Ambition, concrete actions and commitment: key elements to save the Baltic Sea

CCB • March 17, 2021

NGOs recommendations towards the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan

17 March 2021 – This year will mark a milestone for the protection of the Baltic Sea since the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) [1] will be adopted by HELCOM and its members, with the aim to achieve good environmental status by 2030. Throughout the updated process, Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF have stressed the importance of rigorous action and bold commitment from contracting parties , and presented a joint Shadow Plan [2] with recommended actions across all themes addressed by the current Action Plan.

Today, on the occasion of the 42nd Meeting of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), we call once again on all Baltic countries to focus on raising the ambition for the implementation of the updated BSAP . This Plan must include measures set to reduce all relevant pressures on the Baltic Sea and to fulfil the goal of the original BSAP – which unfortunately has not been met by 2021 [3] – assuring our sea and environment the stability and the protection to heal.

“The need and sense of urgency is very clear. Our sea is failing and fish stocks are collapsing. We can make a change and we must make a change but it must start from the same place. Any plan must start with a common understanding that the functioning of the ecosystem must come first. We, citizens of the Baltic Sea countries, have jointly offered such a Plan to the Baltic politicians and countries to implement”, affirms Aija Caune, CCB Chairperson.

Some trends of the marine environment have shown important progress [4] as a result of the measures implemented by the BSAP in the last years. This indicates that we have a valid platform and tools to adopt a revised and action-oriented plan that must include an ecosystem based approach and cross-cutting issues such as climate change.

“Fulfilling the 2030 target of changing the current environmental state of the Baltic Sea is one of the hardest things we collectively must achieve. But the consequences of inaction will be even harder to shoulder,”

says Ottilia Thoreson, Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme.

“Given the interconnected nature of climate change, loss of biodiversity, eutrophication, land, air and water pollution, it is essential that these problems are tackled together.”

A future-proof plan is fundamental to tackle the environmental issues in the Baltic Sea, but we need all countries to take their responsibilities and be part of the process , with high ambitions, concrete and effective measures, and regular monitoring of the actions taken.

Therefore, we rely on all HELCOM representatives to take into account our recommendations and keep their commitment to protect and save the Baltic Sea, through the implementation of an updated BSAP that benefits both nature and people .

-END

Note to the editors

CCB – Coalition Clean Baltic is a politically independent, non-profit association, which unites 23 member organizations and 1 observer, with over 850,000 members in all countries around the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the Baltic Sea environment and its natural resources. More info at: www.ccb.se

WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme – is an ambitious and highly influential force working to conserve and restore the health of the Balitc Sea. The programme is comprised of WWF and NGO partners in each of the nine coastal Baltic Sea countries. Representing the region’s largest membership network, the programme’s approach has been to work with public and private sector partners toward ensuring a healthy, productive Baltic Sea through sustainable, ecosystem-based management. More info at: https://www.wwfbaltic.org/

The update process –

The Baltic Shadow Plan: For the future of the Baltic Sea

HELCOM BSAP

CCB is looking for a Network Officer to join our team at the CCB International Secretariat

By CCB • April 9, 2025
Coalition Clean Baltic – CCB is a politically independent network, uniting 27 environmental non-profit organizations, as well as partners and experts from 11 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources of the Baltic Sea region by encouraging new and constructive approaches and engaging people to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. CCB Secretariat is based in Uppsala, Sweden.

Attacks on NGOs: 570+ Organisations Join Forces to Defend Civil Society

By CCB • April 7, 2025
European civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently facing an attack coming from certain Members of the European Parliament. Spearheaded by some MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and by far-right groups, this attack resorts to misleading arguments to fabricate a scandal. This portrayal has been amplified through the media, with notable exceptions of articles that attempted to clarify this misleading narrative. European CSOs are crucial to ensure the voices of citizens from different parts of Europe are heard in the EU institutions. Attacks against civil society are unfortunately not new and are exacerbated by this harmful idea. Furthermore, for-profit corporate lobbying is through the roof when compared to non-profit advocacy. In 2024, the 50 corporations with the largest lobbying budgets collectively spent nearly €200 million on lobbying the EU alone (66% more than in 2015). Comparing this to the funding environmental NGOs receive under the LIFE programme - €15.6 million annually of a €700 million yearly budget - truly shows the weakness of this ‘scandal’. This is why over 570 civil society organisations from 40 countries, including all EU Member States, have joined forces to call on those in power to act now and ensure that civil society is adequately funded and enabled to share our crucial perspectives . In this statement, we address: The source of this false narrative; Inaccurate claims made about how CSOs obtain and use funding; Why it’s paramount that CSOs receive sufficient funding; The need for civil dialogue to enable CSOs participation. Democracy is about the right of citizens to be collectively heard for building an inclusive society and a shared European future; properly funded independent CSOs are a crucial tool for that. We call on decision-makers to ensure civil society organisations can thrive and play their role in interacting with policy-makers in order to have a more fully informed decision-making process. Read the full statement here . -END Civil Society Europe (CSE) is the coordination of civil society organisations at EU level. Through its membership, CSE unites EU-level membership-based organisations that reach out to millions of people active in or supported by not-for-profits and civil society organisations across the EU. CSE was created by several civil society organisations as a follow-up to the European Year of Citizens and was established as an international not-for-profit under Belgian law in 2016. Since then, it has become the point of reference for EU institutions on transversal issues concerning civil dialogue and civic space.