Report on HELCOM 2020

BSPCBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceReport on the Exercise of the Observer Status of theBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) at theBaltic Marine Environment Protection Commission(Helsinki Commission – HELCOM)2020ReportEutrophication of the Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum for po-© Schwerin, 2020 litical dialogue between parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC aims at raisingawareness and opinion on issues of current political interest and relevance for the Baltic SeaRegion. It promotes and drives various initiatives and efforts to support a sustainable envi-ronmental, social and economic development of the Baltic Sea Region. It strives at enhanc-Text: Beate Schlupp ing the visibility of the Baltic Sea Region and its issues in a wider European context.Editing: Evgeniya Bakalova, Georg Strätker and Bodo Bahr BSPC gathers parliamentarians from 11 national parliaments, 11 regional parliaments andLayout: produktionsbüro TINUS 5 parliamentary organisations around the Baltic Sea. The BSPC thus constitutes a uniquePhoto: Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliamentary bridge between all the EU- and non-EU countries of the Baltic Sea Region.BSPC external interfaces include parliamentary, governmental, sub-regional and other or-ganizations in the Baltic Sea Region and the Northern Dimension area, among them CBSS,HELCOM, the Northern Dimension Partnership in Health and Social Well-Being(NDPHS), the Baltic Sea Labour Forum (BSLF), the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Coop-Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference eration (BSSSC) and the Baltic Development Forum.Bodo Bahr BSPC shall initiate and guide political activities in the region; support and strengthen dem-Secretary General ocratic institutions in the participating states; improve dialogue between governments, par-+49 171 5512557 liaments and civil society; strengthen the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region bybodo.bahr@bspcmail.net means of close co-operation between national and regional parliaments on the basis ofwww.bspc.net equality; and initiate and guide political activities in the Baltic Sea Region, endowing themwith additional democratic legitimacy and parliamentary authority.The political recommendations of the annual Parliamentary Conferences are expressed in aBSPC Secretariat Conference Resolution adopted by consensus by the Conference. The adopted ResolutionSchlossgartenallee 15 shall be submitted to the governments of the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS and the EU, and19061 Schwerin disseminated to other relevant national, regional and local stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Re-Germany gion and its neighbourhood.Table of Contents 3Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................5I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................7II. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus ...............................................101. Update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) ................................................................................102. Progress on the Analysis of Sufficiency of Measures (SOM) ..............................................................133. HOLAS III – Preparations for the Third Holistic Assessment of theEcosystem Health of the Baltic Sea .................................................................................................144. Development of the HELCOM Science Agenda ..............................................................................16III. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines ..............................................................171. HELCOM Annual Report 2019 ...................................................................................................172. HELCOM Recommendations .......................................................................................................183. HELCOM Report on Aerial Surveillance of Discharges at Sea 2018 ...............................................194. Handling of Wastewater in Ports of the Baltic Sea ..........................................................................195. HELCOM Review of Existing Policies and Research on Microplastics .............................................206. HELCOM Reports on Chemical Contaminants .............................................................................21IV. Interregional and International Cooperation .................................................................................221. HELCOM Voluntary Commitments to the UN Ocean Conference 2020 ........................................222. HELCOM-OSPAR Joint Workshop on Incidental Bycatch .............................................................233. HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG Meetings 2019–2020 .....................................................................234. HELCOM at the Maritime Spatial Planning Forum in Riga ........................................................24Table of Contents 4V. Prospects for 2020 and Beyond: German HELCOM Chairmanship 2020-2022 ..........................251. Working Together for our Sea – the Baltic Sea ................................................................................252. Strengthening Ocean Governance ..................................................................................................253. Updating and Implementing the BSAP – Making Progress on Specific Requirements .......................264. Trying New Solutions for Well-Known, Pressing Challenges ............................................................265. Strengthening Marine Biodiversity.................................................................................................276. Understanding and Responding to Climate Change and the Baltic Sea ...........................................27VI. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC and HELCOM ...................................................28Sources and Useful Links ...................................................................................................................31Primary Decisions and Outcomes ..........................................................................................................31HELCOM Publications 2019–2020 ....................................................................................................32ANNEX .............................................................................................................................................33Annex 1. List of Current HELCOM Working Groups and Expert Networks ...........................................33Annex 2. List of Ongoing HELCOM Projects ........................................................................................35List of Abbreviations 5List of AbbreviationsAIS Automatic Identification SystemBALTFISH Baltic Sea Fisheries ForumBEAT HELCOM Biodiversity Assessment ToolBFR Brominated Flame RetardantsBMVI German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital InfrastructureBSAP Baltic Sea Action PlanBSAP UP WS-BIO BSAP UP Workshop on BiodiversityBSAP UP WS-EUTRO BSAP UP Workshop on EutrophicationBSAP UP WS-HZ BSAP UP Workshop on Hazardous SubstancesBSAP UP WS-SEA BSAP UP Workshop on Maritime ActivitiesBSH the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of GermanyBSPC Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCBSS Council of the Baltic Sea StatesCHASE HELCOM Hazardous Substances Assessment ToolCSPD/BSR Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea RegionDG BSAP Drafting Group for the Updated BSAPEN CLIME Expert Network on Climate ChangeESA Economic and Social AspectsEU European UnionEUSBSR EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea RegionGEAR Group on the Implementation of the Ecosystem ApproachList of Abbreviations 6GES Good Environmental/Ecological StatusHEAT HELCOM Eutrophication Assessment ToolHELCOM Helsinki CommissionHOD Heads of DelegationsHOLAS Holistic Assessment of the Ecosystem Health of the Baltic SeaIWGAS Informal Working Group on Aerial SurveillanceMPA Marine Protected AreasMSFD Marine Strategy Framework DirectiveMSP Maritime Spatial PlanningOSPAR Oslo Paris CommissionPBC Dioxins and Polychlorinated BiphenylsPFOA Perfluorooctanoic AcidPFOS Perfluoroctane SulfonatePIA Development and Assessment Institute in Waste Water TechnologyPRF Port Reception FacilitiesSDG Sustainable Development GoalSOM Sufficiency of MeasuresSTW SeaTrackWebUBA German Environment AgencyUN United NationsVASAB Vision and Strategies around the Baltic SeaI. Introduction 7I. IntroductionThe Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HelsinkiCommission – HELCOM) is an intergovernmental organisation con-stituted on the basis of the 1974 Convention on the Protection of theMarine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki Convention) andcurrently counting ten Contracting Parties, namely Denmark, Estonia,the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,Russia, and Sweden. In the four decades following its founding, theCommission has established itself as a platform for environmental pol-icy-making at the regional level, a supervisory body dedicated to the Ms Beate Schluppimplementation of environmental standards throughout the Baltic Seaarea, an environmental focal point providing information and assess-ment of the state and trends in the Baltic Sea marine environment, anda coordinating body for multilateral response in case of major maritimeincidents.HELCOM is guided by a common vision of a healthy Baltic Sea environment with diverse biologicalcomponents, good ecological status, and sustainable economic and social activities. The Baltic Sea Parlia-mentary Conference (BSPC) shares HELCOM’s vision and has applied for and obtained observer statusback in 2002, leading to almost two decades of close and successful cooperation. In November 2019, theBSPC Standing Committee has appointed me as BSPC Observer at HELCOM after the untimely pass-ing of Ms Sylvia Bretschneider, who had continuously held the mandate since its establishment in 2002.The State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is honoured and grateful for the opportunity to car-ry on with the engaged and passionate work of Sylvia Bretschneider towards the goals and objectives com-mon for both BSPC and HELCOM.To begin with, I would like to share a brief personal impression. Being new to the role of HELCOM Ob-server, I first had to come to terms with the restrictions imposed by the mandate. This role is, by nature,limited to acting as BSPC’s eyes and ears at the meeting of the executive – but not as the voice of the con-stituents, which we are accustomed to as parliamentarians.I. Introduction 8The present report provides an overview of the most important decisions and developments from August2019 to September 2020 with a specific focus on the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) update process andprimarily concentrates on the decisions of the 41st HELCOM Meeting as well as the 57th and 58th Headsof Delegations Meetings. The structure of the current report slightly differs from the previous ones in thatit focuses on central ongoing processes, such as the BSAP update, the preparation of the Third HolisticAssessment of the Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS III), the development of the HELCOMScience Agenda with a special view to climate change on one hand, and notable events and publicationson the other. In addition, the report includes an updated overview of the current HELCOM Workingand Expert Groups as well as ongoing projects in the Annex. In order to avoid replicating the 2019 HEL-COM annual report, which provides an overview of the Commission’s activities in HELCOM’s main ar-eas of work, such as agriculture, fisheries, shipping, Marine Protected Areas, Maritime Spatial Planning,marine litter as well as species and biotopes, this report adopts a different thematic approach – with a fo-cus on ongoing processes and project outcomes.The COVID-19 pandemic has induced severe limitations on the Commission’s work in the most crucialof times – with the BSAP update process in full swing and the deadline for the adoption of the final textset for autumn 2021. In line with the Finnish government’s pandemic-related measures and regulations,the HELCOM Secretariat premises in Helsinki have been closed since 17 March 2020 until further no-tice, while all scheduled HELCOM activities were moved online. Despite this disruption, HELCOM hascontinued its professional and intensive work achieving significant progress in key areas, most notably onthe revised Baltic Sea Action Plan – which is HELCOM’s main programmatic document and therefore ahigh-priority issue on HELCOM’s working agenda. The Drafting Group for the Updated BSAP (DGBSAP), a time-limited ad-hoc group aimed at supporting the Heads of Delegations (HOD) in the finalstages of the update process, has assumed its work in June 2020 and held its second meeting in Septem-ber. The BSAP UP workshops on the evaluation of new actions to be included in the updated BSAP tookplace at the end of August–beginning of September and submitted their outcomes and recommendationsto the HELCOM Working Groups for further elaboration and endorsement and to be further discussedby the Heads of Delegations in December 2020. The results of the sufficiency of measures (SOM) analy-sis were successfully presented at the BSAP UP workshops and will further provide background informa-tion on the existing gaps in reaching good environmental status as well as the actions needed to the Work-ing Groups’, SOM Platform and HOD meetings.Although the BSAP update process has been a central area for HELCOM throughout 2019–2020, regu-lar work has continued regardless. The 41st Meeting of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Com-mission (HELCOM 41-2020) held on 4 March 2020 deliberated on such topics as HELCOMI. Introduction 9international commitments and outreach as well as the development of the HELCOM Science Agenda.In order to increase the safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment given the increaseof Baltic Sea traffic, the 41st Meeting further adopted recommendations on deep-sea pilotage and enhanc-ing the use of pilots in Route T and Sound. In addition, it revised the recommendation on the protectionof harbour porpoise in view of increased human activities and the critical status of harbour porpoise pop-ulations. In July 2020, Germany took over the two-year HELCOM Chairmanship from Finland. The rel-evant section of the report lists the announced priorities of the German Chairmanship Team.The BSPC continues to closely follow the engaged work of HELCOM and has expressed strong supportfor the new Chairmanship’s focus on the BSAP update and implementation in its 29th resolution. With aview to the presidency’s priorities and objectives, the BSPC Rapporteur mandate on Sea-Dumped Muni-tions as well as the newly established BSPC Working Group on Climate Change and Biodiversity openfurther opportunities and fields for fruitful cooperation and partnership between the BSPC and HEL-COM.Beate SchluppFirst Vice President of the State Parliament of Mecklenburg-VorpommernBSPC Observer at HELCOMII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 10II. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of theBSAP in Focus1. Update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP)The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), initially adopted in 2007, represents an ambitious and comprehensiveregional programme to achieve good environmental/ecological status (GES) of the Baltic Sea by 2021.The Holistic Assessment of the Ecosystem Health (HOLAS II) conducted throughout 2014–2018 hasshown that this goal was unlikely to be fulfilled by the target year 2021. Against this backdrop, the Brus-sels Ministerial Declaration from March 2018 mandated an update process to be concluded with theadoption of the updated BSAP at a Ministerial Meeting in October 2021. It has been agreed that the up-dated BSAP would retain the general structure of the current Plan, preserving its focus on eutrophication,hazardous substances, maritime activities and biodiversity, while also including new aspects in order to en-sure the Action Plan’s relevance in the upcoming decade. Thus, increased attention will be given to suchtopics as marine litter, underwater noise, seabed integrity, and climate change as a cross-cutting issue. Giv-en the centrality of the BSAP for HELCOM, it is no surprise that the update work has been high on theCommission’s agenda throughout 2019–2020. This work has mainly concentrated on two aspects: reviewand reassessment of current actions and consideration of proposals for new ones.In his address to the 41st HELCOM Meeting, HELCOM Executive Secretary, Mr Rüdiger Strempel, re-minded that while about 70 percent of the joint BSAP regional actions had been completed, only 26 per-cent of national actions had been fully implemented by the Contracting Parties as of March 2020. He un-derscored in this regard that the 2018 Ministerial Meeting stated that existing actions should be imple-mented regardless of the update, and that all pending actions would be carried over into the new Plan. Asfar as existing actions to be transferred to the updated BSAP are concerned, HELCOM Working Groupshave reviewed the 177 actions contained in the current BSAP. Based on the progress systematically report-ed on by the Contracting Parties, the relevant HELCOM bodies have identified those actions that arelikely to be implemented by the target year 2021, as well as those that are unlikely to be implemented bythat time. Consequently, HELCOM Working Groups proposed to transfer 23 actions related to eutroph-ication, 20 actions related to hazardous substances and litter, 34 actions in the area of sea-based activities,28 actions in relation to the ecosystem, as well as 10 horizontal actions. A number of these actions will beII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 11transferred to the updated BSAP as they are, whereas a more significant amount of commitments wouldneed to be rephrased as concrete tasks in order to ensure that their implementation can be assessed andmeasured. Based on this rough and preliminary estimate, around 115 out of 177 actions would be carriedover to the updated BSAP.In regard to new actions, a call for proposals from Contracting Parties, HELCOM subsidiary bodies, andobservers as well as international projects was announced in the spring of 2019. By spring 2020, the rel-evant HELCOM bodies received over 120 proposals that were later presented and discussed at the 2020HELCOM Stakeholder Conference ahead of the 41st HELCOM Meeting in March 2020. The StakeholderConference included a number of thematic sessions that ran in parallel with the aim of discussing and pri-oritising the received proposals and putting forward additional ones. Thus, the Biodiversity session prior-itised spatial protection measures. More specifically, it underlined the need for increasing the coverage ofthe Marine Protected Areas (MPA) network as well as developing a common understanding of the ecosys-tem-based approach to the management of human activities at sea. The Sea-based activities session stressedthe importance of a holistic perspective for all BSAP measures from a social-ecological systems point ofview, incorporating cross-sectoral and multi-level governance approaches. The Eutrophication session em-phasised that the new BSAP measures should be cost-effective, while pointing out that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but rather that a variety of different measures could be applied in different areas de-pending on the given conditions. The session on Hazardous substances and marine litter highlighted theneed for a holistic approach to the advancement of wastewater treatment technologies, which should notonly focus on hazardous substances but also consider the whole treatment process. As a result, the Stake-holder Conference yielded further 56 actions proposals from the relevant thematic sessions. Overall,HELCOM received around 176 new action proposals for the updated BSAP ahead of the annual meet-ing in March.Unsurprisingly, the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan was high on the agenda of the 41st HELCOM Meet-ing 2020. In this regard, the Meeting stressed:• the need for regional cooperation in tackling the challenges facing the Baltic Sea;• the need for adopting a participatory, multi-stakeholder approach in the update process;• the importance of maintaining strong links between the updated BSAP and other internationaland regional processes and commitments;• the need for a holistic approach in viewing and addressing the effects of human activities and thesubsequent pressures affecting the Baltic Sea;• that the targets, actions and measures within the updated BSAP should be practical, realistic,concrete and result-oriented, while at the same time ambitious, and should focus on the sources of theII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 12problems (i.e. human activities) – rather than on dealing with the symptoms;• the importance of recognizing climate change as a cross-cutting topic, with a view to developingthe BSAP as a climate change adaptation instrument, among other things;• the need for evaluating the effectiveness of existing measures as well as the cost-efficiency of new ones;• the importance of enhanced reporting and data-sharing to support and improve decision-making;• the need for additional financial resources from the local to regional levels in order to ensure theimplementation of the updated BSAP;• the need for more clear coordination between the different HELCOM work strands;• the need for further improvements in the area of implementation reporting.At the 58th Heads of Delegations Meeting in June 2020 it was once again underlined that the updated BSAPshould be a short, concise and easily accessible document written in clear, simple language, while ensur-ing that it retains political interest. In addition, HOD 58-2020 agreed on the year 2030 as the plan’s tar-get year and set the aim for the full updated BSAP to be approved by the 60th Heads of Delegations Meet-ing in June 2021. The meeting also supported the inclusion of actions related to monitoring of the ma-rine environment, climate change, awareness raising, financing, and economic and social analysis.At the end of August 2020, the BSAP UP Workshop series was launched with the aim of evaluating the com-bined contributions to support the selection of new actions and measures for the updated BSAP. The se-ries included four thematic workshops in HELCOM’s main working areas: the BSAP UP workshop onhazardous substances (BSAP UP WS-HZ), the workshop on maritime activities, including underwaternoise, non-indigenous species and response actions (BSAP UP WS-SEA), the workshop on biodiversity,including extraction of species and spatial measures (BSAP UP WS-BIO), and the workshop eutrophica-tion (BSAP UP WS-EUTRO). Key background information for the thematic workshops was provided bythe results of the sufficiency of measures (SOM) analysis, which is carried out to support the BSAP updateprocess, as well as the synopses on new actions for the updated BSAP that have been submitted to HEL-COM following a call for proposals and formulated at the 2020 Stakeholder Conference. Based on theCriteria for Evaluation of New Actions developed by the SOM Platform and endorsed by the Group onthe Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach (GEAR), the workshops gave their recommendations onnew actions for inclusion in the updated BSAP. The proposals would further be submitted to HELCOMWorking Groups for evaluation and discussed at the 59th Heads of Delegations meeting in December2020.Overall, as far as the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan is concerned, 2019–2020 marked a departurefrom plans to concrete actions. HELCOM has been working on a tight schedule despite theII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 13pandemic-induced limitations and has achieved significant progress in its current key issue area. In June2020, the Drafting Group for the Updated BSAP (DG BSAP) commenced its work and has taken noteof the outcomes and recommendations of the BSAP UP workshops as well as the results of the SOM anal-ysis. The DG BSAP will further serve to support the Heads of Delegations in the final stages of the up-date process and political negotiations. According to the Updated Plan for the BSAP Update, discussedby HOD 58-2020, the revised BSAP is expected to be approved by the Heads of Delegations in June2021 and adopted by the Ministerial Meeting in autumn 2021. HELCOM is working on a tight sched-ule and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional limitations and challenges. Nonetheless, the in-tensive work has continued – albeit online.2. Progress on the Analysis of Sufficiency of Measures (SOM)The HELCOM Sufficiency of Measures (SOM) Platform was established by the 55th Heads of DelegationsMeeting in 2018 as a tool for assessing the gaps in existing BSAP measures and identifying new actions forthe updated Action Plan. It is constituted of experts drawn from various regions across the Baltic Sea. Thesufficiency of measures analysis is carried out in close collaboration with the HELCOM ACTION project,which is co-funded by the EU and designed to assist in the review of the BSAP and support the EU HEL-COM Contracting Parties in updating and implementing their Marine Strategy Framework Directive(MSFD) Programme of Measures. The project specifically focuses on the evaluation of the effectiveness ofmeasures in areas such as by-catch of mammals and birds, impacts on the seabed, marine protected areas,and eutrophication, which were recognised as priority topics based on the main pressures on the Baltic Seaecosystem identified in the 2018 HELCOM State of the Baltic Sea report. However, the project’s methodo-logical framework could also be made applicable for other marine regions, in particular OSPAR.Since its initiation in 2018, the HELCOM SOM Platform held four meetings, which served to developand finalise the SOM methodology and prepare the results of the SOM analysis. The HELCOM SOMPlatform held its third meeting at the end of March 2020 and discussed the first interim results of the ef-fectiveness of measures analysis based on exemplary data from online expert surveys in two areas: benthichabitats and non-indigenous species. The fourth meeting, which took place on 15 September 2020, thendiscussed the first results of the SOM analysis for all nine topics included in the analysis, including