Overview of the BSAP and current implementation plan - Joint efforts in putting the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan into practice

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Overview of the BSAP and current implementation
plan - Joint efforts in putting the HELCOM
Baltic Sea Action Plan into practice

• Anne Christine Brusendorff
• Executive Secretary, Helsinki Commission
• Round table discussion seminar
• The environmental standing of the Baltic Sea
  from political proposal to practical project

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Content

• HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan - Our common
  commitment
• Importance of stakeholder involvement
• How to secure financing?
• Need for enhanced policy integration

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HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan - adopted 15
November 2007

• Commencing the implementation of the HELCOM BSAP
• Only one hundred pages....
• ... but a great commitment for all us!

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HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan - Actions

• Tailor made measures in Contracting Parties
  (National Programmes)
• Joint measures by HELCOM Contracting Parties
  (HELCOM Recommendations)
• Measures in non-Contracting Parties
• Strong links to regional and global processes
• e.g. Convention on Biodiversity, Russian Maritime
  Doctrine, EU Marine Strategy Directive and
  Maritime Policy
• joint input from HELCOM Contracting Parties
  within international fora to reach Baltic
  environmental objectives

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Will the BSAP deliver good status of the marine
environment?
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Stakeholder involvement is crucial

• Commitment is needed from industry, agriculture,
  the public and other interest groups
• HELCOM Stakeholder Conferences
• development of the BSAP in 2006 and 2007
• in 2008 implementation of the BSAP with great
  deal of interest from the stakeholders
• Stakeholder forums could be organised on
  sub-regional, national and local levels to
  promote various actions of the Plan

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How to secure financing?

• Adequate financing is crucial
• Financing in the 3rd HELCOM Stakeholder
  Conference
• overview of various funding programmes and funds
• plenty of funding can be made available
• competition for funding between environmental and
  other sectors need for change in national
  priority setting
• private sector can bring extra momentum
• Financiers are interested in funding concrete
  projects

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Financing - Projects

• Lack of good projects
• Registry for prioritised projects on UWWTs and
  agricultural hot spots needed
• HELCOM to organise a Pledging Conference

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Enhanced policy integration

• Need to integrate protection of the marine
  environment into other policies on all levels
• Marine Spatial Planning
• can be seen as a practical demonstration of
  integration of environmental considerations into
  other sectors
• HELCOM Recommendation 28E/9 on the development of
  broad-scale marine spatial planning principles in
  the BSAP
• to jointly develop common principles and tools to
  mitigate conflicting interests and to ensure
  sustainable use of marine resources and
  protection of marine areas

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Implementation of the BSAP

• Implementation Group
• high level guidance on implementation
• follow-up of implementation
• review of measures
• co-operation and co-ordination with other related
  work
• National programmes by 2010 and their
  effectiveness to be evaluated at Ministerial
  Meeting in 2013

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Concluding remarks - Recipe for success

• Tailor made joint actions
• Strong stakeholder involvement
• Sufficient financing
• Better policy integration
• Strong political commitment
• determination to implement the agreed actions

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Thank you!
For more information please contact
Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) Katajanokanlaituri 6
B FI-00160 Helsinki Finland www.helcom.fi