State of the Baltic Sea 2018
The second HELCOM ‘State of the Baltic Sea’ holistic assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea. The first results were released in mid-2017, and the final report was published in mid-2018.
The overall state of ecosystem health in the Baltic Sea is being assessed for the second time. The initial assessment was completed in 2010, resulting in the HOLAS I assessment report (PDF, 3.3MB). The first version of the HELCOM ‘State of the Baltic Sea’ holistic assessment can be found on the dedicated website:
This new, improved assessment
- gives insight on key human activities in the Baltic Sea and on individual and cumulative pressures that impact the marine environment
- assesses whether the environmental status of biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances etc. in the Baltic Sea is good
- introduces regional analyses of the costs of a deteriorating marine environment, and
- considers measures taken so far for improving the status of the sea
The ‘State of the Baltic Sea’ report has been under preparation since 2014. The finalization of this assessment is a priority of the EU Chairmanship in HELCOM. More information about the background can be found on the HOLAS II project page.
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