HELCOM to release latest data on pollution inputs into the Baltic Sea

Helsinki, 4 October (HELCOM Information Service) - The Helsinki Commission Monitoring and Assessment Group (HELCOM MONAS) will convene a regular meeting on 8-12 October in Helsinki to present new information on sources and quantities of inputs of harmful substances into the Baltic Sea, as well their effects on the state of the marine environment.

The Meeting will finalise a set of new and updated Indicator Fact Sheets showing the current trends in pollution loads and their environmental impacts on the Baltic ecosystems. The reports, 26 in all, will particularly provide latest data on inputs of nutrients, which are largely responsible for the ongoing degradation of the marine environment, concentrations of heavy metals and dioxin in fish, shifts in the Baltic Sea summer phytoplankton communities, as well as information on the distribution and amount of the recent aquatic invasive species and illegal oil discharges at sea.. One of the newest Indicator Fact Sheets to be considered at the Meeting is dedicated to liquid discharges of artificial radionuclides from local nuclear installations.

“HELCOM indicators provide crucial advice for managing environmental problems,” says Juha-Markku Leppänen, HELCOM Professional Secretary. “These indicators are compiled by dedicated research institutions around the Baltic Sea and approved by the HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Group. They are primarily based on variables in the HELCOM monitoring programmes. Each indicator provides only limited information on a specific issue, but when combined the indicators can show the conditions and trends of the whole ecosystem.”

The 2007 Indicator Fact Sheets will be released upon approval on the HELCOM web site at www.helcom.fi/environment2/ifs/en_GB/cover/. 

Among one of the topmost issues the Meeting will also consider the roadmap to further develop HELCOM’s monitoring programmes and assessments to support the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan which is currently being designed by the Helsinki Commission to re-create a healthy marine environment, as well as to meet the pan-European requirements.

According to the Agenda of the Meeting, experts of the coastal countries will review a number of working programmes and ongoing projects, including the wide integrated thematic assessments on eutrophication (HELCOM EUTRO-PRO) and biodiversity and nature protection in the Baltic Sea area (HELCOM BIO).

The delegations of the coastal countries will also review the progress of the project entitled “Modelling of ecological risks related to sea-dumped chemical weapons (MERCW)”. It is an EU funded international co-operation project in the HELCOM area, focusing on the study of risks posed by WWII chemical munitions dump sites in the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak area. Through site investigations, modelling and visualisation a revised assessment will be made of the ecological risks posed by the dumped warfare to the marine ecosystem and people.

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 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.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Juha-Markku Leppänen

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel.: +358 (0)207 412 627

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: juha-markku.leppanen@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