HELCOM experts to consider acceptable pollution levels for the Baltic recovery plan

Helsinki, 31 May (HELCOM Information Service) – The Helsinki Commission’s international ad hoc Task Force on the development of the Baltic Sea Action Plan will convene its Sixth Meeting on 4-5 June in Helsinki to further elaborate the set of measures for the ambitious new strategy which the coastal countries are planning to adopt in November 2007 to drastically reduce pollution to the Baltic Sea and restore its good ecological status. Experts from the coastal countries are expected to review progress on the development of all four segments of the plan, including on measures to curb eutrophication caused by excessive nutrient loads entering the sea, prevent pollution involving hazardous substances, halt the decline in biodiversity and improve maritime safety, as well as consider new proposals for actions submitted by the HELCOM Member States.

A critical part of the agenda will be discussions on how to define the maximum allowable nutrient inputs, including nitrogen and phosphorus, to the Baltic Sea to reach a good ecological status of the marine environment. This includes the definition of needed nutrient pollution reduction as a whole to the Baltic Sea as well as by sub-region and by country. The Meeting will also consider country-wise reduction targets for agriculture and the needed measures to reach these reductions. “HELCOM assessments clearly show that agriculture is the main source of nutrient pollution to the Baltic Sea, therefore, in order to restore the marine environment it is crucial to direct more efforts to reduce the pollution originating from farmlands within the entire catchment area,” says Kaj Forsius, HELCOM’s Professional Secretary for the land-based pollution issues.

The Meeting will look into proposals for more stringent phosphorus removal from municipal waste waters as well as scattered settlements and single family homes going beyond existing EU requirements for urban wastewaters. “Upgrading the sewage treatment at large point sources like the major coastal cities in the Gulf of Finland and the southern part of the Baltic Proper is considered as one of the most efficient ways to improve the condition of the sea,” says Forsius.

One of the topmost issues will be the development of actions to further tighten the nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions from shipping under the Baltic Sea Action Plan. NOx emissions from ships as well as SOx emissions cause acid depositions that can be detrimental to the natural environment and also contribute considerably to the most severe environmental problem of the Baltic Sea which is eutrophication. According to recent estimates, the nitrogen oxide emission from international shipping traffic on the European seas increased by more than 28% between 1990 and 2000. In 2004, the emission from this source was estimated to account for approximately 8% of the total nitrogen deposition entering the Baltic Sea, and the present estimates indicate a systematic annual increase of this contribution in the range of 2-3%.

The Meeting will, in particular, discuss the possibility to use a joint Finnish-Estonian ShipNODeff Programme to estimate the contribution of the ship nitrogen emissions to the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, which is required by the draft action plan. It is proposed that current emissions of NOx from ships will be calculated based on the ship traffic data provided by the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for monitoring shipping in the Baltic Sea and supplemented by information from Lloyds Register. The emission data will then be used as an input to an air pollution model, which calculates the nutrient deposition. The eutrophying effects of the deposition will be analyzed by the marine ecosystem model.

“As a result of this work, we can get hold of the best available and accurate data on impact of shipping on the state of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. We will get to know how big the emissions are from different types of ships operating in the Baltic and how those emissions contribute to the eutrophication. Thereby, we would be able to compare the data with information on emission from other sources and to evaluate the significance of environmental impact from shipping,” says Monika Stankiewicz, HELCOM’s Professional Secretary for the maritime and response issues.

The modeling of the NOx emission from shipping will be done according to the tighter NOx emission requirements currently being considered by the IMO for the revised Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78). It is expected that representatives of the coastal countries will also agree to have in 2008 a joint submission by the HELCOM Member States to IMO evaluating the environmental effect of possible new NOx emission control measures in the Baltic Sea. 

Note to Editors: 

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, more usually known as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organisation 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.

In 2005, the Helsinki Commission resolved to create a Baltic Sea Action Plan, which would set out a new strategy to reduce pollution and reverse the marine environment degradation.

This ambitious plan of actions, which has already been widely heralded as a pilot project for the European seas under the EU Marine Strategy, will provide a unique opportunity to take wide-ranging and purposeful actions to achieve the ultimate target of having a healthy marine environment with balanced eco-systems for the benefit of present and future generations.

The consultation process on the development of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan was officially launched at the kick-off Stakeholder Conference held on 7 March 2006 in Helsinki, Finland. In March 2006, the annual HELCOM meeting approved the first core elements of the action plan - a common vision of a healthy Baltic Sea and a set of strategic goals and ecological objectives for achieving a commonly acceptable good status of the marine environment.

At the Second Stakeholder Conference held in March 2007, HELCOM unveiled the initial outline of the draft action plan. Following a series of the Task Force meetings, the finalised environmental strategy will be adopted at a HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, which will take place on 15 November 2007 in Krakow, Poland. 

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Kaj Forsius

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel.: +358 (0)207 412 621

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: kaj.forsius@helcom.fi

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 643

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi