HELCOM set to release latest information on eutrophication status of the Baltic Sea

Helsinki, 31 October (HELCOM Information Service) - The Helsinki Commission Monitoring and Assessment Group (HELCOM MONAS) will convene a regular meeting on 3-7 November in Stockholm 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 preparation of several major assessments of the Baltic Sea to support the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to reduce pollution to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021 will top the agenda of the Meeting.

Representatives of the coastal countries will consider undertaking a holistic assessment of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea to be presented to the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in 2010. Additionally, experts will be working to find a HELCOM set of core indicators suitable for responding to the assessment needs of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Such a set of indicators would also allow adjustments to the coordinated joint monitoring of the marine environment carried out by the Baltic Sea countries within the HELCOM framework.

The MONAS Group is currently working on several major thematic assessments of the Baltic Sea to support the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The Meeting will have a highly critical task to review and discuss the draft integrated thematic assessment of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. The draft report is a result of over three years of work by dozens of experts from all coastal countries of the Baltic Sea. For the first time such an assessment integrates all available information concerning the eutrophication status of the Baltic Sea and provides a classification of the eutrophication status of almost 200 areas around the Baltic Sea. “Together with the first results from the project aiming to estimate the loads of waterborne nutrients and the sources of those nutrients, the assessment gives an indication that although the overall eutrophication status of the Baltic remains unacceptable, there are some encouraging signs of improvement,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary.

The results of the draft eutrophication assessment and the first results from the project estimating the waterborne nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea will serve as a basis when the Meeting will consider the process of reviewing and revising the provisional nutrient reduction requirement figures of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The maximum allowable nutrient loads together with the country-wise nutrient reduction allocations that were adopted in the plan were considered to be provisional. It was agreed that a process of updating the figures with the newest available data would begin in 2008. This Meeting will have the task to consider from the scientific and technical point of view a proposal on how to carry on with the review and revision taking into account the above draft assessment results.

Experts will also review progress on preparation of the thematic assessment on biodiversity and nature protection in the Baltic Sea area. This study focuses on the sustainable use of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and the protection of species, habitats, and marine landscapes.

It is expected that the Meeting will finalise a set of new and updated Indicator Fact Sheets displaying 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 quantities of radionuclides in the Baltic Sea, concentrations of heavy metals and dioxin in fish, unusual phytoplankton events in 2007-2008, as well as information on the distribution and amount of the recent aquatic invasive species and illegal oil discharges at sea. Among them there are three completely new Indicator Fact Sheets - on emissions from shipping, the predatory bird health, and the health assessment of the Baltic grey seal.

HELCOM indicators provide crucial advice for managing environmental problems. 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 2008 Indicator Fact Sheets will be released upon approval on the HELCOM web site at www.helcom.fi/environment2/ifs/en_GB/cover/. 

According to the Agenda of the Meeting, experts of the coastal countries will review a number of working programmes and ongoing projects, including 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 World War II chemical munitions dump sites in the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak area. Through site investigations, modelling and visualisation the MERCW Project will produce a revised assessment of the ecological risks posed by the dumped warfare agents to the marine ecosystem and people.

The Meeting will be conducted by Saara Bäck, Chair of HELCOM MONAS.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. 

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

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