HELCOM countries to discuss readiness of national programmes to radically reduce pollution to the Baltic

Helsinki, 21 April (HELCOM Information Service) – The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan Implementation Group (BSAP IG) will hold its regular meeting on 21-22 April in Helsinki to review the status of ongoing activities aimed at restoring the good ecological status of the Baltic marine environment by 2021. The major focus of this Meeting will be on the implementation of the eutrophication and hazardous substances segments of the action plan, which feature drastic measures to curb excessive inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus that are responsible for the degradation of the sea, as well as prevent pollution by hazardous substances.   

“The objectives of the Meeting are to discuss the current development of national programmes to implement the Baltic Sea Action Plan, particularly the development of national programmes for the eutrophication and hazardous substances segments, as well as to share experiences and important findings,” says HELCOM’s Executive Secretary, Ms. Anne Christine Brusendorff. “We will also look into the form and content of the national programmes to be submitted for HELCOM to assess by the Ministerial Meeting in Moscow in 2010.”

Among other major topics is the revision of provisional nutrient reduction targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The HELCOM countries have agreed that the current environmental and nutrient reduction targets in the plan are provisional and that all the figures related to targets and maximum allowable nutrient inputs should be periodically reviewed and revised using a harmonised approach based on updated information. It is expected that the Implementation Group will consider progress towards the re-calculation of provisional waterborne reduction figures, based on the most recent pollution load data, as well as the approach towards the integration of the airborne nutrient inputs into the country-wise reduction allocation scheme.

The Implementation Group will also review progress on the elaboration of the comprehensive list of municipal wastewater treatment plants and a list of agricultural pollution hot spots that do not fulfil the HELCOM requirements. This task is considered absolutely critical for the successful implementation of the action plan. Inadequately treated sewage and agricultural run-off are the major sources of nitrogen and phosphorus inputs into the Baltic Sea. Therefore, mitigation of excessive nutrient loads from these sources is recognised as one of the priority actions. The Meeting will particularly discuss the way of finalisation of the draft list of priority projects for accelerated implementation of the eutrophication segment of the action plan in municipal wastewater treatment and agricultural fields and presenting it to a broader range of stakeholders, including possible investors/donors.

The Meeting will be conducted by the Chairman of the Baltic Sea Action Plan Implementation Group, Finnish Ambassador Mr. Ole Norrback.

Note to Editors:

The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Commission, works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure the safety of navigation in the region. 

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

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi