HELCOM to set up a comprehensive system to monitor results of the Baltic recovery programme

Helsinki, 1 October (HELCOM Information Service) - The Helsinki Commission Monitoring and Assessment Group (HELCOM MONAS) will convene a regular meeting on 4-8 October in St. Petersburg to present new information on sources and quantities of inputs of harmful substances into the Baltic Sea, as well their effects on the state of the marine environment.

The topmost issue on the agenda of the Meeting will be the creation of a comprehensive follow-up system to monitor the results of the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to reduce pollution input into the marine environment. This system will be set up on the HELCOM website and enable access to up-to-date data and information on the pressures on and status of the marine environment related to eutrophication, pollution by hazardous substances and biodiversity and nature conservation, which are the main focus areas of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. “The development of such a system was agreed during the HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting in May 2010 and it will be a practical implementation of HELCOM’s common principles on the shared understanding of the current status of the environment, common understanding of the good environmental status and jointly constructed quantitative targets and associated indicators,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary.

As part of the follow-up system’s development the Meeting will consider the principles of target setting for environmental status as well as principles for HELCOM core indicators and assessment methodologies. As first steps of this web-based follow-up system a demonstration set of core eutrophication indicators and an integrated assessment for 2003-2007 has been established and is available at http://www.helcom.fi/BSAP_assessment/en_GB/main/.

The Meeting will also consider the latest achievements in assessing pollution loads to the Baltic Sea. HELCOM’s experts will deliver reports on annual input of nutrients from land to the sea as well as on loads of pollutants from atmospheric emissions to the sea. The Meeting is expected to agree on how to organize the work of a new expert group which will monitor progress towards the Baltic Sea Action Plan nutrient reduction targets and look into ways how to improve nutrient input data flows and compilations.

As part of the activities on the construction of the core indicator-based follow-up system for the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the Meeting will also consider how to continue the revision of the HELCOM monitoring programmes.

Additionally, the Meeting will consider a set of new and updated Indicator Fact Sheets showing the current trends in pollution loads and their environmental impacts on the Baltic ecosystems. The reports provide the latest data on inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances, including radioactive substances and illegal oil discharges, which are largely responsible for the ongoing degradation of the marine environment. Information is also provided about hydrographic parameters, concentrations of nutrients and toxins in water and biota, as well as the status of biodiversity. A new indicator fact sheet on the health status of Baltic ringed seals is expected to be adopted for publication by the Meeting.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

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. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)46 850 9196

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi