Endangered species and marine protected areas focus of HELCOM HABITAT Meeting

Helsinki, 6 October (HELCOM) – Protection of endangered species and strengthening of the network of marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea will be the focus of the Seventh Regular Meeting of the HELCOM Nature Protection and Biodiversity Group (HELCOM HABITAT) to be held on 10-14 October 2005 in Kalmar, Sweden.

The Meeting will consider a list of all threatened and/or declining species in the Baltic Sea in order to help define actions needed to protect the Baltic Sea ecosystem and species. The HELCOM HABITAT Group will also evaluate the present status of the network of the marine protected areas and discuss possible measures to enhance and strengthen it. “The network of marine protected areas in the Baltic region serves as an important tool to protect vulnerable species and vital ecosystem processes,” said Juha-Markku Leppänen, Professional Secretary at HELCOM. “An expanded and strengthened network of marine protected areas would enhance the conservation of our Baltic Sea natural biodiversity and support sustainable use of the marine environment”. The Meeting will look into ecological coherence of the network of marine protected areas and agree on management guidelines for them.

Conservation of seals living in the Baltic Sea is also expected to be an important issue at the Meeting. Experts will try to find a way to guarantee the favourable conservation status of all seal species living in the Baltic Sea area and consider how to mitigate the conflicts between seals and fishermen by defining joint management principles.

According to the Agenda of the Meeting, the HABITAT Group is planning to discuss Ecological Objectives for defining favourable conservation status of biodiversity and propose indicators to show how the objectives are reached in the future. The aim is to provide a comprehensive system of strategic goals, objectives and indicators to classify the ecological status of the Baltic Sea.

Note to Editors: HELCOM HABITAT works to conserve and protect biodiversity, species and habitats and promote the sustainable use of living marine resources; and to ensure that the need for environmental protection is duly considered in different activities that affect the marine environment, by using tools such as spatial planning and environmental impact assessments.

Contacts

HELCOM Secretariat

Mr Juha-Markku Leppänen
Professional Secretary
Te: +358 9 62202227
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239

E-mail: juha-markku.leppanen@helcom.fi

Mr Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
Tel: +358 9 6220 2235
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi