Helcom : Call for participants: HELCOM events at the European Maritime Day in Poland

14.04.2011

Call for participants:

HELCOM events at the European Maritime Day in Poland

Dear Madam/Sir,

The Helsinki Commission is pleased to invite stakeholders from all the Baltic Sea coastal countries and regional organizations to participate in its events at the annual European Maritime Day Conference taking place in Poland on 19-20 May 2011.

The 2011 European Maritime Day, under the theme “Maritime Policy: Putting People First”, will be an occasion to reflect on sectoral themes and policies affecting the seas and coasts and address cross-sectoral cooperation between stakeholders, focusing in particular on the Baltic Sea.

As a side-event HELCOM is planning to arrange a seminar on 18 May in Sopot to present the results of the international BRISK and BRISK-RU Projects dealing with the risks of pollution from shipping accidents. Maritime spatial planning will be one of the main themes at this year’s European Maritime Day. HELCOM will arrange a joint workshop on maritime spatial planning on 20 May in Gdansk together with VASAB (Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea), Maritime Institute in Gdansk and the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency.

Seminar: Risks of pollution by shipping – How to improve preparedness to oil spills

• 18 May 2011, Hotel Hafner, Sopot, Poland,

The main topic of the seminar is environmental risks of maritime transportation and the need for sufficient resources to combat accidental oil spills at sea. The event will provide the first opportunity to reveal the results of the BRISK Project’s comprehensive and unique risk analysis of shipping accidents and pollution in the Baltic Sea, based on a single methodology and covering the whole sea area.

The overview of the risks will serve as the basis for national competent authorities to assess whether the existing response capacities in each sub-region of the Baltic are sufficient to tackle major pollution accidents and to jointly decide on the needed improvements.

The general aim of the seminar is to increase awareness among the participants on the risk of accidents associated with intense shipping in the Baltic and to demonstrate the benefits of having adequate response resources sufficient to tackle major spills of oil or hazardous substances. The best practices on the assessment of maritime risks and cooperation on response to pollution at sea will be shared with other European Seas.

The BRISK Project (2009-2012) is a flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region as well as a strategic project of the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013. The project is co-financed by the European Union. The BRISK-RU Project runs complementary activities in Russia and is financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Workshop: Towards coherent Maritime Spatial Planning in the Baltic Sea

• 20 May 2011, 13:30 – 15:00, The Polish Baltic Philharmonic Hall, room 1, Gdansk

The EU Maritime Day workshop will focus on the emerging role of maritime spatial planning, with the dual aims to achieve good environmental status and to promote sustainable development of marine areas. Maritime spatial planning has an increasing importance in the work of the European Commission and the Member States and is through the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and decisions at ministerial level anchored in the work carried out by HELCOM and VASAB.

The first part of the event will present the joint work of HELCOM and VASAB on the development of coherent maritime spatial planning based on the adopted ten Baltic Maritime Spatial Planning Principles. Specific uses of the sea and the environmental risks they create will be presented to showcase an eco-system based, integrated, cross-sectorial approach to management of human activities, e.g. based on the BRISK Project.

The second part of the event will present the results of projects dealing with maritime spatial planning. Among the projects presented is Plan Bothnia, a Directorate General MARE funded maritime spatial planning “Preparatory Action” for the Baltic Sea led by HELCOM. The initiative will involve regional and national administrations in Sweden and Finland in order to draft a joint pilot plan for the Bothnian Sea basin. This 18 month initiative will run through summer 2012.

We look forward to seeing you at the HELCOM events for discussions on risks of pollution from shipping accidents and issues related to maritime spatial planning in the Baltic Sea region.

Anne Christine Brusendorff

Executive Secretary

HELCOM