Restoring Baltic Sea can’t be delayed for another decade – political ambition must be raised by Baltic countries

CCB • June 7, 2021

 

June 7, 2021 –This year marks a milestone for the protection of the Baltic Sea. The updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) – which will be adopted in October 2021 – is HELCOM’s strategic programme of measures and a key tool for restoring the Baltic Sea by 2030.  However, Baltic countries at the HELCOM Heads of Delegation meeting last week showed a lack of bold commitment and high ambitions. Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF are calling for concrete political targets to reach a good environmental status in the Baltic Sea. Investing in nature is a prerequisite to supporting economic activities which depend on the sea’s natural resources while building resilience of vulnerable coastal communities. 

 

Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF have been active in the update process and presented a joint Shadow Plan [1] with recommended actions across not only the main themes addressed by the current Action Plan (biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances and litter, sea-based activities), but also emerging issues such as climate change, underwater noise and seabed disturbance.

“There are inevitable trade-offs that need to be made if we are to bend the curve on biodiversity loss and avoid reaching critical tipping points. Our economic prosperity is dependent on the health of the Baltic Sea’s ecosystems. The reluctance of Baltic Sea countries to set bold political targets is undermining the very possibility of achieving good environmental status, which was set to be achieved this year by the current BSAP,”

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

“In order to meet the BSAP targets, HELCOM has to operationalize the ecosystem approach that was introduced at the Ministerial Meeting back in 2003. It’s time to implement it in practice across all sectors and human activities, both at sea and on land, including fisheries, shipping and agriculture,”

says Mikhail Durkin, Executive Secretary at Coalition Clean Baltic.

The updated BSAP has an impressive 200 actions set to be rolled out over the course of the next nine years to prevent further deterioration of the Baltic Sea. Certain measurable targets are particularly positive: allocating 30% Marine Protected Areas across the Baltic Sea by no later than 2030, including ⅓ to be strictly protected and for countries to adopt legally binding management measures. Eutrophication is a major land-based threat to the overall state of the Baltic Sea environment and food web. The national nutrient input ceilings set clear thresholds for pollution reduction measures to be achieved by individual countries by no later than 2027.

Nevertheless, the overall actions fall short and lack the force and sense of urgency that is now essential. Concrete political targets are the only way to shift away from the current trajectory of cumulative, negative impacts from human activities towards actions to improve the Baltic Sea environment. It is not enough to keep updating BSAP measures to establish and develop guidelines, road maps, evaluate existing programmes and conduct baseline surveys. While these are vital in addressing pressures, they are not in themselves going to help achieve good environmental status by 2030. Even the ambition set for the desired state of the Baltic Sea is underwhelming –  calling for ‘minimal’ harm and disturbance to biodiversity, ecosystem and marine life – instead of committing to achieve zero pollution and impact.

Between now and October 2021, all Baltic countries must raise their political ambitions and implement an updated BSAP that includes:

  • Setting concrete political targets and binding measures to reduce eutrophication, overfishing and which steer towards net zero pollution and environmentally sustainable sea-based activities.
  • Reaches cross-sectoral political support to ensure ecosystem-based management is applied.
  • Acts on scientific advances and expertise. 
  • Ensures the plan will be financially resourced and driven by agencies from national to local levels.
  • Sets targets in national policies and strategies for all relevant sectors to adapt to the BSAP goal of achieving good environmental status.

The coming decade will be decisive. Action must be taken now to support communities on land and in coastal areas, to increase resilience to climate change, and to prevent the deepening crisis of collapsing fish stocks, nature loss and dead zones in our sea. 

NGOs call on all Baltic countries to take the necessary steps in the last stretch until October to ensure a robust, future-proof BSAP that will lead to change in the condition of the sea.

Notes to 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 HELCOM State of the Baltic Sea Report – shows that despite a few promising trends in the last 12 years, the objectives of the current BSAP have not been reached and countries have missed the 2020 deadline – outlined in the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive – to achieve and maintain a ‘Good Environmental Status’ in the sea.

