Poland takes over the chairmanship of the Helsinki Commission on 1 July

Helsinki, 29 June (HELCOM) – Poland on 1 July will assume the rotating chairmanship of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), the intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union responsible for the protection of the Baltic marine environment from all sources of pollution.

The Government of the Republic of Poland has nominated Prof. Mieczyslaw Ostojski as Chairman of HELCOM and Ms. Adriana Dembowska as Vice-Chairman of HELCOM. Prof. Ostojski, Director General of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, is well known in the Baltic Sea countries. He has great experience in the fields of ecology, environmental protection and water resources management. In 1996-1999 and 2003-2006 he was Head of the Polish delegation to HELCOM, and in 1999-2003 he served as Executive Secretary of the Helsinki Commission.

The incoming Chairman today outlined HELCOM's priorities for the next two years, which include further enhancement of the Commission’s role as the environmental policy-maker in the region, the development of the strategic HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan aimed at solving major environmental problems troubling the Baltic Sea, as well as strengthening the co-operation among all the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union to protect the Baltic marine environment.

“HELCOM is the only intergovernmental agency in the region with the mandate to deal comprehensively with the problems of the Baltic marine environment. We will continue to serve as the environmental policy-maker for the Baltic Sea area developing common environmental objectives and actions, and providing information about the state and trends in the marine environment, the efficiency of measures to protect it and common initiatives and positions which can form the basis for decision-making,” said Prof. Ostojski. “The principle objective of HELCOM will be to obtain a good ecological status for the Baltic Sea: a sea with diverse biological components functioning in balance and supporting a wide range of sustainable human economic and social activities.”

Prof. Ostojski pointed out that one of the top most priorities during the Polish chairmanship will be the finalisation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. “This ambitious but realistic plan, which HELCOM decided to create in 2005, will include wide-ranging actions to reduce pollution and reverse the degradation of the marine environment,” said Prof. Ostojski. He acknowledged that the basis for the decision to draw up this plan was the present state of the Baltic Sea, and the fact that in spite of environmental protection successes over the last three decades, the measures currently in place will not be enough to cope with mounting pollution and other environmental problems.

“The adoption of the action plan, scheduled to take place at a HELCOM Ministerial Meeting on 15 November 2007 in Warsaw, Poland, will be a milestone, one of the defining moments in our joint efforts to make the Baltic Sea a more environmentally sound and healthier place,” said the incoming Chairman of HELCOM. 

The Helsinki Commission has already approved the core elements of this new environmental strategy to restore the Baltic Sea - a common vision of a healthy sea, and a set of Ecological Objectives to work towards so as to fulfil this vision. Under the Polish chairmanship the next crucial step in the development of the plan will be to identify and detail the kind of actions needed to achieve the agreed environmental objectives within a given timeframe for each of the four main environmental priorities: combating eutrophication, curbing inputs of hazardous substances, ensuring maritime safety, and halting habitat destruction and the ongoing decline in biodiversity.

The incoming Chairman confirmed that the first draft of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, based on major chapters now being drafted by the Lead Countries, could be developed already by September 2006.

Prof. Ostojski underlined that the success of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, which has already been widely heralded as a pilot project for the protection of regional seas under the newly drafted EU Marine Strategy, will largely depend on how all the coastal countries and involved stakeholders will co-operate to achieve the goal of a healthy Baltic Sea environment. “The overall state of the Baltic Sea can only be further improved through our combined efforts and integrated actions, and as Chairman of HELCOM, I will do everything in my power to ensure good co-operation among all the Baltic Sea States in developing and carrying out environmental actions,” said Prof. Ostojski. He also stressed the importance to enhance co-operation between HELCOM and Belarus, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic which are significant sources for pollution deposited into the Baltic Sea.

Prof. Ostojski is succeeding Arturas Daubaras of Lithuania, who chaired the Helsinki Commission in 2004-2006. The chairmanship of the Helsinki Commission rotates between the Baltic Sea coastal countries and the EU according to the alphabetical order every two years. Prof Ostojski will lead, as Chairman, the work of HELCOM up until 30 June 2008.

Curriculum vitae

Mr. Mieczyslaw S. Ostojski (51) is Director General of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management since June 2006. His personal career has always been connected with problems of the quality of water resources, marine environment, as well as international relations.

Mr. Ostojski started his career as an assistant professor at the University of Technology in his home town of Gdansk (1971-1995). There he received his M. Sc. dipl. Eng. and Ph. D. Between 1991 and 1995 he headed the Regional Water Management Authority in Gdansk.

Mr. Ostojski held several senior level positions at the Ministry of the Environment of Poland. In 1996, Mr. Ostojski was appointed Director of the International Co-operation Department, where he stayed up until 1999. In 2003-2006, Mr. Ostojski served as Director of the Department of Water Resources. During his work at the Ministry, he also served twice as Head of the Polish delegation to HELCOM (1996-1999, 2003-2006).

Mr. Ostojski has a lot of experience working in international organisations, especially the Helsinki Commission. Particularly, he served as Executive Secretary of the Helsinki Commission in 1999-2003, as well as Vice-Chairman of the HELCOM PITF Programme in1997-1999. He also held the post of President of the International Network of Basin Organisations in1995, and President of the European Network of Basin Organisations in 2004-2005.

Mr. Ostojski is a visiting professor at the Environmental Protection High School in Budgoszcz, Poland.

He is fluent in English, French and Russian.

Mr. Ostojski and his wife, Irena, have two daughters Celestyna (22) and Estera (16).

His hobby is photography, jogging and movies.