haz-ardous substances, litter, input of nutrients, birds, mammals, fish as well as noise, and provided commentson the draft of the final report. An important outcome of the SOM ongoing work: the first results of theII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 14SOM analysis on all topics were submitted to the HELCOM BSAP UP Workshops, which took place inAugust–September 2020, as background information for the evaluation of new actions to be included inthe updated BSAP. The evaluation of proposed new measures and actions at the workshops was then con-ducted in accordance with the set of criteria developed by the SOM Platform. The outcomes of the BSAPUP workshops will further be elaborated and endorsed by HELCOM Working Groups before submissionto the 59th Heads of Delegations Meeting in December 2020.Meanwhile, the 58th Heads of Delegations Meeting held in June 2020 acknowledged that the results ofthe SOM analysis would have to be considered in more detail once available – with a view to the possi-bility that its outcomes could serve as a contribution to the process of identifying new targets. It was alsonoted, however, that setting environmental targets is always a demanding political process.3. HOLAS III – Preparations for the Third Holistic Assessment of the EcosystemHealth of the Baltic SeaThe Holistic Assessment of the State of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS) follows up on the goals of the Baltic Sea Ac-tion Plan and serves as a tool for the comprehensive overview of the ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea. Theinitial assessment was conducted based on the data and expert knowledge gathered throughout 2003–2007and resulted in the HOLAS I Assessment Report published in 2010. This initial assessment showed thatnone of the open-water basins in the Baltic Sea was in a good environmental state. According to the report,eutrophication and hazardous substances negatively affected most sub-basins, and human communitieslinked to the sea had been negatively affected by the deteriorated state of the Baltic Sea. It was concluded thatgiven the impaired status of the ecosystem, pressures from agriculture, fisheries, industries, and the maritimesector should be managed more effectively. The second holistic assessment covered the 2011–2016 periodand was carried out throughout 2014–2018 with the final “State of the Baltic Sea” report published in 2018.It concluded that the environmental objectives of the Baltic Sea Action Plan were unlikely to be achieved by2021, the BSAP target year. Based on the findings of HOLAS II, the 2018 Ministerial Meeting launched theBSAP update process to be concluded with the adoption of the revised Baltic Sea Action Plan at the Minis-terial Meeting in 2021 – with measures and actions set for the target year 2030.HOLAS II not only gave a comprehensive data-based assessment of the ecosystem health, but also pro-vided a solid framework for future evaluations covering more aspects than had ever been covered in theII. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 15region previously. Thus, the HELCOM integrated assessment tools for eutrophication, hazardous sub-stances and biodiversity (HEAT, CHASE and BEAT) had been significantly advanced for the second as-sessment round. In addition, the assessment of cumulative effects and socio-economic aspects has beenimproved. HELCOM pledged to continue developing indicators for the purpose of future assessmentsand policy evaluation in the next holistic assessment. In 2019, a review of the HELCOM indicators waslaunched in order to carry out policy matching (with a view to e.g. the BSAP and EU MSFD), gap anal-ysis and consider possible linkages with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within theframework of the indicator update process, two workshops were held in 2019 with the aim of elaboratingpolicy priorities for future development and considering the technical work required to achieve operation-al indicators in the identified policy areas.The preparation of the Third Holistic Assessment (HOLAS III) started in 2019 and notable progress onplanning was achieved in 2019–2020. Within the initial planning phase and based on the lessons learnedfrom HOLAS II, it was highlighted, among other things, that overlaps between indicator development,data collection and assessment should be avoided, frequent and regular data flows should be established,while ad hoc data calls should be circumvented. The 41st Meeting approved the provisional timeline andpreliminary plan for HOLAS III in March 2020, whereas the 58th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads ofDelegations agreed on the elaborated timeline for the assessment process in June 2020. Accordingly, HO-LAS III will cover the assessment period 2016–2021, while the final results are expected to be publishedby the end of 2023. According to the provisional plan, the assessment work will be carried out in twomain phases: preparatory work and holistic assessment. The preparatory phase is structured along threeinter-linked projects focusing on the development of indicators (HELCOM Indicators), establishmentand ensuring of data flows (HELCOM DataFlow) as well as refinement and further development of as-sessments (HELCOM MetDev), and should run from the beginning of 2020 until the first quarter of2022. The assessment phase will include task work strands (data collection, evaluation and analysis, inte-grated assessment, preparation of supplementary information, and the summary report) and action workstrands (approval processes), which will run in parallel from the end of 2021 to the end of 2023.As of August 2020, the HELCOM Indicators and DataFlow projects had continued and the work on thedrafting of the project plan for the HELCOM Holistic Assessment Methodology Development (MetDev)Project has commenced. The MetDev project is expected to run throughout 2021 and aims at improvingthe BSAP-indicator driven integrated assessment tools – the HELCOM Eutrophication assessment tool(HEAT), the HELCOM Biodiversity assessment tool (BEAT), and the Hazardous substances assessmenttool (CHASE) – as well as cumulative impacts tools and methods used for the analysis of economic andsocial aspects (ESA).II. Main Developments in 2019/2020: Update of the BSAP in Focus 164. Development of the HELCOM Science AgendaThe development of the HELCOM Science Agenda was agreed by the 40th HELCOM Meeting in 2019.It is conceptualised as a supportive instrument in the BSAP update and assessment processes and as a toolfor outlining and communicating existing and future HELCOM regional science needs. It also aims atsupporting the implementation of HELCOM objectives and recommendations as well as guiding futureHELCOM activities. In addition, it should serve to inform external funding mechanisms about HEL-COM’s research demands. Ultimately, the Science Agenda will help identify knowledge gaps, which pre-vent the achievement of good environmental status in the Baltic Sea, and concentrate research efforts inHELCOM’s areas of interest, including through the stimulation of joint regional research projects. More-over, the HELCOM Science Agenda links to the strategic objectives under the UN Decade of Ocean Sci-ence for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and will contribute to the identification of vulnerabili-ties and building knowledge in order to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.In the initial step, a survey meant to support the development of the Science Agenda was circulatedamong HELCOM Working and Expert Groups in order to identify short- and long-term knowledgeneeds. Based on these contributions, the newly established HELCOM Science Agenda Task Group is ac-tively working to prepare and finalise the draft of the Science Agenda report by the end of 2020. The pre-liminary report features fifteen topics covering three broad issue areas: biodiversity, human pressures andactivities as well as overarching topics directed at the implementation of the ecosystem approach.In line with the HELCOM 2018 Brussels Ministerial Declaration, which emphasised the need to strength-en the scientific understanding of the impact of climate change on the Baltic Sea marine environment, theScience Agenda Task Group highlighted the following climate change-related science needs:• continued work on regionalised scenarios of the impact of climate change on the hydrography, sealevel, sea ice, surface waves, and other physical environment characteristics of the Baltic Sea;• continued work on scenarios that take into account how global changes impact human activitiesand quantify the effects of the resulting pressures on the Baltic Sea;• integration of climate change aspects into the HELCOM Nutrient Reduction Scheme in order toensure the achievement of BSAP eutrophication objectives under changing climate change-drivenconditions;• research on the impact of climate change-related effects such as temperature increase, oxygendecline, and sea level rise,• assessment of risks posed by invasive species in connection with climate change-induced changesin habitats.III. