HELCOM commences preparations for the Ministerial Meeting in Moscow

Helsinki, 13 October (HELCOM Information Service) – The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan Implementation Group (BSAP IG) will hold its regular meeting on 14-15 October in Copenhagen to review the status of ongoing activities aimed at restoring the good ecological status of the Baltic marine environment by 2021. This Meeting of the Group will launch the preparations for the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting to be held in Moscow on 20 May 2010.

The representatives of the HELCOM Member States will particularly discuss a roadmap for the preparation of the Ministerial Meeting, and will commence drafting the text of the Ministerial Declaration. Additionally, officials are expected to review the status of national implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan and agree on the common format of the National Implementation Programmes to be used by all countries. These Programmes, which are being designed to include concrete measures in order to achieve the objectives of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, will be presented by each coastal country at the Ministerial Meeting in Moscow.

“At the Meeting in Copenhagen, we will discuss all the key issues concerning the development of national programmes to curb excessive inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus that are responsible for the degradation of the sea, prevent pollution by hazardous substances, as well as halt habitat destruction and the decline in biodiversity,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “Among other major topics is the inclusion of atmospheric nitrogen emissions into the comprehensive nutrient load evaluation in relation to the reduction target of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.”

Airborne deposition of nitrogen accounts for approximately a quarter of the total nitrogen inputs to the Baltic Sea. This inclusion of atmospheric nitrogen into the evaluation system of loads will enable countries to account for their reductions in either water- or airborne nutrients, towards achieving their country-wise reduction requirements, as agreed in the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The Meeting will be conducted by the Head of the German Delegation to HELCOM, Ms. Heike Imhoff.

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