HELCOM role in MSFD-implementation and relation to the

HELCOM BSAP

Prepared by Maria Laamanen and Samuli KorpinenHELCOM Secretariat

Helsinki Commission - HELCOM

Works towards: − protection of the Baltic marine

environment from all sources of pollution

− implementation of the Helsinki Convention 1974/1992

Priority issues:Eutrophication, Hazardous substances, Biodiversity and nature protection, Environmentally friendly shipping and maritime activities

BSAP: Good Environmental Status

by 2021

HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan

HELCOM’s role in the Baltic

Environmental policy maker developing common objectives and actions

Scientific Assessments

Coordinated monitoring

Concrete targets

Policy advice

ActionsM

anagement

Science

Environmentalfocal point for the Baltic Sea

Coordinating body

Status Reports

Structure of HELCOM

Secretariat

Seminars, workshops, informal expert meetings

Working groups and projects

Helsinki Commission

Denmark, Estonia, European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,

Russia, Sweden

HELCOM MONAS

HELCOM MARITIME

HELCOM RESPONSE

HELCOM LAND

HELCOM HABITAT

Heads of Delegations

HELCOM GEAR

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Fisheries/Environmental Forum

Agriculture/Environmental Forum

HELCOM/VASAB Working Group

Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities

HELCOM GEAR: the regional coordination platform for MSFD

• The 2010 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting decided that HELCOM will be the coordination platform for the implementation of the MSFD.

• Work under HELCOM GEAR steers the development of: ü HELCOM core indicators (2012-)ü HELCOM revised Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (in

2013) providing a strategy for a joint coordinated monitoring system

ü ...Monitoring Programme (by 2014, method manuals by 2015),

ü Programmes of Measures (by 2016), basing on the Baltic Sea Action Plan and Ministerial Declarations, especially the nutrient load reduction scheme

HELCOM work for the implementation of the MSFD:

initial assessmentHELCOM Initial Holistic Assessment of the Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea 2003-2007

• An overview of the ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea in 2003-2007, including status, pressures and economic analysis

• A baseline for assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the measures of the HELCOM BSAP

• Facilitation of the implementation of the MSFD in the Baltic Sea region, especially production of the initial assessment

What is the status? – Eutrophication

Secc

hi (

m)

Chlorophyll a (µg L-1)

HELCOM work for the implementation of the MSFD: initial assessment

What is the status? – Biodiversity and nature conservation

• Status of biodiversity is impoverished in all other parts of the Baltic Sea except the Gulf of Bothnia and some coastal pockets

• Status of biodiversity is changing in a direction that is weakening the capacity of the ecosystem to provide valuable goods and services

HELCOM work for the implementation of the MSFD: initial assessment

What is the status? –Hazardous substancesD

DE

- P

CB

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mean productivity

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Year 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05

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HELCOM work for the implementation of the MSFD: initial assessment

HELCOM core indicators to coherent monitoring data and assessments

A lesson learnt from the thematic assessments: need for common indicators with harmonized sampling and analyses!

HELCOM core indicators: ü First set is to be adopted in June

2013,ü Backbone of assessments and

coordinated monitoring,ü Enable coordinated Baltic-wide

assessment results,ü Regular annual updating of web-

based core indicator reports,ü Addresses BSAP+MSFD

assessment needs,ü Enables the follow up and

efficiency of management measures!

Relations of BSAP and MSFD objectives support each other

All HELCOM core indicators and pre-core indicators. Links provide access to the draft core indicator reports.

Core indicators for biodiversity and food webs

1 Population growth rates, abundance and distribution of marine mammals 2 Pregnancy rates of marine mammals 3 Nutritional status of seals 4 Number of drowned mammals and waterbirds in fishing gears 5 Abundance of waterbirds in the wintering season 6 Abundance of waterbirds in the breeding season 8 White-tailed eagle productivity 9 Abundance of key fish species 10 Abundance of fish key functional groups 11 Proportion of large fish in the community 12 Abundance of sea trout spawners and parr 13 Abundance of salmon spawners and smolt 14 Zooplankton mean size and total abundance 15 State of the soft-bottom macrofauna communities 16 Population structure of long-lived macrozoobenthic species 19 Red-listed benthic biotopes 20 Trends in arrival of new non-indigenous species Pre-core indicators for biodiversity and food webs

7 Number of waterbirds being oiled annually 17 Lower depth distribution limit of macrophyte species 18 Cumulative impact on benthic habitats 21 Extent and distribution of benthic biotopes [no draft yet available] Core indicators hazardous substances and their effects

21 Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE): BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153 and 154 22 Hexabromocyclododacene (HBCD) 23 Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) 24 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dioxins and furans: CB-28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and

180; WHO-TEQ of dioxins, furans +dl-PCBs 25 Polyaromatic hydrocarbons and their metabolites: US EPA 16 PAHs / selected metabolites. 26 Metals (lead, cadmium and mercury) 27 Radioactive substances: Caesium-137 in fish and surface waters 28 Tributyltin (TBT) and imposex Pre-core indicators for hazardous substances and their effects

29 Pharmaceuticals: Diclofenac, EE2 (+E1, E2, E3 + in vitro yeast essay?) 30 Lysosomal Membrane Stability – a toxic stress indicator 31 Fish diseases– a fish stress indicator 32 Micronuclei test– a genotoxicity indicator 33 Reproductive disorders: Malformed eelpout and amphipod embryos

Marine mammals

Waterbirds

Fish

ZooplanktonSeabed

Non-indigenous spp.