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines 17III. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, andGuidelines1. HELCOM Annual Report 2019In June 2020, HELCOM published its annual activities report providing an overview of the Commis-sion’s environmental work in 2019. Traditionally, the report is structured around HELCOM’s main ac-tivities in the spheres of: agriculture, Marine Protected Areas (MPA), species and biotopes, underwaternoise, marine litter, dredging and seabed, industrial and municipal releases, maritime spatial planning,fisheries, response to spills, shipping, monitoring and assessment, international cooperation, and last butnot least – the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.In addition, a separate section is dedicated to HELCOM’s work in the area of climate change. Thus in2019, HELCOM established a joint Climate Change expert network (EN CLIME) together with BalticEarth. The network is currently preparing a Baltic Sea climate change fact sheet, which would provide keymessages on the expected and observed impacts of climate change in the region, such as the influence ofincreased rainfall on seabirds and marine traffic, and support policy- and decision-making on the issue –both regionally and internationally. According to the preliminary timetable, the fact sheet is expected tobe published by the end of 2021.Among other important highlights in the year 2019, the report named:• the finalisation of the “Advanced manure standards for sustainable nutrient management andreduced emissions” (Manure Standards) project;• the establishment of the HELCOM Marine Protected Ares (MPA) Management Network; therevision and update of the Baltic Checklist on Macro Species and its complementation with thefirst regional Biodiversity Database;• the publication of the “Noise sensitivity of animals in the Baltic Sea” report, the development ofthe first draft of the HELCOM Action Plan on Underwater Noise;• the establishment of a working group on developing a regional assessment framework for themeasures to manage internal nutrient reserves in the sea, the initiation of a policy dialogue on therevision of national input ceilings for nutrients, the development of a regional policy document onIII. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines 18the update of the HELCOM framework for hazardous substances, as well as the removal of one ofthe oldest HELCOM hotspots – the wastewater works in Kaliningrad from the hotspot list;• intensifying cooperation between HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Fisheries Forum (BALTFISH),finalisation of the draft Roadmap on collection of fisheries data in order to assess accidentalbycatches and fisheries’ impact on benthic biotopes in the Baltic Sea;• continued cooperation in the area of joint assistance in response to spills (the annual BALEXDELTA exercises), as well as the commencement of work on the revision of HELCOM ResponseManual volumes 2 and 3;• progress on the revision of the Joint Harmonised Procedure for the Contracting Parties of OSPARand HELCOM on granting of exemptions under the Ballast Water Management Conventionagainst the backdrop of the first results from the HELCOM GREEN TEAM reportingmechanism aiming to identify the challenges to the development of green technologies andalternative fuels in Baltic Sea shipping.In addition, the BSAP update process featured prominently in the 2019 annual report, which specificallyhighlighted the BSAP UP and HELCOM ACTION projects, as well as the SOM Platform.2. HELCOM RecommendationsWhile the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan has been the central element of HELCOM’s work in2019–2020, regular work on pressing issues had to continue regardless. In order to increase the safety ofnavigation and protection of the marine environment given the increase of Baltic Sea traffic, the 2020HELCOM Meeting adopted recommendations on deep-sea pilotage (HELCOM Recommendation41/1) and enhancing the use of pilots in Route T and Sound (HELCOM Recommendation 41/2). In ad-dition, it revised the recommendation on the protection of harbour porpoise (HELCOM Recommenda-tion 17/2) in view of increased human activities and the critical status of harbour porpoise populations.These recommendations were agreed on by the Maritime Working Group and later approved by the 57thHeads of Delegations Meeting in December 2019.III. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines 193. HELCOM Report on Aerial Surveillance of Discharges at Sea 2018In August 2019, HELCOM published its 2018 “Report on discharges observed during aerial surveillancein the Baltic Sea”. Cooperation on aerial surveillance of spills started in the 1980s with the purpose of de-tecting spills of oil and other harmful substances in order to prevent violations of the existing HELCOMregulations on the prevention of pollution from ships. The surveillance of spills is coordinated by theHELCOM Informal Working Group on Aerial Surveillance (IWGAS); the HELCOM Secretariat annu-ally compiles data gathered through national and joint surveillance activities and publishes an overview ofdetected discharges. The current report concluded that, in general, the number of detected oil spills in theBaltic Sea has been constantly decreasing throughout 2000–2018. Despite growing shipping density andimprovements in aerial surveillance activities, the number of confirmed spills dropped from 472 in theyear 2000 to 62 in 2018. However, oil spills constituted only 40% of total spill observations; the remain-ing 60% represented spills of unknown or other substances, such as fish oil and greywater. Yet the estimat-ed volume of oil spills has also been steadily decreasing throughout 1998–2018 with a record low in2016–2017. At the same time, in a vast majority of cases the polluters remained unidentified. The iden-tification of suspected ships is facilitated by the SeaTrackWeb (STW) oil drift forecasting system devel-oped by HELCOM. Together with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) this tool is used to back-track possible perpetrators based on forecasting simulation of detected spills and recorded ship tracks. Ac-cording to Markus Helavuori, HELCOM Professional Secretary for maritime affairs, “aerial surveillancehas proven to be an effective deterrent for illegal discharges at sea.”4. Handling of Wastewater in Ports of the Baltic SeaUntreated wastewater has been identified as an important source of both hazardous substances and nutri-ents, the main cause of eutrophication leading to unwanted growth of blue-green algae that upset the Bal-tic Sea’s biodiversity. Following the proposal prepared and supported by the HELCOM Maritime Work-ing Group and submitted by the Baltic Sea riparian States, the International Maritime Organization(IMO) designated the Baltic Sea as a special area for sewage discharges from passenger ships under AnnexIX of the MARPOL-Convention in 2011. Under the IMO regulations, all passenger ships built after June2019 are required to comply with stricter rules on wastewater discharges, while older passenger ships willhave to comply with the new rules by June 2021. The rules require that passenger ships discharge theirsewage into Port Reception Facilities (PRF) or alternatively at sea, but only after treatment with advancedIII. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines 20on-board sewage treatment plants capable of reducing the nutrient input into the sea in accordance withResolution MEPC.227(64). Given the lack of experience with sewage handling in ports and provided theneed for developing innovative approaches to manage new challenges, HELCOM published the first“Technical Guidance for the handling of wastewater in Ports of the Baltic Sea Special Area under MAR-POL Annex IV”. The Technical Guidance was developed by the Development and Assessment Institutein Waste Water Technology at RWTH Aachen University (PIA) on behalf of the Federal Maritime andHydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) and in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry ofTransport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). It aims at filling the existing knowledge gap and offer awide range of possible options in several scenarios that ships and ports may face. Based on data from Bal-tic Sea ports and shipping companies on the composition and handling of sewage from passenger ships,the document offers recommendations, including information on how to avoid potential problems withthe acceptance of wastewater, options for pre-treatment in ports as well as mobile solutions.5. HELCOM Review of Existing Policies and Research on MicroplasticsThe EU INTERREG Baltic Sea Region project FanpLESStic-sea, aimed at decreasing and removing mi-croplastics in the Baltic Sea, was