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VASAB ministers encourage execution of the joint HELCOM-VASAB roadmap on maritime spatial planning

26 September 2014

The regional roadmap for maritime spatial planning (MSP), first adopted in the 2013 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, is today further pushed for implementation by the eleven member states of the Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea (VASAB), hosting its 8^th Ministerial Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. The MSP roadmap covering the period 2013–2020 is a key result of the joint HELCOM-VASAB working group on maritime spatial planning, operational since 2009.

The statement of HELCOM in the Conference was given by the Chair, Harry Liiv, referring to the decades’ long knowledge in HELCOM on marine ecosystems, maritime and land activities and their impacts on the Baltic Sea.

“During the 40 year lifespan of HELCOM, the production, exchange and use of marine and maritime information on our region has further intensified. All countries gathered here today have contributed, and will continue to contribute, considerable intellectual and financial resources to develop and maintain this reassuring bedrock of “best available science” for maritime spatial planning and other regional policies related to the Baltic Sea, as a part of the extended HELCOM cooperation. I urge you to use this source of information in Maritime Spatial Planning.”

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New data released on hazardous substances from Kaliningrad to the Baltic Sea

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First major HELCOM monitoring project on hazardous substances in Kaliningrad has been completed and the new results indicate, among others, that several compounds from the eleven HELCOM priority hazardous substances could be detected both in water and sediment.  For example, high levels of a common hygiene product ingredient, nonylphenol, was found both in Kaliningrad waste canal as well as in leachate water from a major landfill.

Most of the HELCOM hazardous substances are not water soluble and therefore attach on solid material and sediment in aquatic environment. In Kaliningrad, the sedimentation takes place in the Curonian Lagoon which remarkably reduces discharge of the substances to the Baltic Sea. Similarly, the hazardous substances leaching from landfills are bound to the nearby sediments thus not released to the sea.

The data has been obtained within the EU-funded HELCOM BASE Project. The project commissioned the screening of the HELCOM hazardous substances in Kaliningrad, first time in the main river of Kaliningrad, as part of a larger effort to improve monitoring in Russia’s regions in the Baltic Sea catchment area. The eleven priority hazardous substances defined by HELCOM are based on their adverse effects: persistence, bio-accumulation and toxicity.

Monitoring, BASE Project summary

Regular aerial surveillance reduces illegal discharges in the Baltic Sea

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HELCOM’s international aerial surveillance operation over the Northern Baltic Sea ended today at 17:00 (CET +2hrs), completed despite thick fog at night time, 27 hours after the start. This year’s Coordinated Extended Pollution Control Operation (CEPCO North) was organized by the Estonian Police and Border Guard and no oil spills or other discharges from ships were detected.

“The operation involved four specially equipped aircraft from four countries - Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Sweden. More support was provided by three participating vessels as well as through satellite surveillance from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).  The weather conditions had a major effect to the operation due to unpredictable fog, but nevertheless the overall cooperation went smoothly”, says Priit Pajusaar, CEPCO North 2014 coordinator and Police Captain from Estonian Police and Border Guard Board.

Such high-intensity operations supplement the regular aerial control operations in the region which aim at creating a realistic picture of the level of compliance to the anti-pollution regulations in the Baltic area. The purpose is also to gather evidence of infringements and, if possible, to catch polluters red handed.

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Network of Baltic protected areas expected to grow in Russia

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New study of the marine and coastal areas of the Curonian Spit national park has been finalized, along with the application ready for submission, with the aim of legal status granted for the extension of the protected zone between Lithuania and Russia. The report details the reasons for such an extension which will contribute to the ecological coherence – crucial for preserving biodiversity and improving the state of species and habitats – of the marine protected areas’ network in the South-Eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The study is a part of final results of HELCOM BASE Project, supporting implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan in Russia.

Another significant outcome of the BASE Project component has been the involvement of regional and federal authorities, including the Curonian Spit national park authorities in Russia and in Lithuania as well as researchers, in the development of a common approach to establish marine protected areas. All HELCOM member states have agreed to the 2010 target of an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas – while progress towards this target has been insufficient, the coverage of protected areas is considered high at 12 % of the Baltic marine area.

The proposed extension area of the protected zone, entailing 12 nautical miles of internal sea waters and territorial sea of the Russian Federation, would provide better protection for red-listed species such as Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis), Velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca) and Baltic ringed seal (Phoca hispida botnica). Furthermore, within the project component, a number of promotion activities have been carried out in the local communities of Kaliningrad region highlighting the assets of the Curonian Spit marine protected zone.

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The study was motivated by the need to identify measures for reducing the flow of nutrients into the Baltic Sea. Experts estimate that the implementation of a manure handling plan for Kaliningrad Region will reduce the entry of nutrients into the environment from animal/poultry manure – nitrogen by 20–30% and phosphorus by 15%, which is equal to 1,100 tonnes and 210 tonnes per year, respectively. The pilot activity under BASE Project was conducted by the State Scientific Institution North-West Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Electrification (SZNIIMESH) of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences with the support of MTT Agrifood Research Finland.

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