Report on the exercise of the observer status at HELCOM issued

Reporton the Exercise of theObserver Statusof theBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference(BSPC) at theBaltic Marine EnvironmentProtection Commission(Helsinki Commission - HELCOM)2016/2017Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSPCReporton the Exercise of theObserver Statusof theBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference(BSPC) at theBaltic Marine Environment ProtectionCommission(Helsinki Commission - HELCOM)2016/2017Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSPC2Report on the Exercise of the Obeserver Statusof the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference at HELCOMT ext: Syvia Bretschneider and Saara-Sofia SirénEditing: Bodo Bahr, Georg Strätker undJulien RadloffLayout: produktionsbüro TINUSPhotos: BSPC SecretariatBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBodo Bahr Secretary General +49 171 5512557bodo.bahr@bspcmail.netwww.bspc.netBSPC Secretariatc/o Lennéstraße 1 19053 SchwerinGermanyThe Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum forpolitical dialogue between parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC aims at rais-ing awareness and opinion on issues of current political interest and relevance for the Baltic Sea Region. It promotes and drives various in-itiatives and efforts to support a sustainable environmental, social and economic develop-ment of the Baltic Sea Region. It strives at en-hancing the visibility of the Baltic Sea Region and its issues in a wider European context.BSPC gathers parliamentarians from 11national parliaments, 11 regional parliaments and 5 parliamentary organisations around the Baltic Sea. The BSPC thus constitutes aunique parliamentary bridge between all theEU- and non-EU countries of the Baltic SeaRegion.BSPC external interfaces include parlia-mentary, governmental, sub-regional and oth-er organizations in the Baltic Sea Region andthe Northern Dimension area, among themCBSS, HELCOM, the Northern Dimension Partnership in Health and Social Well-Being (NDPHS), the Baltic Sea Labour Forum (BSLF), the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation (BSSSC) and the Baltic Develop-ment Forum.BSPC shall initiate and guide political ac-tivities in the region; support and strengthen democratic institutions in the participating states; improve dialogue between govern-ments, parliaments and civil society; strength-en the common identity of the Baltic Sea Re-gion by means of close co-operation between national and regional parliaments on the basis of equality; and initiate and guide political ac-tivities in the Baltic Sea Region, endowing them with additional democratic legitimacy and parliamentary authority.The political recommendations of the an-nual Parliamentary Conferences are expressed in a Conference Resolution adopted by con-sensus by the Conference. The adopted Reso-lution shall be submitted to the governments of the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS and the EU, and disseminated to other relevant na-tional, regional and local stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region and its neighbourhood.3ContentsI. Introduction ...................................... 4II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOM ............. 71. HELCOM Report at the 25th annual BSPC ........... 72. Standing Committee Meeting of the BSPC in Brussels .... 83. BSPC Efforts to Support HELCOM ................. 9III. Main Decisions in 2016-2017 ...................... 121 Progress in Application for NECA Status ............ 122. Progress in the Implementation of MARPOL Annex IV .133. Status of HOLAS II ............................. 134. HELCOM Marine Litter Action Plan ............... 155. HELCOM Representation at the SDG 14High Level Meeting ............................. 16IV . Prospects for 2018 and Beyond ................... 171. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPCand HELCOM ................................ 172. Ministerial Meeting 2018 ........................ 183. The State of the Baltic Sea Report .................. 214 IntroductionI. IntroductionThe Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HEL-COM), is widely recognized as the main coordinator and imple-menter of work towards protecting and bettering the marine envi-ronment in the Baltic Sea. Since its conception in 1974 and imple-mentation in 1980, the ten Baltic Sea States that are contracting parties of HELCOM have been dedicated to and continuouslyworking towards the goal of achieving a healthy environment in theBaltic Sea. As the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) shares many of the objectives of HELCOM, it has held an observer status to the commission since 2002 and enjoyed a fruitful relation-ship.2016, the representatives of the Standing Committee of the BSPCduring the 25th annual conference in Riga again agreed to extend themandate of Sylvia Bretschneider. In its Brussels meeting in January2017 the Standing Committee appointed Saara-Sofia Sirén as a co-observer and co-rapporteur. Both present this written report to the BSPC.This report gives an overview of the major work done between Au-gust 2016 and this year’s 26th Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceSylvia Bretschneider President of the LandtagMecklenburg-VorpommernSaara-Sofia SirénMember of theFinnish Parliament5 Introduction3-5 September 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. The report will focuson cooperation between BSPC and HELCOM, main decisions in2016-2017, and prospects for further cooperation between the twoand future work of HELCOMThe report gives an update of important processes that HELCOMhas been undertaking as well as an overview of new developments.One of these important processes was the application to designate the Baltic Sea as a NOx Emission Control Area (NECA) in order to reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions. The application has been accept-ed and HELCOM is now working towards implementing this sta-tus. T wo other major focus areas are the implementation of the MARPOL Annex IV Special area regulations and of the Marine Lit-ter Action Plan.Furthermore, continued development of the Second Holistic As-sessment of the ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS II) hasbeen a key focus this year. The assessment will help HELCOM todetermine the current state of the Baltic Sea and to identify next steps to achieving a healthy status. Contracting parties have been primarily negotiating to develop and agree on core indicators,which are the main tools of the assessment. Although there havebeen some challenges in making agreements and keeping with the timeline of the project, the first assessment was carried out in June2017 as planned, and HELCOM is striving to fill gaps and makeimprovements for the next assessment planned for mid-2018.An interesting new development for HELCOM this year was theopportunity to participate in a United Nations High Level Confer-ence on Sustainable Development goals. Sweden and Fiji co-hosted this high-level conference in New York, USA from June 5-9, 2017. HELCOM presented its work at several side events of the confer-ence, and along with individual contracting parties, made severalvoluntary commitments. This was an opportunity to showcase the importance of regional cooperation among sea conferences, withHELCOM and partners being a prime example of how fruitfulsuch cooperation can be.Looking forward, an important task for HELCOM this year was –and still is - to plan the 2018 Ministerial Meeting. At the 52nd Headsof Delegation Meeting, a general outline of topics to be addressed at the meeting was drafted, with four major topics to be discussed and the three major priorities of the EU Chairmanship of HELCOM.Furthermore, another important development for future planning isthe ‘State of the Baltic Sea Report’ that was produced in June 2017. This report gives an assessment of the environmental status of the6 IntroductionBaltic Sea and informs directions for moving forward towards ahealthy Baltic Sea.This report is primarily based on the 51st and 52nd Heads of Dele-gation meetings and the 38th Helsinki Commission Meeting heldin February 2017. It highlights the most important developmentsduring the 2016-2017 time period and therefore focuses on the top-ics mentioned.7 II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOMII. Cooperation between BSPCand HELCOM1. HELCOM Report at the 25th annual BSPCIn this period, the cooperation between BSPC and HELCOM be-gins with HELCOM’s participation in the 25th annual Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, which was held in Riga, Latvia August2016. Ms Monika Stankiewicz, the Executive Secretary of HEL-COM, gave a report on the status of implementation of HELCOM commitments to achieve healthy marine ecosystems.In her speech, Ms Stankiewicz expressed her gratitude to the BSPCfor its very supportive role in the HELCOM work for the Baltic Sea marine environment. She outlined concrete achievements of HEL-COM, especially in reducing inputs of excessive nutrients- nitrogenand phosphorus-, which are responsible for eutrophication and al-gal blooms. One of the greatest achievements was progress towards achieving status as NOx Emission Control Area (NECA). In 2016the Baltic Sea coastal countries agreed and submitted a proposal tothe International Maritime Organization, IMO, the global regula-tor of shipping, to designate the Baltic Sea as a NECA.Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of HELCOM at the 25th BSPC in RigaPhoto: Jens Büttner/dpa8 II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOMMs. Stankiewicz expressed in her report that another milestoneachieved in curbing nutrient inputs was the ban to discharge un-treated sewage from passenger ships in the Baltic Sea. As a step inimplementing the Special Area Regulations in MARPOL Annex IV, the contracting parties had finally fulfilled the formal conditions for the ban to be enforced and the new regulations will take effect by2021, at the latest, for most of the IMO registered passenger vessels.Understanding that strong regional cooperation is extremely im-portant in achieving such goals and is therefore a particularly im-portant theme this year, Ms. Stankiewicz acknowledged that theHELCOM cooperation with IMO and industry stakeholders onthe establishment of the special regimes for ships operating in the Baltic Sea is successful example of such cooperation across sectors. Through this cooperation, regional bodies are better supported intheir aim to implement global regulations.2. Standing Committee Meeting of the BSPCin BrusselsAnother example of the strong cooperation between BSPC andHELCOM was demonstrated through HELCOM’s participationin the Standing Committee meeting of BSPC in January 2017. MsCarola Veit noted that the HELCOM Chairmanship 2016-2018 had been assumed by the EU Commission. As HELCOM is one of BSPCs most important partners, Ms Marianne Wenning, Chair ofHELCOM, was invited to discuss the goals and priorities of the EUChairmanship of HELCOM.Ms Wenning noted that with regard to the Chairmanships first majorpriority, ‘Reaching a healthy ecosystem in the Baltic Sea by 2021’,new and improved assessment measures would help them determine the current state and pressures of the Baltic Sea and therefore helpbetter determine how to move forward toward reaching the goal. Thenew holistic assessment, HOLAS II, evaluates the HELCOM coun-tries’ efforts for improvements in the Baltic Sea’s environmental statussince HOLAS I in 2010, the results of which were planned for releaseby mid-2017 and to be updated by mid-2018. Pressures and impacts in the region would be further quantified, for example via the latest ‘Pollution Load Compilation’, allowing progress towards the goals ofthe Baltic Sea Action Plan to be evaluated. Ms Wenning stressed thatthis work is not only relevant to HELCOM activities, but that it would also help the contracting parties that were EU Member Statesin fulfilling their obligations under EU marine legislation.9 II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOMMs Wenning clarified further that the implementation of the re-gional action plan for marine litter is also a major priority of the EUChairmanship. In addition to the environmental benefits the im-plementation of this action plan will bring, it is also an important way demonstrate the strength of Baltic regional cooperation in meeting global commitments.Under the second major priority ‘Innovation for Sustainable BlueEconomy and Healthy Ecosystems’, Ms Wenning emphasized that HELCOM should respond to the need for advanced social and eco-nomic analysis to improve the understanding of multidimensionalpatterns of indicators and their influence over the ecosystems of the Baltic Sea. This means that the data collected by HELCOM should be used for spatial planning. HELCOM would work on developingfurther synergies with regional or European governance frame-works, for instance with the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.Under the last major priority ‘Tackling the Challenge of RegionalGovernance’, Ms Wenning stressed that the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be used as tool for strengthening ocean governance and regional sea conven-tions. Several of the SDGs actually align closely with the work ofHELCOM, and the objectives can serve to complement each other. In particular, HELCOM should be playing a crucial role in the im-plementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 on oceans andseas.3. BSPC Efforts to Support HELCOMThe cooperation of between HELCOM and BSPC this year was not only demonstrated through HELCOM participation at BSPCevents, but also through BSPC taking actions to lend its support inHELCOM’s work. Part of this effort can be seen in the resolution that resulted from the 25th annual Baltic Sea Parliamentary confer-ence in Riga, Latvia August 2016. The sixth clause of the resolutionwas devoted entirely to strengthening cooperation between the two regional bodies. In the resolution, it was agreed by BSPC members that its work would further strengthen and develop HELCOM asthe main coordinating body in the effort to protect the Baltic ma-rine environment. In order to do this, they have committed to strongly supporting and encouraging a fast implementation of theMarine Litter Action Plan, which is one of the major priorities of10 II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOMHELCOM. Additionally, BSPC committed to working harder tosupport the implementation of the NOx emission control areaRoadmap for the Baltic Sea, another critical goal of HELCOM. Fi-nally, the conference will take advantage of opportunities to stress the importance of HELCOM’s Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) as one of the environmental pillars of the EU strategy for the BalticSea Region.In addition to this, the BSPC contributed at the 38th meeting ofHELCOM in Helsinki Finland, February 2017. Ms Saara-SofiaSirén, member of the Finnish Parliament and HELCOM co-ob-server of the BSPC, provided constructive input for HELCOM in her speech, particularly emphasizing the importance of reducing land-based pollution in cooperation with the agriculture sector andon stronger river basin management cooperation. The high-leveldelegates of the meeting took note of this contribution and includ-ed it in the final outcome of the meeting.11 II. Cooperation between BSPC and HELCOMConcerning the update of the Baltic Sea Action plan, Ms Saara-So-fia Sirén rejected any endeavours to soften the ambitious HEL-COM targets. She stressed that an update should not lead to targetsthat are less ambitious than the actual ones. The BSPC and HEL-COM member states should stand strongly behind ambitious and concrete targets.Finally, the BSPC has shown its continued dedication to supportingHELCOM by submitting additions to the resolution of the 26th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference regarding HELCOM. In a let-ter to Ms. Carola Veit, Chair of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary confer-ence. Co-observers Sylvia Bretschneider and Saara-Sofia Sirén en-closed two Proposals indicating the BSPC’s commitment to sup-porting and strengthening the work of HELCOM. The content ofthe proposals is explained later in the section on prospective coop-eration between HELCOM and the BSPC.12 III. Main Decisions in 2016-2017III. Main Decisionsin 2016-20171. Progress in Application for NECA StatusSince 2007, HELCOM has been in the process of applying for Ni-trogen Oxide (NOx) Emission Control Area (NECA) Status for the Baltic Sea in order to solidify efforts against the challenge of NOxemissions. Achieving this status would mean long-term decrease inNOx emissions, and HELCOM has been carrying out studies and intensive negotiations to achieve the requirements for this status.In the 37th HELCOM Commission meeting in 2016, a roadmapto achieve this status was adopted. In HELCOM‘s 50th Heads of Delegation meeting, the final Baltic Sea NOx Emission Control Area Application along with the related information document onNOx reducing technology was approved. As agreed in the meeting,the documents were submitted to IMO Marine Environment Pro-tection Committee (MEPC) 70 for final approval. These decisionshave consequently led to amendments in the MARPOL treaty,which have been distributed to contracting parties for review. It is the hope that the amended document can be adopted at MEPC 71 in July 2017. As was the hope, it has been agreed upon that theNorth Sea and the Baltic Sea will be designated as Tier III emissioncontrol areas, and this is expected to go into effect on 1 January 2021. The successful application is a major achievement, but HEL-COM must continue to work towards implementing this status.In order to do this, it will be essential to focus on developing tech-nology, which among other purposes aims to reduce economic im-pact to ship-owners. This will require all contracting parties to beactively engaged in HELCOM activities in this area, as well as oth-er platforms dealing with these issues.13 III. Main Decisions in 2016-20172. Progress in the Implementation ofMARPOL Annex IVSince the Baltic Sea was designated as a special area under MAR-POL Annex IV by IMO in 2011, HELCOM has been workingcontinuously to outline and implement regulations for this status.In 2016 at the IMO MEPC 69, final Amendments to the MAR-POL Annex IV that sets forth the Baltic Sea Special Area regula-tions were adopted, making the special area requirements effectivefor the Baltic Sea. During the 37th HELCOM Commission meet-ing in 2016, it was stressed that before the application dates of the regulations, it would be essential to ensure that port reception facil-ities are adequate and urged that further work needed to be done in this area.To address these concerns, the Baltic Marine Environment Protec-tion Commission adopted a Work Plan for 2016-2018 of the Co-operation Platform on Special Area According to MARPOL AnnexIV at the 38th meeting of HELCOM. The Work Plan outlines fur-ther work to be done in terms of obtaining and exchanging infor-mation in three major areas: sewage Port Reception Facilities (PRFs)in the Baltic Sea, sewage composition and treatment, and technicalissues related to sewage. Specifically under the area of Sewage PRFs, information on capacity of ports across the Baltic to receive sewage, as well as port and ship specific sewage amounts, discharge rates,and composition of sewage from cruise ships in the Baltic needs tobe updated. In general, the region needs to promote greater ex-change of best practices and challenges, especially in areas regardingtechnological solutions related to the management and treatment ofsewage and composition of sewage. HELCOM hopes to achieve this through activities such as expert events and workshops, espe-cially in connection with the Baltic Ports Organization and otherstakeholder conferences. Updating the HELCOM Overview wouldalso be a part of this work. These actions should be implemented with a deadline of the Cooperation Platform event in 2017.3. Status of HOLAS IIHELCOM conducted its initial Holistic Assessment of the Ecosys-tem Health of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS I) back in 2010. Startingfrom 2014, HELCOM has been developing a second assessment(HOLAS II) based on the results of HOLAS I to further determine what needs to be done for the Baltic Sea to reach good status. This14 III. Main Decisions in 2016-2017assessment is primarily used to track progress in achieving the goalsof the Baltic Sea Action Plan, but will also potentially serve to helpEU member States in their reporting for the EU Marine StrategyFramework Directive (MSFD). Contracting parties have worked continuously to agree on core indicators, the primary assessment tools of HOLAS II, as well as other assessment measures.The work on the Second Holistic Assessment of the EcosystemHealth of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS II) done in the last year has seen some challenges in parties agreeing on the core indicators. Variouscontracting parties have expressed reservations about specific indi-cators, and the Executive Secretary has acknowledged that data gaps regarding certain indicators still exist. NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have expressed concerns over thedelays these issues have caused in the process, and worry about is-sues of credibility given how much time and resources have been devoted to this project. However, through extended cooperation throughout the year at various meetings and conferences, con-tracting parties have been able to agree on many core indicatorsand assessment measures, and many of the reservations have been lifted. Additionally, they have made every effort to proceed with the assessment even when agreements could not be reached. Forexample, GEAR 15-2016 suggested that if a core indicator couldnot be operational Baltic-wide, then it could at least be used in sub-basins where all contracting parties sharing the basin are inagreement on the indicator. Furthermore, countries with studyreservations about certain indicators could still use these indica-tors while taking note that they are at a test stage could potential-ly still need further development. HELCOM carried out a first as-sessment in June 2017 as planned and will continue to strive to fillgaps and reach agreements where still needed to be included in the second assessment in June 2018.The results of the first assessment of HOLAS II can be found in the‘State of the Baltic Sea’ report, which will be discussed in more de-tail later on in this report. The results indicate that there are signs ofimprovement in the overall state of the Baltic Sea, but the BSAPgoals and objectives have yet to be reached. However, it is worth noting that some measures have not been in operation long enoughto have an effect. The assessment does provide important informa-tion to determine what further actions need to be taken to reach a good environmental status and to implement the Baltic Sea Action Plan by 2021. The important step now is further development toensure a more complete assessment can be made by the end of theproject period in 2018.15 III. Main Decisions in 2016-20174. HELCOM Marine Litter Action PlanAt the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in October 2013, it was de-cided that a regional action plan on marine litter should be devel-oped no later than 2015 in order to significantly reduce marine lit-ter by 2025. In 2015, HELCOM adopted this regional action plan as HELCOM Recommendation 36/1, which outlines concrete measures to prevent and reduce marine litter; aims to develop indi-cators and targets related to quantities, composition, sources andpathways of marine litter; and further aims to assess socio-econom-ic and biological impacts of marine litter.At present, there still lacks a regional system for monitoring of ma-rine litter. However, based on national monitoring programmeswithin the region, HELCOM is currently preparing its first marine monitoring guidelines related to beach litter, which it hopes to havefinalized for the next State and Conservation meeting. HELCOMSPICE, which is co-funded by the EU, supports the HELCOM Ex-pert Network on Marine Litter in initiating regular activities for them to carry out collection of data and information in order to de-fine a baseline for beach litter and explore possibilities to definesuch a baseline for seafloor litter for the Baltic Sea. Additionally, the data collected can contribute to establishing reduction targets for items of particular concern.Regarding seafloor litter, national data has already been compiledthrough the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s(ICES) DATRAS database. With the exception of two states (Fin-land and Russia), seafloor litter is currently monitored in all Baltic Sea countries and this information is included in the database. It is worth noting, however, that this monitoring occurs at trawl haulsfor cost effectiveness, with fish stock assessment as a priority for de-termining location. This therefore impacts the representativeness of marine litter monitoring results. Expanding marine litter monitor-ing to additional areas would be necessary to carry out more com-plete assessments.Recently a lot of progress has been made in the implementation ofthe action plan, especially in terms of developing indicators. T wo pre-core indicators and one candidate indicator have been devel-oped. Nevertheless, gaps still exist and HELCOM expressed that itmust move with greater urgency to implement the plan, given thatit is a priority of the EU Chairmanship of HELCOM.16 III. Main Decisions in 2016-20175. HELCOM Representation at the SDG 14 HighLevel MeetingA particularly important opportunity for HELCOM presented it-self this year that served to strengthen cooperation between con-tracting parties and improve progress toward the region’s goals. Atthe 51st Heads of Delegations meeting, Sweden announced that along with Fiji, they would be co-hosting a High-Level United Na-tions Conference titled „Our oceans, our future: partnering for theimplementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.“ HELCOMwas invited to make a contribution to the conference, as much of HELCOM‘s work aligns with certain UN SDGs, particularly SDG 14. Taking note of the joint communication with the EU „Interna-tional Ocean governance: an agenda for the future of our oceans”and its emphasis on the improvement and strengthening of regionalgovernance, it was agreed that this would be an excellent opportu-nity to showcase the importance of regional cooperation in Region-al Sea Conventions. The Baltic Sea region serves as a successful ex-ample of such cooperation, especially in areas regarding regional policy making, stakeholder involvement and establishing partner-ships for integrated management of human activities.Taking full advantage of this opportunity, HELCOM contributedto four side events of the conference. The first contribution was a presentation on integrated solutions and good-practice examplesfrom marine regions at the ‘Oceans in 2030 Agenda: The role of re-gional governance’ event. At the ‘Environmentally Sound Waste Management as Action against Marine Litter’ event, the Chair ofHELCOM Maritime, Ms Anna Patersson presented on sea-basedwaste: green ports and fisheries. Furthermore, a joint presentation with the Maritime Policy at Cruise Lines International Association on eutrophication and wastewater by ships was made at the panelon ‘Collaboration in Public Private Partnership for a sustainablemaritime future’. Finally, at the ‘Regional Marine Protected Areas networks in Action’ event, HELCOM Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz presented on HELCOM Marine Protected Areas(MPA).In addition to these contributions, contracting parties registeredfour HELCOM voluntary commitments at the conference and many individual contracting parties made their own voluntary commitments as well.17 IV . Prospects for 2018 and BeyondIV. Prospects for 2018and Beyond1. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC andHELCOMMoving forward, the BSPC strives to continue and strengthen itsrelationship with its partner HELCOM. Regarding this, the BSPChas again devoted language in its resolution of the 26th annual Bal-tic Sea Parliamentary Conference to building upon its support of the work of HELCOM. Acknowledging that regional implementa-tion of ocean-related goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations should be a major objective of the re-gion, the BSPC parties have committed to further strengtheningand developing HELCOM’s role as the major coordinator of this goal in the region. In order to do this, it will be necessary for the BSPC to support and strengthen the implementation of the BalticSea Action Plan by the governments and make an even strongercommitment to achieve a good environmental status for the Baltic Sea by 2021. If applicable, it is also important that the Baltic SeaAction Plan will be renewed in line with the UN Sustainable Devel-opment Agenda with commitments extending to 2030.Additionally, the parties expressed their commitment to supportHELCOM in some of their major objectives by helping to developa regional action plan on underwater noise and providing support in implementing the Marine Litter Regional Action Plan. Further-more, the BSPC will strengthen its support for HELCOM’s battleagainst eutrophication and will work to develop and implementconcrete measures to reduce the input of plastics into the marine environment.To support the implementation and realization of the work, it is im-portant to strengthen the cooperation between the BSPC and HEL-COM. Therefore a closer partnership and possibilities for a moreactive participation of observers in future HELCOM work wouldbe useful.18 IV . Prospects for 2018 and Beyond2. Ministerial Meeting 2018A particularly important task for HELCOM this year included theplanning of the next HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, to be held in2018. The purpose of this meeting is for Ministers to produce a fo-cused statement which should help accelerate the implementation of Baltic Sea Action Plan and orient the Heads of Delegation in their work until 2021. The EU has offered to host this meeting dur-ing their chairmanship, and plans have been made to invite theOSPAR Commission. A number of topics were suggested to be cov-ered by the meeting, with the renewal of the BSAP being one of the most important. At the 52nd Heads of Delegation Meeting a first draft outline for the 2018 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting was pro-posed. While still tentative, this draft proposes topics under thethree major EU Chairmanship priorities: Reaching a healthy eco-system in the Baltic Sea by 2021, innovation for a sustainable BlueEconomy and healthy ecosystems, and tackling the challenge of re-gional governance.I. Reaching a healthy ecosystem in theBaltic Sea by 2021The first step to be taken by the ministerial meeting should be re-flecting on the current state, pressures and impacts on the Baltic Sea. Taking into consideration the results of the HOLAS II assess-ment released in June 2017 and of the PLC-6 (regular assessment ofthe Baltic’s pollution load) conducted by HELCOM, the meeting must make note of progress made in reducing pressures on the ma-rine environment and reaching a healthy ecosystem. In the declara-tion, the ministers should identify priority pressures and compo-nents of ecosystems that are not in good status while under said pressures. Additionally, further work needs to be carried out to de-velop and adopt core indicators in December 2017, particularly forseafloor integrity, marine litter and underwater noise.In order to respond to these pressures, a second major task to un-dertake is to update the Baltic Sea Action Plan beyond 2021 to-wards 2030. At the 52nd Heads of Delegation Meeting, the mem-bers agreed that the term “update” better suits the foreseen processand that the previously agreed commitments should not be opened.An analysis of the results of the first version of the ‘State of the Bal-tic Sea’ report will be an important next step to understand the un-derlying reasons for not reaching a good environmental status yet.19 IV . Prospects for 2018 and BeyondThe meeting should track how many actions of the plan have beenimplemented and the progress that has been made in key areas, es-pecially in reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea. Special atten-tion should be given to a comparison of HOLAS II results and BSAP follow up results to identify where actions have been inade-quate. In addition to renewing commitments of the plan, the Min-isters should also outline new commitments, especially in the areasof battling eutrophication