2010-Initial-holistic-assessment

 

​The HELCOM Initial Holistic Assessment of 2010 (PDF, 3.3 MB) provided the first ecosystem health assessment of the entire Baltic Sea, also providing information on the associated benefits and costs to society. The assessment was based on data for the years 2003–2007.

The 2010 holistic assessment showed that none of the open-water basins are in a good environmental state:

• Most sub-basins are negatively affected by eutrophication, hazardous substances and the conservation of species is unfavourable.
• The human communities linked to the sea have been negatively affected by the deteriorated state of the Baltic Sea.
• Given the current impaired status of ecosystem health, the pressures from agriculture, fisheries, industries, the maritime sector as well as from communities​​ need to be effectively managed.