RS HELCOM Presentation BSPC SC 6 2 2023 Final
HELCOM Update2022, 2023 – and beyondBy Rüdiger Strempel, Executive Secretary of HELCOMBSPC Standing Committee Meeting6 March 2023, Brussels, BelgiumHELCOM tools:how we get things doneThe Helsinki Recommendations Action plans & Monitoring & MinisterialConvention on measures to projects assessments MeetingsInstrument of int. address areas of Contain actions • Indicators Set the majorlaw, containing concern, and measures with (pressures on strategic directionsobjectives & implementable such as Baltic Sea and state of the and provide theobligations. through national Action Plan, environment) necessary politicalAnnexes: technical legislation. In Regional Action • Thematic commitment.guidelines and total, about 260 Plan on Marine assessmentsregulations. recommendations Litter, and most • Holistichave been HELCOM projects. assessmentsadopted so far.Working arrangements since March 2022Unanimous Strategic pause andInformal Official procedures via External meetingsdecisions “HELCOM 9”consultations correspondence and eventsRule 8.2, from our Suspension of allInformal Official decisions that HELCOM is currentlyRules of procedure: official HELCOMconsultations in require the participation not participating in“Decisions of the meetings untilthe H9 format, of Russia are taken via external events withCommission, the further notice,uponconvened by an correspondence (e.g. Russian involvementHeads of Delegation decision by HELCOMH9 Contracting budget, adoption of except for meetingsand the subsidiary Chairmanship inParty (not by documents). of the UN andbodies shall be taken agreement with theHELCOM) take similarunanimously in EU and Contractingplace as needed. organisations.accordance with the Parties that are EUConvention.” members, so-called(Russia is still part of “HELCOM 9” or “H9”.HELCOM.)Updated BSAP:Structure & goalsBSAP implementationAll 199 BSAP actions have... Implementation tracking... individual target ... been assigned to one ... specific criteria by Progress: Effects:years for their or several HELCOM which their HELCOM Explorer — HELCOM monitoringimplementation, with bodies for monitoring, achievement will be — HELCOM indicatorsthe last actions to be guiding and/or measured. — HELCOM assessmentsimplemented by 2030 contributing to theirat the latest; implementation;Projects and other processes in 2022-23 (1/2)Species and biodiversity• HELCOM RED LIST II project• Indicator development on bycatch, pelagic habitats, harbour porpoise (BLUESproject)Nutrient reduction• Advancing the implementation of the Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient RecyclingStrategy• Assessment report: Progress towards nutrient input ceilings (NICs) achieved by2020Work on marine litter• Development of the global instrument to end plastic pollution by 2024• Assessment on beach litter, indicator development on microlitterIndicator website, launched in the spring 2023Projects and other processes in 2022-23 (2/2)Sea-based activities (shipping)• EMERGE project on shipping emissions in EU marine waters• Feasibility study regarding long-term risk analysis for oil and hazardous andnoxious substances (HNS) pollution• HELCOM Submerged Assessment on Warfare Materials in the Baltic Sea• BAT/BEP for sustainable aquaculture in the Baltic SeaReducing hazardous substances• HAPhazard, Pre-EMPT and BEACON projectsMaritime Spatial Planning & data• MSP and ecosystem approach/biodiversity: eMSP NBSR, MSP4BIO & PASPS• Baltic Data Flow and ReMAP projects: better sharing and harmonization of dataon marine environment, creating new data tools and models for MSPCooperation with partner organizations – someexamples (1/2)• Continual exchange and/or cooperation with other global and regionalframeworks and processes (EU, RSCs, global ocean agenda, post 2020 GBF)• Work on Other Effective Area-based Measures (OECMs) and Marine ProtectedAreas, e.g.:• Cross-sectoral HELCOM workshop in February 2022, supported by the IUCN-WCPA and FAO• HELCOM Secretariat participation in the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress(IMPAC5),Vancouver, Canada, February 2023• Pioneering regional efforts to mitigate marine litter:• International Forum on Marine Litter and Circular Economy (MARLICE 2022), Seville, Spain, May 2022• UN Ocean Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, June/July 2022:• Participation by HELCOM Secretariat• Side Event entitled “Delivering global commitments in the Baltic Sea Region – MarineProtected Areas and the success of Regional Seas Conventions”, hosted by Baltic Sea states.• New HELCOM Voluntary commitmentsCooperation with partner organizations – someexamples (2/2)• Baltic Stakeholder Conference 2022 – Climate Change and the Baltic Sea, withBaltic Earth, September 2022, hosted by Germany• Baltic Stakeholder Conference 2023 – implementation of the BSAP, March 2023,hosted by Latvia• Continuing the work on hazardous submerged objects• e.g. Expert roundtable on dumped munitions in the Baltic Sea in December 2022, co-organized by CBSS, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal State ofSchleswig-Holstein, and the HELCOM H 9• UN Water Conference, New York, USA, March 2023• HELCOM Commitments to UN Water Action AgendaOutlook beyond 2023• HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, hosted by Latvia, scheduled for thespring of 2024• HELCOM 50th anniversary year: 2024• Implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan as well as othercommitments continue• Restructuring of HELCOM working groups as well as updating therelated TORThank you!