launched in January 2019 and will run until the middle of 2021. As aproject partner, HELCOM is responsible for reviewing existing research on microplastics in the aquaticenvironment. In line with this task, HELCOM released the first “Review of existing policies and researchrelated to microplastics – Summary for Policy Makers” in October 2019, followed by the full report inDecember 2019. These publications offer a common baseline on the existing policies related to microplas-tics on the global, Baltic Sea, EU, and national levels for both policy-makers and researchers.According to the review, the lack of commonly agreed methodologies for monitoring, sampling and anal-yses of microplastics is a major concern. Currently, microplastics are not directly addressed through anyglobal instrument, even though several existing instruments cover some aspects related to marine litterand hence microplastics. However, the European Union is working towards restricting the use of inten-tionally added microplastic particles to consumer or professional use products. In the Baltic Sea area, ac-tions on microplastics are contained in the HELCOM Action Plan on Marine Litter. Also highlighted bythe report are the impacts of microplastics on humans through the food chain or other means, still large-ly unknown and calling for more research. In addition to providing an overview of the existing regulato-ry frameworks as well as useful information on topics such as sources and types of microplastics, the pub-III. HELCOM Reports, Recommendations, and Guidelines 21lications can be used as a database of concluded research on various topics around the issue.The publications also offer a number of key suggestions, underlining, among other things. The need for:• developing harmonised, cost-efficient, and sufficiently robust monitoring methodologies formicroplastics;• a focus on prevention and reduction of secondary sources of microplastics by addressing theproducts in their early life-cycle, i.e. before they become microplastics or marine litter;• a focus the research on secondary sources and plan measures addressing those sources based on theevidence;• additional research on the effects and impact of microplastics on the ecosystem and biosphere.6. HELCOM Reports on Chemical ContaminantsAs part of the ongoing work on the update of the BSAP, HELCOM, in collaboration with StockholmUniversity Baltic Sea Centre, has published four reports providing a compilation of the latest research onselected chemical contaminants and their effects on the Baltic Sea. The series covers four hazardous sub-stances: dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PBCs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluoroc-tane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and diclofenac. The reports describe thesources and pathways of the addressed substances into the sea, provide information on how their concen-trations have changed over time and draw up scenarios relating to the achievement of good environmen-tal status in the Baltic Sea based on data relating to the substances in question. Information from the re-ports should support the evaluation of the efficiency of implemented measures under the present BSAP,and assist in the formulation of additional measures needed to improve the Baltic Sea’s state in view of theneeded reduction of hazardous substances’ concentration.IV. Interregional and International Cooperation 22IV. Interregional and International CooperationInterregional and international cooperation and global frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Develop-ment Goals (SDGs), have traditionally constituted an important part of HELCOM’s efforts to contrib-ute to the conservation of the global marine environment. HELCOM’s international and interregionalwork forms part of efforts to strengthen regional and global governance of the marine environment.1. HELCOM Voluntary Commitments to the UN Ocean Conference 2020Although the 2020 UN Ocean Conference, initially scheduled to take place on 2–6 June 2020 in Lisbon,was postponed per decision of the UN General Assembly due to the COVID-19-pandemic, the 2020HELCOM Meeting supported the proposed HELCOM voluntary commitments to the Ocean Confer-ence and highlighted the benefits of cooperation for the protection of the marine environment at theglobal level. Voluntary commitments constitute one of the core elements of the UN Ocean Conference,aiming to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (“Conserve and sustaina-bly use the oceans, sea and marine resources for sustainable development”) and its seven targets. In 2017,HELCOM pledged to strengthen the fulfilment of the BSAP to support ocean-related SDGs, which in-cluded speeding up the implementation of the marine litter regional action plan, elaborating on a region-al action plan on underwater noise, supporting sustainable agriculture practices, and ensuring close coop-eration on maritime spatial planning.In 2020, HELCOM undertook five voluntary commitments ranging from integrating ocean-relatedSDGs into the updated BSAP, contributing to the UN Decade of Science for Sustainable Developmentthrough the development of the HELCOM Science Agenda, to sharing experience within the frameworkof the UN Regional Seas Programme.IV. Interregional and International Cooperation 232. HELCOM-OSPAR Joint Workshop on Incidental BycatchThe Baltic and North Seas share a number of bird and marine mammal species, which are endangered byincidental bycatch in both areas. In order to pave the way for a proposal for common conservation objec-tives on incidental bycatch in the two sister seas, HELCOM and its partner organisation, the OSPARCommission, held a joint workshop on 3–5 September 2019. This proposal could further provide thefoundation for a common regional indicator on bycatch. The workshop discussed data requirements,sources and monitoring; identified areas of increased and low risk of incidental bycatch; methodologiesfor indicator assessment – with a view to possible synergies and existing differences between the two re-gions.The workshop formulated a number of proposals with a specific focus on overcoming existing data gapsand enabling both short- and long-term assessments of incidental bycatch. For HELCOM, the findingswill further contribute to the preparations of the next holistic assessment (HOLAS III) which, accordingto preliminary planning, should be concluded by 2023.3. HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG Meetings 2019–2020The joint Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Working Group was launched in 2010 by HELCOM and the“Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea” (VASAB) Committee on Spatial Planning and Develop-ment of the Baltic Sea Region (CSPD/BSR) in order to foster cooperation among the Baltic Sea states forcoherent maritime spatial planning. The Working Group meets up to three times a year to promote coor-dination between national MSP efforts to avoid incompatibilities of plans between countries within theBaltic Sea region. In addition, the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Group acts as the Steering Committee for theHorizontal Action Spatial Planning within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). Withinthe reporting period, the group held two regular meetings and two additional meetings to review the pro-posed actions for the updated BSAP. Given that MSP was only briefly reflected in the current BSAP, oneof the Group’s tasks consisted in elaborating proposals to reflect MSP as a feature of the updated BSAP.More specifically, the group was tasked with selecting MSP-related measures to be proposed for the nextstages of the BSAP update and reviewing the draft texts of the BSAP segments after their elaboration bythe Drafting Group.IV. Interregional and International Cooperation 24Closely linked to the BSAP update is the group’s work on the new MSP Roadmap. The Regional BalticMaritime Spatial Planning Roadmap was adopted in 2013 and aimed at drawing up and applying coher-ent, ecosystem approach-based maritime spatial plans throughout the Baltic Sea region by 2020. Thework on the update of the MSP Roadmap 2021–2027 is scheduled for 2020–2021 with the final docu-ment to be adopted by the end of 2021. The 58th Heads of Delegations meeting supported the proposalto coordinate the development of the regional MSP and the BSAP update to ensure coherence and syn-ergy between the two documents.Another important work strand has been the update of the EUSBSR Action Plan. The updated ActionPlan has been forwarded to the European Commission in July 2020 and currently includes two actionswithin Policy Area Spatial Planning: strengthening territorial cohesion in the BSR through land-basedspatial planning and ensuring coherent maritime spatial plans throughout the Baltic Sea. The update ofthe Regional Baltic MSP Roadmap as well as the reflection of MSP in the updated BSAP are listed as