HELCOM releases latest issue of its Newsletter featuring Baltic Action Plan concept

Helsinki, 3 November (HELCOM) - The Helsinki Commission today released the latest issue, No. 3/2005, of its Newsletter, HELCOM News, containing an update on recent HELCOM activities and current trends in the Baltic Sea marine environment.

The new issue of HELCOM news features the first official publication of the concept of a strategic Baltic Sea Action Plan to reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea and to repair the damage done to the marine environment. The decision to draw up this strategy and adopt it by 2007 was taken by the HELCOM Member States and the EU at a meeting held in June 2005.

The Newsletter includes latest assessments of riverine inputs of heavy metals and nutrients into the Baltic Sea and provides latest statistics on incidents with WWII chemical munitions being caught by fishermen and illegal oil discharges from ships. Articles in this edition also include a re-cap of several important HELCOM events, which occurred in summer and autumn 2005. Among them are the official launch of an Automatic Identification System (AIS) for monitoring maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea, the annual exercise of the HELCOM response fleet, the deletion of pollution Hot Spots in Lithuania, and the Second HELCOM Youth Forum.  

Several articles report progress on ongoing HELCOM projects, such as the HELCOM EcoQO Project which defines the Ecological Objectives for a healthy Baltic Sea, the HELCOM EUTRO Project to develop practical tools for the harmonisation of eutrophication assessment criteria and procedures all around the Baltic, the HELCOM BSPA Project on strengthening of the network of marine protected areas, and also the Baltic Sea Regional Project which aims at strengthening the regional capacity for sustainable management of marine, coastal and agricultural resources.

The PDF version of HELCOM news issue 3/2005 can be viewed on the Commissions website at http://helcom.navigo.fi/stc/files/Publications/Newsletters/Newsletter_03_2005.pdf .

To order your print copy, please call the HELCOM Secretariat: + 358 (0)9 6220 220 or send an e-mail to info@helcom.fi. More details of HELCOM’s activities, publications and projects are available at http://www.helcom.fi.

Contacts

HELCOM Secretariat

Mr Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
Tel: +358 9 6220 2235
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239