Invited by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Baltic Marine Environment Commission (Helsinki Commission – HELCOM) and the Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) held their first joint meeting at the ministerial level in Bremen, Germany from 25-26 June 2003.

This meeting aimed to improve the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. Participants stressed the need for: an ecosystem approach to the management of human activities that affect the seas; collaboration between all national and international authorities to protect the seas, in the context of the EU’s European Marine Strategy; and joint action to protect threatened and declining species and habitats. Ministers also considered the environmental impact of fisheries and shipping.
Prior to this joint meeting, the Helsinki and OSPAR Commissions held separate Ministerial meetings. HELCOM addressed oil pollution and eutrophication symptoms, prioritizing safe of navigation and emergency-response capacity, curbing deliberate illegal oil discharges and examination of the possibilities of designating the Baltic Sea as a “Particularly Sensitive Sea Area” by the International Maritime Organization. The OSPAR Commission adopted an instrument to ensure that all offshore installations in its area have, by 2005, environmental management systems that meet the highest international standards, as well as a new monitoring and assessment strategy to prepare for the next overall assessment in 2010. It also identified species and habitats in need of protection, established the basis for a network of marine protected areas, and reviewed implementation progress of the Radioactive Substances Strategy. Members also agreed to set a deadline for taking action on the conservation and protection of cold water corals.
For more information, see:
http://www.helcom.fi/helcom/ministerial.html
The meeting’s joint press statement is available at:
http://www.helcom.fi/helcom/news/256.html
WWF’s press release on the meeting is available at:
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/news/news.cfm?uNewsID=7638