Waterbirds

Seabed

Substances + contaminant effects

Pharmaceuticals + contaminant effects

HELCOM work for the monitoring programmes

HELCOM MORE project (2012-2013) to revise the HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Strategy and to revise the joint coordinated monitoring programme.

ü Revised M&A Strategy for endorsement by HOD 41/2013 in June 2013,

ü Work plan for reviewing the monitoring programme 2013-2015,

ü Structure and web-based documentation of the monitoring programme by 2013,

ü Monitoring manual as fact sheets for sampling and analysis methods updated and prepared during 2013-2015.

Photo: Samuli Korpinen

Analysis of numerous anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment in the Initial Holistic Assessment (data 2003-2007)

Bottom trawling

Shipping

Airborne N

Underwater noise

HELCOM work for the MSFD Programme of measures

Work plan being developed currently by HELCOM GEAR: Elements for consideration1. Baltic Sea Action Plan as the basis for measures and actions in the

Baltic Sea,2. Inventory of existing measures, level of their implementation and

whether the measures are still valid and necessary.3. Coherence of national programmes of measures of HELCOM

Contracting Parties, including countries.4. The WFD river basin management plans (next round by 2015):

coherence should be sought at a regional level for them to take into account the need to reach GES for marine waters.

5. Regional core measures: e.g. a common set of core actions and measures, such as the BSAP load reduction scheme and action to reach an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas.

6. Cost-efficiency of measures requires regional perspective.7. Quantifying certain targets, newer targets, as a joint activity could

be a future activity with the aim to subsequently set joint measures.

8. The Ministerial Meeting in October should address the regional coordination of programmes of measures.

Load reduction sheme: Maximum Allowable Inputs (MAI) and

Country Allocated Reduction Targets (CART)

Bo Gustavsson/BNI

BSAP 2007• Secchi was the main target upon which MAI were

built• Calculations of MAI were done with the semi-

empirical SANBALTS model• MAI was only given for the land loads

Review 2013• Several targets (including oxygen debt) with a

stronger scientific basis (TARGREV)• A mechanistic model (BALTSEM) was used to

calculate new MAI and proper peer-reviewed model documentation, including comparisons with other Baltic Sea models

• Updated, more reliable and flow-corrected load data

• Inclusion of atmospheric loads of nitrogen into the system

• New county-allocation system where the shares and reduction targets are based on current loads from the countries

We have reached the 10 % target for the regional network of marine protected areas set by the UN CBD COP7

• The current network of protected areas covers about 12% of the Baltic marine area

• The network is not yet ecologically coherent

• It is still not well-managed• Could be seen as a backbone

of transboundary Maritime Spatial Planning

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Installation of wind-farms

Land based activities

Dumping

Dredging

Extraction of resources

Aquaculture/mariculture

Research

Military activities

Traffic infrastructure

Tourism and recreation

Harvesting

Hunting

Fishing

Shipping and navigation

Cables and pipelines

Constructions (marine)

Buildings (terrestrial)

no. of entries

Permission needed Restricted Forbidden

Marine Protected Areas

HELCOM work for fish/fisheries

HELCOM FISH/ENV forum:• Discussion and co-operation forum

for environmental and fisheries authorities,

• Project BALTFIMPA: fisheries management within MPAs,

• Workshop on ecosystem-based fisheries in the context of the broad-scale MSP on 14-15 November 2013 by HELCOM in cooperation with the PartiSEApate project

HELCOM FISH-PRO for coastal fish assessments:• Expert network to coordinate

monitoring and assessments.Photo: Samuli Korpinen

HELCOM SEAL for marine mammal co-operation

ü BSAP requires management plans for seals by 2012:

Den

mar

k

Esto

nia

Finl

and

Ger

man

y

Latv

ia

Lith

uani

a

Pol

and

Rus

sia

Swed

en

Managem-ent plan

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YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

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er

deve

lopm

ent

NO

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deve

lopm

ent

ü 2013-14: focus in ringed seal in Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga and Archipelago Sea.

HELCOM work for MSP

HELCOM/VASAB Marine Spatial Planning WG:ü Platform for intergovernmental dialogue on

MSP in the Baltic region,ü is the Steering Committee of the EU SBSR

Horizontal Action ‘Spatial Planning’,ü PartiSEApate project (Multilevel Governance

in Maritime Spatial Planning throughout the Baltic Sea Region),

ü a Joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG Report 2010-2013 to be submitted to the Ministerial Meetings as a background document,

ü Regional Baltic MSP Roadmap for the Ministerial Meetings

Photo: Samuli Korpinen

Thank you!

www.helcom.fi