In just a month’s time, the Baltic region’s Environment Ministers will meet in Copenhagen to review the Baltic Sea Action Plan from 2007. Many of the original deadlines have been missed and to reach the overarching vision of the plan, Ministers now need to recommit to the plan and set out a clear path of action.
Over the next couple of days, Heads of Delegation of the Baltic countries will meet in Copenhagen to discuss outstanding issues for the HELCOM Ministerial meeting on 3 October. The draft Ministerial Declaration is still lacking in clear targets and deadlines for the coming years, and a number of issues remain unresolved.
In relation to fisheries, most of the main commitments are recognised, but the language is still weak. And while discussions continue on sticky issues related to, for example, nutrient surplus from farming – an area where Sweden has been blocking progress on certain aspects – the main problem is the overall tone and content of the draft Ministerial Declaration. While there is some good language, it is generally lacking in terms of clear targets and deadlines for implementation.
The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) that was agreed in 2007 is good and would, if implemented, drastically improve the status of the Baltic Sea environment. It would also show continued leadership and ambition, enabling the region to move ahead globally in terms of sustainable growth and marine management. Some of these possibilities were highlighted at a WWF Seminar in Stockholm last week.
The main problem at this stage is a lack of progress against the targets outlined in the BSAP. Many of the deadlines have already been missed, such as “the urgent adoption of measures to minimise bycatch of undersized fish and non-target species by 2012” and “the active conservation of at least ten endangered/threatened wild salmon river populations in the Baltic Sea region as well as the reintroduction of native Baltic Sea salmon in at least four potential salmon rivers, by 2009”. There is also a lack of standardised reporting systems, which are needed in order to follow national progress, as well as proper integration between countries and between sectors within countries.
What we need now is more action and clear targets for implementation, particularly on eutrophication, as the area of sea bottom suffering from low or no oxygen is still increasing. There needs to be a renewed recognition among the Baltic Sea states that “failure to reach the objectives for eutrophication will impair the achievement of favourable status of biodiversity”[1].
Overall, there is an urgent need for a more focused and visionary approach being endorsed at the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Copenhagen on 3 October in order to stay on course and create long-term, sustainable growth.
The upcoming Heads of Delegation meeting will be crucial in terms of agreeing on some of the paths ahead. It will be followed by one or possibly two more meetings before the Ministerial meeting, depending on how many of the remaining issues can be resolved. All the people in the Baltic Sea region that have been involved with, or signed up for, the Race for the Baltic campaign this summer will be keeping their eyes on the results.
For more information:
Baltic Sea Action Plan – is it on track? WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme, 2013.
[1]HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (2007), page 7.