and economic incentives,” said Brusendorff.

The Meeting will consider the programme of the Third Stakeholder Conference on the Baltic Sea Action Plan, which will be held in March 2008. The financial aspects of the plan’s implementation and the cost-efficiency of measures will be one of the top themes of the Conference. Discussions will particularly focus on the sources of funding, involvement of the international financial institutions (IFIs) and the private sector in the implementation of the action plan and understanding their requirements for providing financing support, as well as how to prepare successful projects to ensure/increase the investments for marine environmental protection.

Additionally, the Meeting is planning to discuss preparations for a Pledging Conference on the implementation of the action plan which will take place in the latter part of 2008. The Conference will serve as a meeting point for IFIs and the HELCOM Members, committed to the implementation of the BSAP. Its aim is to put together political commitments, donors’ expectations and readiness of coastal countries to provide realistic, feasible and bankable projects.

“Assessment of measures, presumed by the plan to reach good ecological status of the Baltic Sea, have shown a clear need for additional funds to be invested into the region,” said Brusendorff. “For example, the least-cost estimate of achieving “clear water”, which is one of the main objectives of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, is almost EUR 2.9 billion, while elimination of major pollution Hot Spots in the Region is roughly estimated at around EUR 9-11 billion.”

The Heads of Delegation of the HELCOM Member States will also review the activities of HELCOM Subsidiary Groups, as well as working programmes and ongoing projects including the GEF/World Bank funded Baltic Sea Regional Project (BSRP), and the implementation of the Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme (JCP).

The continuing recovery of major pollution hot spots in the Baltic Sea coastal countries will be one of the key issues. It is expected that the Meeting will consider the deletion of the Hot Spot No 22 – “St. Petersburg Metal Plating Industry/Heavy metals in wastewater and sludge” from the list of the Baltic Sea most significant pollution source hot spots. The local industry has made major investments in wastewater treatment techniques resulting in significant reduction of pollution. Currently, a total of 80 hot spots and sub-hot spots remain on the list, following the deletion of 82 of the earlier identified 162 hot spots/sub-hot spots.

The Meeting will consider two new HELCOM Recommendations. The first one deals with reduction of emissions from crematoria, setting emission limits for mercury and other harmful substances to the air. Crematoria’s are considered as a significant point source for mercury emissions in many of the Baltic Sea countries. The second Recommendation is on harmonization of methods of sampling and reporting the amount and type of marine litter on the beach within the Baltic Sea region as part of a global initiative to assess the impact of marine litter. If approved, both Recommendations will be submitted for adoption at the annual Helsinki Commission Meeting in March 2008.

Russia is expected to nominate the incoming Chairman and Vice-Chairman of HELCOM. The chairmanship of HELCOM rotates between its members every two year. Russia will assume the chairmanship of HELCOM on 1 July 2008.  

The Meeting of the Heads of Delegation will take place at the premises of the HELCOM Secretariat in Helsinki. It will be opened by the Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, Prof. Mieczyslaw S. Ostojski.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, more usually known as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution. 

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel.: + 358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi