The Race for the Baltic campaign delegation also met with the Polish Government representative Mr Andrzej Jagusiewicz at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting to hand over the signatures from the Baltic public collected this summer calling for more ambitious action to restore the health of the Baltic Sea.
Outside of the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting reviewing progress of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) adopted in 2007, representatives of FISH, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) and Oceana, together with Race for the Baltic (RFTB) coordinator Barbara Jackson handed over a box with over 25,000 signatures to Mr Andrzej Jagusiewicz, Chief of Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in Poland, and Head of the Polish Delegation to HELCOM.
We told him of the involvement of Polish environmental NGOs in the campaign, with a series of events organised this summer as part of the campaign. Klub Gaja and the Hel Marine Station supported the campaign during the Day of Fish organised in Hel in the of July. Our Earth Foundation ran two exciting public events in Krynica Morska and Gdynia. In Slupsk and Leba, an organisation of Polish anglers called Friends Society of the Ina and Gowienica Rivers (TPRIIG), received the campaign and organised meetings with local stakeholders. In Kolobrzeg, RFTB was supported by a WWF Poland event on ghost nets and other fisheries issues. Meanwhile, Green Federation Gaja and the Aquarius Foundation informed about the campaign during the Szczecin Tall Ships Race.
At the meeting, Mr Jagusiewicz emphasised the importance of the involvement of civil society in solving the problems facing the Baltic Sea, and how he hopes for continued collaboration with Polish NGOs and coastal communities on working with the solutions.
We were informed of Polandโs main flagship project under the HELCOM BSAP, which is focused on wastewater treatment and will have massive effects on Polish nutrient input in the Baltic Sea. The country is now also implementing stricter rules for detergents, removing phosphates, and dishwasher detergents will follow soon.
For further information visit:ย www.raceforthebaltic.com