HELCOM - 13. Treffen der Gruppe für nachhaltige landwirtschaftliche Praktiken

While official meetings and other events of all HELCOM Working and Expert Groups and other subsidiary bodies are postponed due to the HELCOM strategic pause until further notice, informal consultation sessions, without Russian participation, can be organized and hosted by a Contracting Party.

The Sixth Informal Consultation Session of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (IC HOD 6-2025) was hosted by the Lithuanian Chairmanship of HELCOM and was held from 11 to 12 December 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.

CCB Participant in the meeting
- Mikhail Durkin, CCB Executive Secretary

Outcomes of the meeting
- The Session took note of the views by CCB supporting the proposal by Poland on better aligning the plans as well as better consultation and coherence in case of major infrastructure projects, also reminding of the need to revise HELCOM Recommendation 17/3.

- CCB was not supportive of a revision, and noted that a lengthy process had been required even among NGOs in developing a joint position paper on grey seals (document 2-25), due to differing views in different countries, and further underlined that mismanagement of fisheries was the problem and not the number of seals;

- The Session took note of the position paper on grey seals by CCB (document 2-25) and also noted that IC EG MAMA 3-2024 had noted the paper. The Session encouraged the ad hoc group within WG BioDiv to consider the information in the position paper in further work as relevant.

- The Session noted that CCB had organized an online workshop on 10 December 2024 on the implementation of BSAP actions related to recreational craft and on the development of a “Clean Boating Guide”.

- The Session considered the funding of such an ad hoc meeting and noted that Sweden had offered to look into the possibility of providing financial support and that CCB has offered to support the organization of the meeting and possibly provide a venue for the event in Uppsala, Sweden.

- The Session took note of the view by some Contracting Parties and observers that although submerged munitions are an important issue to address, there are also other important topics such as wrecks and PFAS that are in need of more attention. Furthermore, the Session noted the view by CCB that securing seabed integrity, underwater noise and ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) are priorities.

- The Session considered the CCB recommendations regarding accelerating BSAP implementation (document 5-4, also published on the CCB’s website) developed with financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers, Swedish Institute and EU LIFE Programme. The Session recognized that the recommendations provide a useful reminder of the importance of implementing the BSAP and provide useful suggestions on the way forward for a number of actions.

- The Session noted that on the national level, Sweden has assessed the actions in the BSAP and is developing a plan to ensure its implementation. The Session further noted that the recommendations by CCB on accelerating implementation are also useful for this purpose.

- The Session noted that Denmark and Finland agree with CCB’s understanding that the Helsinki Convention does not currently permit CCS in the Baltic Sea. The Session also noted that data emanating from ongoing Danish and Norwegian CCS projects are expected to provide further information about the environmental consequences of CCS.

- The Session took note of the concerns raised by CCB related to offshore gas exploration in Polish waters, which have started in October 2024 (document 5-6).

- The Session took note of the concerns raised by CCB related to the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Poland (document 5-7), as well as of the related letter to the HELCOM Chair and Executive Secretary set out in the Attachment to document 5-7, calling for a closed loop cooling system in order to limit environmental effects including eutrophication.

Participation supported by

CCB's participation in the event was supported by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither
the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.