25-04-2024
Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) celebrates its 50th anniversary, ministers discuss future challenges
On Thursday, ministers from the signatory countries of the Helsinki Convention celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Baltic Sea Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) in Riga. The meeting addressed the challenges of achieving the objectives set out in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan 2021. The ministers discussed measures being taken to overcome obstacles and the geopolitical situation in the Baltic Sea Region.
Dr. Daiva Matusevič, Vice-Minister for Environment, who attended the event, noted that pollution and ecological degradation know no borders, and the sustainability of the Baltic Sea ecosystem is of vital importance for all bordering countries. Unfortunately, the current geopolitical situation makes interaction with Russia and Belarus difficult, even on a technical level.
According to the Vice-Minister, significant efforts over the past two years have been directed towards digitizing processes that contribute to improving the state of rivers, lakes, and the Baltic Sea. To reduce Baltic Sea pollution and balance fertilizer use in Lithuania, the fertilizer methodology has been updated, a fertilizer declaration system has been developed, and a free, user-friendly digital tool has been created to enable farmers to draw up individual fertilizer plans for each field, corresponding to the optimum fertilizer rates.
Lithuania has also implemented strict wastewater management rules to ensure that treatment standards apply to both centralized and individual systems. The recently launched Wastewater Management Information System will provide an accurate register of wastewater systems, allowing for a rapid response to prevent untreated or inadequately treated wastewater from entering the environment. It will also increase the efficiency of control over individual wastewater management systems.
HELCOM, established on 25 April 1974 to implement the objectives of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Basin, involves the countries bordering the Baltic Sea and the EU.
HELCOM's objective is to improve international policy and legislation on the protection of the Baltic Sea environment. The member countries are committed to stopping and eliminating pollution from all sources in the Baltic Sea basin and to reducing and, where possible, eliminating the negative impacts of human activities on the marine environment.
HELCOM sets common environmental objectives for the region, develops a common assessment of the state of the Baltic Sea ecosystem, and monitors its condition.
Lithuania will take over the HELCOM chairmanship from Latvia on 1 July 2024, marking an important step in the regional environmental governance of the Baltic Sea.