The update process – An updated plan is currently being developed and negotiated by the ten HELCOM members – the nine Baltic Sea countries plus the European Union – and is due to be adopted at a Ministerial Meeting 2021. Its focus will be on the same areas as the current plan with some adaptation to include additional pressures from human activities including: climate change, eutrophication, hazardous substances and litter, sea-based activities and achieve a healthy and resilient ecosystem. It will also address emerging issues to be tackled on a regional scale such as, marine litter, underwater noise and seabed disturbance.

COP30 brings ocean and water to the center of climate policy

By CCB • December 5, 2025
In Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference COP30 immediately set the bar high. In his opening speech, Brazilian President Lula da Silva stressed that climate change is no longer a "threat to the future", but a tragedy that the world is already experiencing here and now, and called on countries to accelerate actions rather than limit themselves to promises. However, as is often the case in COP meetings, the political reality turned out to be more complicated than ambitions. Negotiations were difficult: the countries could not agree on a clear and binding plan to phase out fossil fuels. It is important to note that the Global Action Plan has provided a platform for discussing the development of a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. At the same time, COP30 has brought tangible progress in other areas: the countries agreed to triple the amount of adaptation funding for developing countries by 2035, strengthened the forest and ocean agenda, and expanded the range of practical initiatives under the Action Agenda . COP30 consolidated the trend: from "water at the center of the climate crisis" to a holistic ocean agenda closely related to energy, food, biodiversity and sustainable coastal development. From the COP29 Water Declaration to the COP30 Enhanced Ocean Water Program At COP29 in Baku, the Declaration on Water for Climate Action was adopted , with the aim to applying comprehensive approaches to combating the causes and consequences of climate change for water basins, emphasizing also the need to integrate water-related mitigation and adaptation measures into national climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). COP30 did not reverse this logic, but expanded it towards the ocean and coasts. Both processes "aquatic" and "oceanic" are moving in the same direction: integration of water, coasts and ocean into the climate plans of countries; development of nature-based solutions; strengthening transboundary management of water and marine systems; recognizing adaptation as an equal part of climate policy, rather than an "adjunct" to emissions reduction. Task Force on Oceans and the Blue NDC Challenge The international Task Force on Oceans , led by Brazil and France, was officially presented at the high-level ministerial meeting "From Ambition to Implementation: Delivering on Ocean Commitments" on 18 November, integrating oceans into a global mechanism to accelerate the incorporation of marine solutions into national climate plans. The Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge encourages countries to set ocean protection targets when updating their NDCs. The goal is to transition the Blue NDC Challenge into an Implementation Task Force. Members of the Blue NDC Challenge, currently 17 countries, can adopt a broad set of actions aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the oceans.These measures include the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems, supported by tools such as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, and climate-aligned marine protected areas. Countries are also encouraged to support sustainable and climate-resilient fishing and aquaculture, ensuring ocean health and long-term food security. B razil has set a clear example: its updated NDC includes a separate chapter on the ocean and coastal zones. For the first time, the national climate plan (Plano Clima) until 2035 includes a thematic adaptation plan for these areas. Priorities include the completion of national Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) by 2030 and major programs for the conservation and restoration of mangroves and coral reefs (ProManguezal, ProCoral).

Pathway to Tox-Free Living: Policy and Action

By CCB • November 24, 2025
Leading scientists, consumer advocates and policymakers gathered on November, 18th in Brussels for the conference "From Evidence to Policy: Toward a Tox free Living Environment" . They warned that exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in homes and consumer products represents a silent but severe public health and economic crisis. New findings presented to over 65 participants by the EU Baltic Sea Interreg project NonHazCity3 , LIFE ChemBee and the ToxFree LIFE for All projects as well as revealed widespread contamination of European households by complex chemical mixtures of hormone system disrupting substances (so called endocrine disrupters – EDCs) that contribute to chronic disease and impose enormous health costs. According to the key note speaker Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska, the home environment is a significant source of exposure to EDCs through indoor air, dust and daily contact with common products. Current research links such exposure to a shocking amount of lifestyle diseases including 22 cancer outcomes, 18 metabolic disorder outcomes and 17 cardiovascular disease outcomes. Scientists also stressed that the crisis spans generations. EDCs trigger epigenetic changes that not only affect today’s population but also future children and even grandchildren. Other effects include reproduction disorders. Over the last decade, 150 million babies were born preterm, and evidence shows that reducing the use of plastics by half could cut the risk of preterm birth by half as well.