Press release
HELCOM experts to discuss further actions to limit pollution to the Baltic Sea from land-based sources
Helsinki, 15 May (HELCOM Information Service) – The HELCOM Land-based Pollution Group (HELCOM LAND) will convene its 13th regular meeting on 19-21 May in Kaliningrad, Russia, to discuss further actions to combat eutrophication and reduce pollution of hazardous substances in the Baltic Sea.
A critical part of the agenda will be discussions on how to facilitate and make more effective actions to limit emissions and discharges from land-based sources within the provisions of the Baltic Sea Action Plan which has recently been adopted by HELCOM to cease excessive pollution inputs to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021. Experts will particularly review the elaboration of a comprehensive list of municipal wastewater treatment plants. “This is considered as one of the priority projects for the successful implementation of the action plan. Municipal wastewater treatment plants contribute to one third of the total nutrient load to the Baltic Sea, being one of the major causes of eutrophication,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM's Executive Secretary. ”Therefore, mitigation of their excessive nutrient loads is recognised as one of the priority actions due to its cost efficiency and easiness to monitor the progress.” As a first step in project prioritisation, the coastal countries are expected to submit information on national municipal wastewater treatment plants discharging directly to the Baltic Sea, as well as information on plants located within 50 km coastal strip, says Brusendorff.
Another key issue at the Meeting will be the establishment of a list of agricultural pollution hot spots, identifying existing installations for the intensive rearing of cattle, poultry, and pigs and not fulfilling the HELCOM requirements. Agriculture remains a major source of nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea and is mainly considered a diffuse source of pollution as the nutrients affecting the Baltic Sea enter indirectly via runoff in the watershed area. The impacts of agriculture can be reduced by means of broad application of Good Agricultural Practices at farmlands within the catchment of the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, intensified development of industrial production of cattle, pigs and poultry within the Baltic Sea area has led to the creation of a new segment of pollution point sources, contributing significantly to the amount of nutrient loads. Therefore, these can be addressed in the same manner as industrial point sources, e.g. through establishment of the list of priority hot spots to be remediated first. The Meeting is expected to endorse the Criteria for inclusion/deletion of point-source agricultural hot spots.
Transboundary pollution from Belarus and Ukraine will also be an important topic on the agenda. The coastal countries will look into joint actions to address this problem and inform on bilateral and multilateral activities addressing transboundary pollution loads. Representatives of Belarus are invited to attend this Meeting and present relevant information on transboundary water management issues.
The Meeting is expected to review several projects dealing with inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances. Among them are two new projects contributing to the Baltic Sea Action Plan: on the assessment of inputs of nutrients from diffuse sources and development of reduction measures (COMPASS), and on the identification of sources of selected hazardous substances and introduction of Whole Effluent Assessment (“Control of Hazardous substances in the Baltic Sea Region – COHIBA”). Additionally, the Meeting will discuss information presented by the Secretariat on the HELCOM Project on Screening of occurrences of hazardous substances in marine environment (co-funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers).
The continuing recovery of major pollution hot spots in the Baltic Sea coastal countries will also be on the agenda. The Meeting will consider the deletion of three Danish agricultural hot spots from the existing HELCOM list of the Baltic Sea’s most significant pollution source hot spots. According to the Danish authorities, local farms have significantly lowered discharges of nutrients, thanks to the successful implementation of more environmentally friendly farming practices.
The Meeting will be conducted by Chairman of the HELCOM LAND Group Mr. Leonid Korovin.
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.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Mikhail Durkin
Professional Secretary
HELCOM
Tel.: +358 (0)207 412 621
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639
E-mail: mikhail.durkin@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