and further accumulation of nutrients in the marine ecosystem, potential for further reduction of inputs of phosphorous and nitrogen, and further actions to be taken to reachreduction targets. Additionally, they should address the implemen-tation of the Marine Litter Action Plan, implementation of com-mitments on underwater noise, regional quantitative reduction tar-gets for physical disturbance, and the inclusion of climate changeadaptation into HELCOM work.II. Innovation for a sustainable Blue Economy andhealthy ecosystemsAnother task HELCOM must take on is furthering its role in thepromotion of knowledge and innovation in the Baltic Sea. Thisknowledge and innovation brings investment in Blue Growth sectors with strong potential, which would contribute to the development ofa healthy ecosystem in the Baltic. Such a system is otherwise knownas the sustainable Blue Economy. The HOLAS II results, cooperation with BONUS projects, and Maritime Spatial Planning among other approaches will help HELCOM achieve this.Additionally proper management and protection of marine resourc-es is necessary to achieve this priority goal. Marine protected areas (MPA) play a key role in establishing a sustainable blue economy inthat they help rebuild fish stocks and improve protection of coasts,while also contributing to coastal and marine tourism. HELCOM must monitor and assess the MPA network as well as improve man-agement of MPAs to reduce pressures and impacts to these areas.In this regard, the third major task the ministerial meeting shouldundertake is enhancing economic and social analysis and innova-tion to implement the ecosystem approach. Based on the HOLAS II results, it is important to determine how environmental targets can be coordinated with economic and social goals so that they sup-port each other. In particular, HELCOM should provide knowl-edge based regional guidance in terms of innovation for nutrient re-moval.20 IV . Prospects for 2018 and BeyondIII. Tackling the challenge of regional governanceOne particularly important theme for HELCOM in terms of re-gional governance is strengthening cooperation, especially with re-gard to fisheries. This was exemplified through its involvement in the “Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Global Dialogue with Re-gional Seas Organizations and Regional Fisheries Bodies on Accel-erating Progress Towards the AICHI Biodiversity Targets” held in Seoul, Korea in September 2016. The event emphasized the need for closer cooperation at the regional level in terms of fisheries andthe environment, through strengthening of exchange of informa-tion and best practices, coordinating work on shared objectives, and addressing areas of common interest. HELCOM’s Working group FISH serves as a particularly good example of cooperation in thisregard, however, HELCOM acknowledges that a lot of areas for im-provement remain. For example, there is no formal system of ex-change in place between HELCOM and fisheries administration or the fisheries management work taking place with BALTFISH or theEU-Russia arrangement. Such an exchange would be beneficial tocreating synergy between the various projects of the different groups and possibly eliminate any overlap.The fourth major area for the ministerial meeting to tackle is imple-menting SDGs and regional ocean governance. HELCOM should continue to seek out opportunities such as the successful designa-tion of the Baltic Sea as a NOx Emission Control Area to strength-en cooperation in the region. In particular, it should seek to strength-en cooperation with BALTFISH and the Baltic Sea Advisor Coun-cil, and continue coordinating regional implementation of Sustain-able development Goal 14. Finally, HELCOM should continue itswork with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, especially in regards to integrating HELCOM monitoring systems into the de-velopment of the monitoring system of the EU Strategy, involvingEUSBSR stakeholders in sharing the HOLAS II results, and con-tinuing its role as horizontal action coordinator for Horizontal Area „Spatial Planning.“It was agreed that based on these four key points, the work in theseareas would be divided up into four drafting groups at the ministe-rial meeting.21 IV . Prospects for 2018 and Beyond3. The State of the Baltic Sea ReportIn order to strive towards HELCOM’s major goal of reaching ahealthy ecosystem in the Baltic Sea by 2021, it is important to trackprogress and assess the environmental situation of the Baltic Sea alongthe way. To this end, HELCOM prepared a ‘State of the Baltic Sea Report’ in June 2015, which provides an update of the environmen-tal situation in the Baltic Sea for the period from 2011 to 2015. Withthis report, HELCOM can determine new directions and renewcommitments aimed at improving the environmental status of the Baltic Sea. The report touches on a variety of themes, including the status of the ecosystem, environmental pressures and human well-be-ing. The primary form of assessment comes from HELCOM core in-dicators of HOLAS II, which indicate the status of specific elementsof biodiversity and human-induced pressures on the Baltic Sea against regionally agreed threshold values, based on current knowledge andavailable data for the assessment. Core indicators also provide assess-ment for eutrophication and contamination status. For marine litter, underwater noise, and seafloor loss and disturbance, since HELCOM core indicators are still under development, the assessment