con-stitutive projects within the latter action for the Policy Area.4. HELCOM at the Maritime Spatial Planning Forum in RigaThe Maritime Spatial Planning forum was held in Riga on 19–21 November 2019 and included threeMSP events: the 4th International MSP Forum, the 3rd Baltic MSP Forum, and the final conference of thePan Baltic Scope Project. Within the EU-funded Pan Baltic Scope project on advancing MSP in the Bal-tic Sea region, HELCOM led the work on economic and social analysis and cumulative impacts. In ad-dition, HELCOM collaborated on data sharing to facilitate data exchange and cooperation under MSPconsultations. At the forum, HELCOM presented BASEMAPS – a digital tool to access decentralisedBaltic Sea maritime spatial planning relevant national data – developed by HELCOM in cooperationwith national experts from HELCOM-VASAB MSP data action group.V. Prospects for 2020 and Beyond: German HELCOM Chairmanship 2020-2022 25V. Prospects for 2020 and Beyond: German HELCOMChairmanship 2020-2022June 2020 marked the end of Finland’s two-year presidency at HELCOM. As of July 1 2020 Germanyhas taken over HELCOM’s presidency and appointed Ms Lilian Busse from the German EnvironmentAgency (UBA) as its Chair at HELCOM. In addition, Germany has appointed two Vice-Chairs from twofederal states bordering the Baltic Sea: Mr Johannes Oelerich (Schleswig-Holstein) and Mr Andreas Röp-ke (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). The German Chairmanship Team has identified six strategic priorities,which will further be summarised in more detail.1. Working Together for our Sea – the Baltic SeaThe protection of the Baltic Sea is identified as the presidency’s top priority. In view of the social and eco-nomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is stressed that sustainable economic recovery must alsolead to progress on environmental protection, including marine protection.2. Strengthening Ocean GovernanceOne of the goals is to closely connect the planned HELCOM Science Agenda and the Baltic Sea ActionPlan with the UN 2030 Agenda and other international processes. Another is to step up cooperation be-tween HELCOM and other important stakeholders for marine protection, e.g., through the active par-ticipation in the UN Ocean Conference in 2021. In this regard, it is also suggested to highlight the eco-nomic consequences of major stresses on marine ecosystems and the management of the Baltic Sea.V. Prospects for 2020 and Beyond: German HELCOM Chairmanship 2020-2022 263. Updating and Implementing the BSAP – Making Progress on SpecificRequirementsThe German presidency stresses that it is important not only to update the Baltic Sea Action Plan but alsoto visibly accelerate and intensify its implementation. One particularly urgent task is to further reduce thehigh nutrient pollution in the Baltic Sea. Analysing barriers to implementation, updating nutrient hot-spots, and assessing local tailor-made approaches are seen as the main options for action to reduce nutri-ent inputs. The presidency also highlighted the need to work together on driving forward the implemen-tation of the Regional Marine Litter Action Plan. In addition, the presidency signals its support for thedevelopment of regional solutions to the problem of ghost nets.4. Trying New Solutions for Well-Known, Pressing ChallengesWarfare material in the sea as well as underwater noise are long-known threats that require urgent solu-tions. Munition containers are corroding, and their toxic munition compounds are increasingly enteringthe marine environment. The German presidency therefore advocates for regular exchanges of expertise,information sharing and technology tests with the goal of gaining a better overview of the scale of muni-tion compounds and their potential impacts. The ultimate aim is to ensure the safe and environmentallysound removal of munitions from the Baltic Sea.Commercial and recreational shipping, the expansion of offshore wind power and other technical infra-structures are examples of noise pollution sources in the sea. On this issue, the Regional Action Plan onUnderwater Noise is seen as an innovative step for HELCOM in its endeavour to move forward on avoid-ing and minimising noise inputs.V. Prospects for 2020 and Beyond: German HELCOM Chairmanship 2020-2022 275. Strengthening Marine BiodiversityThe German presidency strives for the completion and development of the HELCOM network of marineprotected areas and their management with effective protection and conservation measures. It wants tostep up efforts and measures to protect and conserve endangered species and habitats in the Baltic Seaand, for example, to contribute to improving the status of the harbour porpoise populations in the BalticSea. It also calls to make progress on the reintroduction of sturgeon and support the tracking of migrato-ry birds’ routes in the Baltic Sea region. In addition, it is suggested to test marine mammals for pollutantsin order to help assess the state of their health.6. Understanding and Responding to Climate Change and the Baltic SeaGiven that climate change is one of the most pressing environmental problems worldwide and already af-fects the Baltic Sea and its coasts, the German presidency aims to further consider climate aspects in all ofHELCOM’s activities and to establish and strengthen HELCOM’s role in explaining the interactions be-tween climate action and marine protection to a wide audience. In addition, it is suggested to furthersound out the potential and relevance of blue carbon as natural carbon sinks in the Baltic Sea and assesspossible options for action.VI. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC and HELCOM 28VI. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC andHELCOMOn 2 July 2020 the start of the German HELCOM Chairmanship was celebrated with a kick-off eventfeaturing such distinguished speakers as the German Federal Minister for the Environment, Ms SvenjaSchulze, the Finnish Ambassador to Germany, Ms Anne Sipliäinen, the Minister-President of Mecklen-burg-Vorpommern, Ms Manuela Schwesig, the Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, Mr DanielGünther, HELCOM Executive Secretary, Mr Rüdiger Strempel, as well as renowned researchers and en-vironmental activists. BSPC Secretary General, Mr Bodo Bahr, wished the German HELCOM Presiden-cy every success and support in order to achieve significant and ground-breaking progress during its ten-ure. He underlined that the BSPC has been closely working with HELCOM throughout the past thirtyyears and has formulated concrete demands in its recent resolutions – be it in relation to the update of theBSAP, eutrophication, plastic waste, or sea-dumped munitions. He extended his gratitude to the GermanForeign Minister, Mr Heiko Maas, for explicitly highlighting the sea-dumped munitions issue in his ad-dress to the 19th CBSS Ministerial meeting and underscored the efforts undertaken by the BSPC. Theseinclude the establishment of the BSPC Rapporteur mandate on sea-dumped munitions as well as the in-tensive exchange on the current state of research on underwater unexploded ordnance in the Baltic Seaduring the BSPC Standing Committee meeting on 19 November 2019 in Berlin and during consulta-tions with DG Mare on 2 March 2020 in Brussels. This exchange has sensibilized the Baltic Sea parlia-mentarians to the need for determined political action. The failure to act now would, Mr Bahr stressed,result in a catastrophe with long-term consequences in thirty years. He therefore closed his address byonce again wishing the German presidency success in fulfilling the envisioned priorities and contributingto the protection of the marine environment regionally and globally.In her address to the 29th BSPC, Ms Svenja Schulze, German Federal Minister for the Environment, Na-ture Conservation and Nuclear Safety, expressed her gratitude that the Baltic Sea parliamentarians haveclearly signalled their support for the German HELCOM Chairmanship’s goal to ensure the safe and envi-ronmentally sound removal of munitions from the Baltic Sea. The resolution of the 28th BSPC, specifically itsitem point 24, called upon governments to work together with HELCOM and develop a cross-bordersustainable strategy for dealing with the issue of buried/deposited ammunitions present in the Baltic Sea.Consequently, the BSPC Standing Committee has appointed Mr Peter Stein, Member of the GermanBundestag, as BSPC Rapporteur on Sea-dumped Munitions in November 2019. The interim report, pre-sented by Mr Peter Stein at the 29th BSPC, highlighted the positive results of the initial discussions be-tween Mr Stein and HELCOM’s Secretary General, Mr Rüdiger Strempel. In accordance with theVI. