The Eighth Meeting of the HELCOM Working Group on Reduction of Pressures from the Baltic Sea Catchment Area (PRESSURE 8-2018) will be held in Berlin from 18 to 20 April 2018. The group is responsible for devising solutions to reduce land-based pollution affecting the Baltic Sea.
It will be the first consultation of the PRESSURE group after the adoption of the 2018 HELCOM Ministerial Declaration earlier this year in Brussels, where HELCOM countries notably renewed their commitment to the BalticSea Action Plan (BSAP). In Berlin, the PRESSURE group will focus on enhancing the implementation of the BSAP.
The central emphasis will be placed on devising measures to reduce input of nutrients, and on how to advance towards the maximum allowable inputs set by the Copenhagen HELCOM Ministerial Declaration of 2013. The group will start the planning phase of the implementation of the new Ministerial Commitments.
In particular, it will discuss the components needed to develop a regional strategy for nutrients recycling, as well as kick of work on a risk assessment framework for the management of internal nutrient reserves.
In line with the other BSAP goals, the Meeting will also address pollution of the Baltic Sea environment by hazardous substances, and expand its efforts to eradicate pollution hot spots in the Baltic Sea region (“HELCOM hot spots”), including assessing the progress in mitigating the environmental risks posed by the Krasny Bor toxic landfill in Russia.