is mostlyqualitative. The report also takes note of trends over time and spatialaspects, as far as data are available, in order to predict potential future developments and identify geographic areas of major importance for the assessed themes.The results indicate that in general, a lot of work still needs to bedone to achieve overall good environmental status in the Baltic Sea.However, one should note that many measures that have been im-plemented have not been in effect long enough to have an impact, and further assessment should be made later on. The assessment provides significant information for further work towards reachinggood environmental status for the Baltic Sea and implementing theHELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan by 2021. The assessment may also serve as a regional guideline baseline for implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals or the EU Marine Strategy Frame-work Directive (MSFD).Pressures on the Baltic Sea are various, some of the major ones be-ing eutrophication, marine litter, and underwater noise. Based on the report, at this time the state of hazardous substances is showing a trend toward improvement, and it is expected that by 2020, allBaltic States will be at acceptable levels. Under the category of spe-cies removal by fishing and hunting, there also does not seem to be great concern in terms of hunting, and several of the fish stocks are in good status. However, there still remain several fish stocks thatwere unable to be assessed. In terms of eutrophication, there has22 IV . Prospects for 2018 and Beyondbeen some improvement in some indicators and sub-basins, howev-er generally the state of eutrophication has deteriorated. Marine lit-ter was not assessed as core indicators have not been fully developedat this time, and furthermore assessments were not able to be made on adverse effects of underwater sound on marine species, or ad-verse effects of seabed loss and disturbance.Biodiversity of habitats, fish, sea mammals, and water mammalswas also a major component of the assessment. Although many spe-cies and habitats are in good status, the biodiversity in general is in-adequate and there is significant need for further assessment inmany areas. The food web status was also assessed and is currently deteriorating.The cumulative and human impact assessment of these statuses in-dicate that the highest potential environmental impact is seen in the south-west Baltic Sea, and concentration of nutrients (representing inputs of nutrients), contamination, underwater noise, non-indige-nous species, and the extraction of fish represent the most signifi-cant pressures. The costs of eutrophication, inadequate status of marine vegetation and fish stocks, and recreational losses due to degradation of marine environment are estimated to be 3.8 – 4.4billion euros, 1.8 –2.6 billion euros and 1-2 billion euros annuallyrespectively.Despite general inadequate progress towards achieving a good over-all environmental status in the Baltic Sea and lack of assessment in many of these areas, further assessment tools are in the process of being developed, and it is predicted that the Baltic Sea Action Planwill lead to progress in the long term in several areas. The current as-sessment will also help determine what areas to focus on moving forward for more efficient planning and management of environ-mental issues.Moreover, the HELCOM members took note of the potential ofCircular Economy as a solution for many challenges threatening thewellbeing of the sea like eutrophication and marine litter. The Cir-cular Economy Package adopted by the European Commission on 2 December 2015, is recognized by the HELCOM members as animportant approach to increase recycling of waste. The proposed ac-tions will contribute to “closing the loop” of product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use, and bring benefits for both the environment and the economy.Furthermore, achievements in other areas from actions taken byHELCOM should not be dismissed. HELCOM is already carrying23 IV . Prospects for 2018 and Beyondout a significant number of concrete actions and has implemented126 recommendations agreed upon in the Baltic Sea Action Plan.Generally, more than half of joint regional actions and actions im-plemented at the national level have been carried out. Additionally, HELCOM carries out significant actions beyond concrete meas-ures, in areas such as monitoring, improvement of the knowledgebase, and agreement on how to assess the state of the Baltic Sea. Inthese areas, HELCOM has enjoyed a lot of success in its work. This success is demonstrated, for example, in its designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and commitment to further work in thisarea, or its agreement on reduction targets for input of nutrientsand regular assessment of progress in reaching these targets. Reduc-tion of pollution hot spots as part of its programme established in 1992, and the achievement of designation as NOx Emission Con-trol Area and a special area under MARPOL Annex IV also exem-plify this success. The Baltic Sea is the first area in the world to re-ceive a status of a special area for sewage from passenger ships and having this status enforced by the International Maritime Organi-zation, and this is the result of the regional cooperation coordinatedby HELCOM.Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Secretariatwww.bspc.netBSPC Secretariatc/o Lennéstraße 119053 SchwerinGermany