HELCOM HABITAT Group to discuss implementation of the Baltic recovery plan

Helsinki, 28 April (HELCOM Information Service) – The HELCOM Nature Protection and Biodiversity Group (HELCOM HABITAT) will convene its tenth regular meeting on 5-9 May in Warsaw, Poland, to discuss new and ongoing projects and programmes to halt the decline in biodiversity and habitat destruction and to protect the endangered species in the Baltic marine area.

The upcoming implementation of overarching HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan which was adopted last year to drastically reduce pollution to the Baltic Sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021 will be the major focus of the Warsaw Meeting. Experts from the Baltic Sea countries will particularly discuss the implementation of measures within the biodiversity and nature conservation segment of the plan. This segment defines three objectives – achieving natural landscapes and seascapes, thriving and balanced communities of plants and animals, and viable populations of species.

“The Meeting will evaluate progress and suggest further work for taking forward the implementation of each of the measures under these objectives to reach the set targets,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “We will also consider how to link the biodiversity segment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan with the activities taken at international and regional levels, such as the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Russian Marine Doctrine and the Convention on Biological Diversity.”  

Representatives of the costal countries are expected to discuss activities within a new HELCOM project on the development of broad-scale spatial planning of the Baltic Sea Area, which was established this year in support of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. This project concentrates on developing principles of marine spatial planning. Marine broad-scale spatial planning and marine zoning are tools that provide possibilities to coherently manage human activities impacting the marine environment according to the Ecosystem Approach. As there is presently little or no cross-boundary spatial coordination of human activities between the HELCOM Member States, the project will deliver an important tool for the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the Baltic Sea, which lies at the core of the action plan.

Much discussion is expected to center on strengthening of the network of the Baltic Sea protected areas (BSPAs). HELCOM countries will report on designation of new HELCOM BSPAs and finalization and implementation of management plans for their BSPAs. Currently, the network comprises of approximately 90 sites protecting species, habitats, important ecological processes and geological formations. It is an important means to safeguard biodiversity of the Baltic Sea. Representatives of the coastal countries will also consider additional measures and actions which are necessary to meet the deadline of 2010 for developing an ecologically coherent network of protected areas based on the requirements of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The HELCOM Member States will inform about their progress in identifying and mapping of the potential and actual habitats formed by habitat forming species such as bladder wrack, eelgrass, stoneworts or blue mussel, as well as recruitment habitats for endangered fish species. Experts will also consider how to proceed with the action plan’s requirement to develop a common approach for the mitigation of negative impacts posed to these communities, biotopes and habitats by 2013.

The protection of species will be one of the major topics at the Meeting, especially finding ways to reach and guarantee, together with other international bodies, viable populations of seal, harbour porpoise, wild salmon and other fish species.  Experts will discuss the new HELCOM FISH project to produce a comprehensive assessment of the coastal fish in the Baltic Sea area that will help identify potential restoration programmes needed for threatened species. Additionally, the Meeting is expected to review progress in the project aiming at re-introduction of the extinct sturgeon to the Odra River catchment area, and might consider concrete actions for establishment of a HELCOM Project on re-introducing common sturgeon in the Baltic Sea Area. 

The Meeting will be conducted by the Chair of HELCOM HABITAT, Ms. Katarzyna Roszkowska.

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 and to ensure safety of navigation. 

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.

HELCOM HABITAT, which is one of the HELCOM Working Groups, 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.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Maria Laamanen
Professional Secretary

HELCOM
Tel: +358 (0)207 412 627
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: maria.laamanen@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