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC and HELCOM 29governments’ statements on the implementation of the 28th resolution, HELCOM’s existing structuresshould be built on to take upon the role as a coordinating body for the management of sea-dumped mu-nitions. Even though Mr Stein’s planned visit to the HELCOM Secretariat in Helsinki had to be post-poned due to travel restrictions adopted in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first exchange ofviews has shown that the existing HELCOM RESPONSE structures – more specifically, the ExpertGroup on Environmental Risks of Hazardous Submerged Objects (SUBMERGED) – are suited for thetask. The report reminds, however, that HELCOM SUBMERGED expert group’s mandate will expire in2020 and stresses the need for an extension in order to ensure the regular reassessment of the situationwith sea-dumped munitions in the Baltic Sea.Following the impulse provided by the 28th resolution, the resolution of the 29th BSPC calls upon the gov-ernments of the Baltic Sea region, the CBSS and the EU, in acknowledgement of Germany’s HELCOMChairmanship priorities, to “intensify efforts to monitor and to treat the problem of dumped munitions,wrecks, and ghost nets and in the Baltic Sea.” These efforts should be based on a common internationalapproach taking into account the existing international efforts and responsibilities and strengthening ex-isting political structures and scientific projects. The ambition is to make the Baltic Sea region a globalleader in the field of solving problems associated with dumped munitions and unexploded ordnance lo-cated underwater. The recommendations and calls to action contained in item 24 of the 28th BSPC reso-lution and item 15 of the 29th BSPC resolution together with the BSPC Rapporteur’s mandate on sea-dumped munitions open space for further deeper cooperation between the BSPC and HELCOM.Another issue, which both the BSPC and HELCOM have a high interest in, is climate change and biodiver-sity. The 29th BSPC approved the new two-year Working Group on Climate Change and Biodiversitywith Ms Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby from the Swedish Parliament as Chairwoman. The Group is tasked withthe preparation of a preliminary report to be presented at the 30th BSPC and focussed on the need forjoint regional solutions to preserve biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change in the Baltic Searegion. Moreover, special emphasis should be placed on existing regional policies, strategies, innovationsand best practices in relation to climate change and biodiversity as well as on climate change adaptationand the resulting challenges for science, technology, and the economy. Consideration should also be giv-en to efficient and environmentally friendly transport and energy supply solutions. Given the currentHELCOM Chairmanship’s priorities in the area of strengthening marine biodiversity as well as under-standing and responding to climate change on the one hand and the BSPC Working Group’s thematic fo-cus on the other, closer collaboration between HELCOM structures and the Working Group could proveespecially useful and beneficial.VI. Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPC and HELCOM 30In addition, the resolution of the 29th BSPC once again signalled its support for the work of HELCOMin safeguarding the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. Specifically, item 14 highlighted the new Chair-manship’s objectives to explicitly consider sustainability, climate change and biodiversity in the Baltic SeaAction Plan update process, to focus on the acceleration and intensification of its implementation as wellas on joint efforts to further reduce the excessive nutrient load in the Baltic Sea.Sources and Useful Links 31Sources and Useful LinksPrimary Decisions and OutcomesOutcome of the 57th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 57-2019),https://portal.helcom.fi/meetings/HOD%2057-2019-620/MeetingDocuments/Outcome%20of%20HOD%2057-2019.pdfOutcome of the 41st Meeting of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM41-2020),https://portal.helcom.fi/meetings/HELCOM%2041-2020-679/MeetingDocuments/Outcome%20of%20HELCOM%2041-2020.pdfOutcome of the 58th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 58-2029),https://portal.helcom.fi/meetings/HOD%2058-2020-738/MeetingDocuments/Outcome%20of%20HOD%2058-2020.pdfSources and Useful Links 32HELCOM Publications 2019–2020HELCOM activities report for the year 2019,https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/HELCOM-Activities-Report-2019.pdfA Technical Guidance for the handling of wastewater in Ports of the Baltic Sea Special Area underMARPOL Annex IV,https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Technical-guidance-for-the-handling-of-wastewater-in-ports.pdfHELCOM Annual report on discharges observed during aerial surveillance in the Baltic Sea 2018,https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/HELCOM-Aerial-Surveillance-Report-2018.pdfFanpLESStic-sea 2019. Review of existing policies and research related to microplastics,https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/FanpLESStic-sea-Microplastics-Policy-and-Research-Review.pdfReview of existing policies and research related to microplastics – Summary for Policy Makers,https://helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/fanpLESStic-microplastics-summary-report.pdfANNEX 33ANNEXAnnex 1. List of Current HELCOM Working Groups and Expert Networks1. Gear – Group on the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach1.1. Economic and Social Analyses (ESA) network2. Maritime –Maritime Working Group2.1. AIS EWG – Expert Working Group on Mutual Exchange and Deliveries of AIS Data2.2. Green Technology and Alternative Fuels Platform for Sustainable Shipping2.3. Safe NAV – Group of Experts of Safety of Navigation2.4. TG Ballast – The Joint HELCOM/OSPAR Task Group on Ballast Water ManagementConvention Exemptions3. Pressure – Working Group on reduction of Pressures from the Baltic sea Catchment area3.1. EN Marine Litter – HELCOM Expert Network on Marine Litter3.2. EN Noise – HELCOM Expert Network on Underwater Noise3.3. REDCORE DG – Reduction Scheme Core Drafting Group3.4. CG PHARMA – HELCOM Correspondence Group on Pharmaceuticals4. Response – Response Working Group4.1. EWG OWR – Expert Working Group on Oiled Wildlife Response4.2. IWGAS – Informal Working Group on Aerial Surveillance4.3. SHORE Network – HELCOM Expert Coordination Network on Response on the Shore4.4. SUBMERGED – Expert Group on Environmental Risks of Hazardous Submerged Ob-jectsANNEX 345. State and Conservation – Working group on the State of the Environment and Nature Conserva-tion5.1. EG MAMA – HELCOM Expert Group on Marine Mammals5.1.1. HELCOM SEAL – HELCOM ad hoc SEAL Expert Group5.2. EG STUR – HELCOM Expert Group on Sturgeon Remediation5.3. EN-HZ– HELCOM expert network on hazardous substances5.4. EN BENTHIC – HELCOM Expert Network on Benthic Habitats and Biotopes5.5. IN Eutrophication – HELCOM Intersessional Network on Eutrophication5.6. JWG Bird – HELCOM-OSPAR-ICES Joint Working Group on Seabirds5.7. MORS EG – HELCOM Expert Group on Monitoring of Radioactive Substances in theBaltic Sea6. Agri Group – Group on Sustainable Agricultural Practices7. Fish Group – Group on Ecosystem-Based Sustainable Fisheries7.1. CG Aquaculture – Correspondence Group concerning a draft document on Best Availa-ble Technology/Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) descriptions for sustainable aq-uaculture in the Baltic Sea region7.2. FISH-M – Task Force on Migratory Fish Species8. HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG – Joint Working Group on Maritime Spatial Planning8.1. MSP Data Expert Sub-Group – Baltic Sea Region Maritime Spatial Planning Data ExpertSub-GroupANNEX 35Annex 2. List of Ongoing HELCOM Projects1. ACTION – Actions to Evaluate and Identify Effective Measures to Reach GES in the Baltic SeaMarine Region (2019–2020)2. BSR WATER – Platform on Integrated Water Cooperation (2018–2021)3. COMPLETE – Completing Management Options in the Baltic Sea Region to Reduce Risk of In-vasive Species Introduction by Shipping (2017–2020)4. CSHIPP – Clean Shipping Project Platform (2018–2020)5. EMERGE – Evaluation, Control and Mitigation of the Environmental Impacts of ShippingEmissions (2020–2024)6. FanpLESStic-sea – Initiatives to Remove Microplastics Before they Enter the Sea (2019–2021)7. FISH-PRO III – Project for Baltic-Wide Assessment of Coastal Fish Communities in Support ofan Ecosystem-Based Management (2018–2023)8. HASPS 3 – Horizontal Action “Spatial Planning” Support 3 (2018–2020)9. PEG – Quality Assurance of Phytoplankton Monitoring in the Baltic Sea (PEG QA) (2020–2022)10. PLC-7 – Seventh Baltic Sea Pollution Load Compilation (2017–2019)11. RETROUT – Development, Promotion and Sustainable Management of the Baltic Sea Regionas a Coastal Fishing Tourism Destination (2017–2020)12. SuMaNu – Sustainable Manure and Nutrient Management for Reduction of Nutrient Loss in theBaltic Sea Region (2018–2021)Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencewww.bspc.netBSPC SecretariatSchlossgartenallee 1519061 SchwerinGermany