HELCOM to hold Expert Meetings on the Baltic Sea Action Plan

Helsinki, 27 August (HELCOM Information Service) – The Helsinki Commission for the protection of the Baltic marine environment will hold a series of Expert Meetings this week (27-31 August) to discuss the draft Baltic Sea Action Plan which is currently being devised by HELCOM to drastically reduce pollution to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021.

Environmental experts from all the coastal counties will look into proposed actions for the four segments of the action plan, including measures to curb eutrophication caused by excessive nutrient loads entering the sea, prevent pollution involving hazardous substances, improve maritime safety and accident response capacity, and halt habitat destruction and the decline in biodiversity. 

A critical part of the agenda will be the discussions on the establishment of the maximum allowable nutrient inputs, including nitrogen and phosphorus, to the Baltic Sea to reach a good ecological status of the marine environment. "Experts will particularly consider the needed nutrient pollution reduction as a whole to the Baltic Sea as well as by sub-region and by country. They will also look into concrete measures required to reach the reduction targets," said Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM's Executive Secretary.

Excessive loads of nitrogen and phosphorus to the sea originating from agriculture and untreated sewage are the main cause of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. The eutrophication effects, such as cyanobacterial summer blooms, extensive bottom water hypoxia, and depletion of fish stocks, are now more pronounced than ever. This problem calls for immediate wide-scale action to put an end to the further destruction of the Baltic Sea environment and to avoid an irreversible disaster.

According to a recent HELCOM study, a total annual reduction of up to 135,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 15,000 tonnes of phosphorus will be needed to rescue the troubled sea. Most of the reductions are required in such sub-basins as the Baltic Proper, the Gulf of Finland, the Danish Straits, and the Kattegat.

Outcomes of the Expert Meetings on the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan will be submitted for approval to the upcoming Meeting of the Head of Delegations of the HELCOM Member States, which will be held on 17-19 September in Helsinki.  

Note to Editors: 

The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), officially known as the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, is an intergovernmental organisation of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU working 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.

Following the final Stakeholder Conference in March 2007 and a series of meetings, the finalised environmental strategy will be adopted at a HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, which is currently scheduled to take place on 14-15 November 2007 in Krakow, Poland. 

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