HELCOM launches new comprehensive assessment of the Baltic Sea

Helsinki, 10 October (HELCOM) - The Helsinki Commission has initiated the preparation of several major assessments of the Baltic Sea to support the implementation of its upcoming strategic action plan to restore the Baltic marine environment.  

The ninth regular Meeting of the HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Group (HELCOM MONAS) held on 2-6 October in Silkeborg, Denmark, approved the guidelines for the new assessments of eutrophication, biodiversity, and hazardous substances, which are to be completed by 2009.

“These assessment reports will be produced from the results of a unique compilation of data and analyses based on the vast scientific research being carried out around the Baltic Sea,” said Juha-Markku Leppänen, Professional Secretary of HELCOM.

The HELCOM thematic assessment of eutrophication will provide information on the amount of nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea, which will help evaluate the effects of regional environmental protection measures. It will also indicate the amount of reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus inputs needed to reach a good ecological status of the marine ecosystem e.g. clear water and natural level of algal blooms.

The assessment of nature conservation and biodiversity will emphasise on the sustainable use of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and the protection of species, habitats and marine landscapes. The assessment on hazardous substances aims to focus on the sources of hazardous substances, their occurrence in the ecosystem and their accumulation and effects in biota. HELCOM will also produce a comprehensive assessment on the changes in radioactivity levels in the Baltic Sea ecosystem.

Prerequisite to the aforementioned assessments are the HELCOM pollution load compilations, which are currently carried out for airborne and waterborne loads of nutrients and hazardous substances to the Baltic Sea.

In addition to future assessments, the HELCOM MONAS Meeting adopted about 30 new HELCOM Facts Sheets on indicators of pollution loads and the state of the Baltic marine environment. Various scientific institutions have been involved in compiling the Facts Sheets. The reports will be published this week on the HELCOM website (www.helcom.fi/environment2/ifs/en_GB/cover/). The Meeting also adopted a thematic assessment on climate change in the Baltic Sea basin, which has been produced by a group of about 20 top scientists, meteorologists, oceanographers and ecologists.

The Meeting elected Wolfram Schrimpf, representing the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, as the new chairman of the Group, and Maria Laamanen of Finland and Lars M. Svendsen of Denmark as the Vice-Chairs for the next two-year period.

Note to Editors: 

The Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental co-operation between the countries bordering the sea - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and also the European Community.  

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:

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