NGOs urge Baltic countries to speed up commitments to the Baltic Sea Action Plan

CCB • March 3, 2020

Helsinki, 3 March 2020 – This week at the HELCOM Stakeholder Conference and High-level Meeting [1], Coalition Clean Balic and the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme presented a joint ‘ Shadow Plan ’ [2] in response to the ongoing Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) update process [3]. The Shadow Plan contains recommended actions across all themes addressed by the current Action Plan.

 

The current plan was adopted in 2007 by all countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Despite ambitious goals and promises to protect and restore the Baltic marine environment by 2021, countries are still a long way off in achieving the targets that were set. According to the most recent HELCOM implementation assessment from 2018 [4], of the 177 actions and recommendations assessed, only 24% of the national actions were completed and 60% partly accomplished whereas 68% of the joint actions have been claimed as completed. 

 

“Changing the environmental state of the Baltic Sea will require that HELCOM ministers ensure the updated plan demands rigorous action from contracting parties, and an overall greater commitment by the Baltic Sea countries to achieving this goal. Tangible efforts must be taken at both national and regional levels, to deliver results that halt the dwindling biodiversity of the Baltic Sea,”

says Ottilia Thoreson, Programme Director at WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme.

The Shadow Plan relays NGOs recommended actions for HELCOM ministers that are fundamental to restore the sea back to good environmental health, support thriving coastal communities, and increase resilience to climate change. As the 2021 deadline passes, countries need to continue to address the present challenges in the Baltic, as part of their efforts to fulfil global legal framework requirements under United Nations global Sustainable Development Goals and the revised UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) that still remain.

“CCB made it clear in our 2018 Civil Society Declaration on Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea [5] that Baltic Region’s residents are getting frustrated and disappointed by countries inaction. Civil society is competent enough to be treated as an equal partner, to be heard and consulted appropriately and to be able to deliver policy inputs. With the Shadow Plan we are set to say NO to tolerating any kind of anthropogenic impacts on the Baltic ecosystem, calling the Governments to be serious in their commitments,”

says Mikhail Durkin, CCB’s Executive Secretary. 

The coming decade will be decisive for the state of biodiversity. Action must be taken now and so, we ask that HELCOM ministers take into account our recommendations during the Baltic Sea Action Plan updating process. We call on all Baltic countries to step up and speed up their implementation of nature protection policies.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

CCB – Coalition Clean Baltic is a politically independent, non-profit association, which unites 22 member organizations and 2 observers, 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: panda.org/baltic

UN Sustainable Development Goals – The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. The 17 SDGs are integrated —that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. More info at: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

UN Convention on Biological Diversity – The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force on 29 December 1993. It is known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty and has 3 main objectives, the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. More info at: https://www.cbd.int/

Contact:

Mikhail Durkin
Executive Secretary, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB)
mikhail.durkin@ccb.se
+46 739 770 793

Ottilia Thoreson
Programme Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme
ottilia.thoreson@wwf.se
+46 732 745 867  

EU fisheries at a crossroads: NGOs warn against reform as Baltic collapse exposes failure to enforce existing rules

By CCB • April 30, 2026
Failure to implement EU fisheries law, not gaps in the policy itself, has pushed the Baltic Sea to the brink. Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) urges immediate action to rebuild Baltic fish populations and restore ecosystems.

Tampering with EU Fisheries Policy would ‘open Pandora’s Box’, NGOs warn

By CCB • March 30, 2026
Brussels, 30 March 2026 - Today, Fisheries Ministers from EU Member States meet with the European Commission for the AGRIFISH Council. On this occasion, Oceana, BLOOM, ClientEarth, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Seas At Risk and WWF EU, handed a symbolic ''Pandora’s Box'' to the EU Commissioner Costas Kadis, sending a clear message as the European Commission prepares its 2026 evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The box represents the risks of revising EU’s main fishery policy framework: once opened, competing demands from Member States, industry, small-scale fishers, and coastal communities could quickly spiral into division, regulatory delays and uncertainties. This would put at risk the hard-won progress made in restoring Europe’s fish populations and improving the profitability of the fishing sector. NGOs urge decision makers to build on the progress made to date and to prioritise the full and timely implementation of the existing rules. Reopening the CFP and its related provisions would undermine ocean health and the long-term future of Europe’s fishing communities. '' Europe's fisheries policy is facing a credibility test. The law is already there. The tools to rebuild our seas already exist. What's missing is the political will to deliver. Overfishing should have ended by 2020 at the latest. Reopening the CFP would signal that missed deadlines carry no consequences, erode trust, revert the progress made, and put the future of our fisheries and coastal communities at stake ’’, said the NGO coalition. *** Oceana: Vera Coelho, Executive Director and Vice President in Europe BLOOM: Claire Nouvian, Founder and General Director ClientEarth: John Condon, Lead of Marine Ecosystems Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB): Ida Carlén, Co-Chair Environmental Justice Foundation: Steve Trent, CEO/Founder Seas At Risk: Dr Monica Verbeek, Executive Director WWF EU: Ester Asin, Director