Ten actions on our Christmas “wishlist” to ensure Ministers deliver a concrete plan to save the Baltic Sea

CCB • December 17, 2019

As the end of the year approaches, children and adults alike, will be writing their wish lists in the hopes that they might get a present on Christmas Eve. We, the Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme, have a special wish this year: a Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) with a focus on real actions to significantly improve the state of the Baltic Sea. We propose to start with ten things that Ministers should do to ensure that the Baltic gets the action plan it deserves.

So far, the Baltic Sea Action Plan has not met any of the four goals that were set back in 2007 [1] In our view, it needs a revolutionary update in order to fulfill any of the pre-existing goals, let alone any additional ones that are added during the update process [2]. The updated plan needs to be more than just a plan – it needs concrete actions that deliver measurable results.

Here are ten actions that all Ministers can do to ensure that Baltic Sea region gets the action plan it deserves:

  1. Adopt an ecosystem-based approach to marine management as a fundamental principle for the entire plan and all activities, to ensure the region is managed as a whole rather than separate components.
  2. Replace all ‘recommendations’ with ‘committed actions’.
  3. Include actions to address Climate Change, with no allowance of human activities which cause for an overshoot of 1,5 °C global warming threshold.
  4. Apply scientific knowledge and data on the potential risks and impacts associated with marine investments, as well as adopt indicators to monitor maritime sectors.
  5. Apply best practices to reduce and mitigate the impact of continuous underwater noise throughout the Baltic Sea Area.
  6. No more  ‘paper parks’ – ensure that Marine Protected Areas are effectively implemented and protected with comprehensive management plans that address all cumulative stressors that impact the MPAs biodiversity.
  7. Ensure the plan links food webs and interspecies considerations to rebuilding fish stocks to reach a stable size and age structure as well as resilient levels of biomass.
  8. Promote the drastic reduction of nutrient run-off, including improved management of nutrient balanced fertilisation as a required measure for all farms.
  9. Waste collection and filtration of pharmaceutical residues should be mandatory in all Countries, coupled with Extended Producer’s Responsibility and wide public awareness in off-and online pharmacies and healthcare institutions. 
  10. Ensure all ports have adequate reception facilities for ship-generated sewage and wastewater.

“The state of our oceans and seas is alarming. We can and must turn the tide on the downward spiral of biodiversity loss. Now more than ever, we need concrete implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan by all Baltic Sea countries in order to avoid continued loss of species and habitats that are symbolic of and essential to this brackish sea. We, in the NGO community, send this wishlist to all Baltic countries to propel them to take the lead and make the updated action plan ambitious and action-oriented. HELCOM has the platform and passion to empower change and save our loved Baltic sea”, says the Coalition Clean Baltic and the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme.

It is the responsibility of the national governments and Ministers involved in the update process to ensure that the action plan effectively benefits both people and nature. In light of the highly disappointing outcomes from COP25 [3], we can not help but wonder – will a Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) be more than a plan or will that remain on our Christmas wish list again next year?

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

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Contact:

Federica Pastore
Communication Officer, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB)
federica.pastore@ccb.se
+46707662175

Hannah Griffiths-Berggren
Communications Manager, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme
hannah.griffiths.berggren@wwf.se
+46739237439

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.