ROUND TABLE RESOLUTION

 The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan: – a locomotive of regional environmental protection

 with common objectives, common actions, common obligations, and common responsibility

Within the framework of the VIII International Environmental Forum “Baltic Sea Day”

CO-CHAIRMEN: Natalia Tretyakova, Head of Russian Delegation in HELCOM, Ministry of Natural

                                Resources, the Russian Federation

                              Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM Executive Secretary

                             Durkin M.U., FGU “Administration of marine port Kaliningrad

                             Wallach T., Danish Environmental Protection Agency

Participants: 35
  

The roundtable discussed and focused on the following topics:

-          The role of HELCOM and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan as an important player and instrument for the promotion and implementation of policies related to the marine environment, by Ms. Brusendorff.

-          The Russian Federation and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, by Ms. Tretyakova.

-          The renewed Northern Dimension and the Baltic Sea regional aspects of the EU-Russia Environmental Dialogue, speaker Mr. Martti Poutanen, Ministry of the Environment, Finland

-          The EU-Russian bilateral environmental cooperation on water and marine issues and the European Marine Strategy,  speaker Mr. Francois Wakenhut, European Commission

The following points were raised at the roundtable:

ACKNOWLEDGING that HELCOM’s work has led to significant improvements in many areas, but that a large number of problems have yet to be fully addressed and that major threats still persist which are hindering a sustainable utilisation of the marine goods and services provided by the Baltic Sea;

RECALLING that the ecosystem approach to the management of human activities adopted by the joint HELCOM/OSPAR Ministerial Meeting in 2003 echoes the concepts in other international initiatives such as the Convention of Biological Diversity, 1992 and European legislation (the Water Framework directive as well as the emerging European Marine Directive

ACKNOWLEDING that the ecosystem approach is based on an integrated management of all human activities impacting on the marine environment and, based on best available scientific knowledge about the ecosystems and its dynamics, identifies and leads to actions improving the health of the marine ecosystem thus supporting sustainable use of the ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of the ecosystem integrity;

FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING that the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, which is being developed, implements the concept of the ecosystem approach in the region. The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan will be the guiding tool to ensure that all possible measures are taken to reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea and to repair the damage done to the marine environment;

RECALLING the adopted HELCOM vision “A healthy Baltic Sea environment, with diverse biological components functioning in balance, resulting in a good ecological status and supporting a wide range of sustainable human economic and social activities” having biodiversity at its core and which builds upon concepts such as “favourable conservation status” and “good ecological and environmental status”;

FURTHER RECALLING that based on HELCOM monitoring and assessment work on the state of the Baltic marine environment four strategic goals, reflecting the jointly identified major environmental problems in the Baltic Sea, have been adopted describing the desired state of the marine environment, namely a “Baltic sea unaffected by eutrophication”, “Baltic Sea life undisturbed by hazardous substances”, “Maritime activities carried out in an environmentally friendly way”, all of which will lead to a “Favourable status of Baltic Sea biodiversity”;

FURTHERMORE RECALLING the adopted HELCOM ecological objectives which describe the good environmental status we want to achieve for the Baltic Sea in the future;

AGREEING that the targets, which are associated with the ecological objectives, are defining the good ecological status of the Baltic Sea;

ACKNOWLEDGING that HELCOM is the regional body executing global commitments and

declarations in the Baltic Sea region;

FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING that the HELCOM action plan, which has already been widely heralded as a front-running initiative for the regional seas will provide a unique opportunity to take joint wide-scale and decisive actions to achieve the ultimate target of having a healthy marine environment with balanced eco-systems for the present and future generation to enjoy;

FURTHER AGREEING on the need to detail the kind of actions needed to achieve the environmental objectives within a given timeframe for each of the main environmental priorities;

STRESSING the need for integrated management of human activities and the need to take into account their impacts on the marine environment in all policies and programmes implemented in the Baltic Sea region;

FURTHER STRESSING the need for integration of environmental objectives with economic and socio-economic goals in order to advance and strengthen the three interdependent pillars (economic, social and environmental) of sustainable development, also emphasizing the role of the private sector and the public-private partnerships; 

AGREEING on the need to fully take into account the needs for actions identified under the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and to make use of common Baltic knowledge and priorities in policy making at the global, European, regional and national level; and to use the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan as background for the fulfilment of the provisions of the national legislation;

FURTHER AGREEING on the need to identify and include the required measures into national programmes/EU River Basin Management Plans for HELCOM Contracting Parties being also EU Member States in order to achieve the HELCOM targets;

FURTHERMORE AGREEING on the need to fully take into account the needs for actions identified under the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan under various on-going initiatives and cooperation frameworks at the international and national level, such as, for the different Baltic Sea States, the proposed EU Marine Strategy Directive, the Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation, the renewed Northern Dimension and the Baltic Sea regional aspects of the Permanent Partnership Council of the EU-Russian Environmental Dialogue, the EU-Russian bilateral environmental cooperation on water and marine issues, the EU 7^th Framework Programme, as well as the Baltic Sea Programme, 2007-2013;

ACKNOWLEDGING that as a substantial part of the pollution is coming via transboundary water- and airborne inputs, required reduction measures in non-HELCOM countries affecting the Baltic Sea environment should be addressed by bi- and/or multilateral projects and through other existing funding mechanisms as well as by international agreements such as the UNECE Convention on the Use and Management of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the EU River Basin Management Plans for HELCOM Contracting Parties being also EU Member States;

APPRECIATING the positive contributions made by Intergovernmental Organisations and Non-governmental Organisations within their work and within the work of HELCOM towards preserving and protecting the Baltic Sea Area and ensuring a prudent utilisation of its marine goods and services;

STRESSING THE IMPORTANCE of being able to identify specific “bankable projects”, from within the programmes of actions, and the specific information needed by the International Financial Institutions for this purpose;

RECALLING the importance of transparency in the work of the regional organizations and of raising public awareness;

FURTHER RECALLING that political support is of utmost importance to ensure commitment to implement environmental requirements and to facilitate sufficient resources.

All participants expressed their commitment and encouragement for future work in all relevant contexts in order to promote joint international actions needed to reduce pollution to the Baltic Sea and restore its good ecological status.