For HELCOM, 2024 has been a truly special year, marking the organization’s 50th anniversary. On April 25th, 2024, this milestone was celebrated with a special event in Riga, Latvia. Hosted in the impressive Ziedonis Hall at the Latvian National Library, the occasion brought together distinguished speakers, panelists, and approximately 150 participants from across and beyond the Baltic Sea region.
To conclude our 50th anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to present a commemorative volume. This publication features the insightful and thought-provoking contributions of the speakers, panelists, and moderators from the Riga event. It also includes rarely seen images that capture moments from HELCOM’s 50-year history.
I’d heard about the original Ecosfera game, and when discussing it with Owen, he jokingly suggested it could be a great way to illustrate how the Baltic Sea ecosystem functions and how humans impact it. We then approached Albert at Julibert Games, the creator of Ecosfera, to see what he thought of the idea.
Owen: When a call for proposals from the Nessling Foundation came up, we decided to go for it. We developed a plan for a game that would be fun to play while embedding information and messages aimed at the public and educational organizations around the Baltic Sea. Fortunately, the Nessling Foundation recognised the potential in our concept!
How did you go about developing and testing the game?
Owen: First, we had to play a lot of the original Ecosfera game to understand its dynamics, intricacies and variations. From there, we discussed how to adjust the gameplay to fit the Baltic Sea, identify the key species and habitats to include and make it more educational.
Jannica: One of the biggest challenges has been balancing the simplification of the complex the Baltic Sea ecosystem while maintaining the ecological relevance. But it’s amazing how well the ecological and social processes we work with daily translated into a card-game!
Owen: The level of interest and excitement about the game has been incredible – not just from the HELCOM Secretariat staff but also from members of HELCOM Expert and Working Groups. They have given us valuable feedback on habitat and species lists as well as the game logic.
Jannica: We launched the first prototypes of the game at SPIEL, the world’s largest boardgame fair in Germany. Over four days, nearly 350 people tested the game! We have also conducted multiple testing rounds with topic experts to resolve inconsistencies and fix imbalances.
Owen: We also took the game to a primary school in Helsinki for kids to test-play. They had a lot of fun, and their feedback gave us some useful insights on marketing the game to suitable age groups.
HELCOM Secretariat staff testing the game prototype
What do you personally like most about the game?
Owen: The artwork is really striking, but my main hope is that the game makes our work more accessible and helps inspire the change in mindset we so desperately need.
Jannica: I love how the game requires the players to work together to solve problems! This collaboration is a good reflection of reality. The game mimics a real socio-ecological system, albeit a highly simplified one. I also really like how it explores our relationship with the environment.
What can we expect to learn from the game?
Owen: Players will discover that the Baltic Sea is a fascinating ecosystem full of interesting species, and that us humans are part of this ecosystem. While we can cause harm, we also have the power to provide solutions or prevent damage in the first place. The educational aspects are built subtly into the gameplay. Additional details will be available for those who want to dig deeper, but players can also pick this information up naturally as they play.
Who should play the game?
Jannica: Anyone aged 8 and up! The game includes several levels of difficulty and two levels of complexity, allowing for diverse gameplay experiences. The basic version is language-independent using images, symbols and scientific names. While the included rulebook is in English, we plan to provide translations in all Baltic Sea languages as free online downloads.
Owen: We have also teamed up with Reaktor to digitalize the boardgame, making it accessible to a wider audience.
Ecosfera Baltica is due to launch early 2025. To ensure your copy of Ecosfera Baltica once it is ready, you can sign up for the Ecosfera Baltica Kickstarter campaign. The campaign is set to launch on 1 March 2025, and games will be delivered by June 2025.
A groundbreaking initiative is harnessing the power of gaming to inspire action for the restoration of the Baltic Sea. Ecosfera Baltica, developed by HELCOM and Julibert Games, merges science, sustainability, and strategy into an engaging and fun collaborative game experience aimed at all ages.
The Baltic Sea faces significant environmental challenges, as highlighted by the State of the Baltic Sea 2023 report. Ecosfera Baltica brings these findings to life by educating players on the complex interplay of ecosystems, biodiversity, and the impact our activities have on the sea. Available in both a tabletop boardgame and a digital version, the game encourages cooperation, critical thinking, and empathy while emphasising actionable solutions for a sustainable future.
“Games have been proven to help players foster empathy, enhance problem-solving skills, and encourage critical thinking, ultimately driving social change by encouraging players to take action in the real world,” concludes Jannica Haldin, who coordinates the project at HELCOM together with Owen Rowe. In a recent educational workshop, participants examined how goksites zonder limieten can integrate these game-based benefits to design more engaging and responsible gambling experiences. By leveraging the insights from the workshop, developers are better equipped to create platforms that not only entertain but also contribute positively to users’ cognitive and social development.
The game features scientifically accurate scenarios, multiple levels of complexity, and accessibility options to appeal to players of all ages and backgrounds. Funded by the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation, Ecosfera Baltica is set for release in early 2025.
The digital multiplayer version, developed in collaboration with Reaktor, aims to make the game more accessible, thereby expanding its reach to schools and other educational institutions across the Baltic Sea region.
How to access the game?
Both versions of the game (digital and tabletop board game) are due to launch early 2025. To ensure your copy of Ecosfera Baltica board game once it is ready, you can sign up for the Ecosfera Baltica Kickstarter campaign. You will then be notified once the campaign launches on 1 March 2025, with further details on how to place on order.
This event will focus on strategies to restore marine ecosystems in the Nordic region, presenting insights from leading environmental organizations in this field.
With growing political focus on marine environments—particularly in light of the new EU regulation on nature restoration—understanding the socio-economic implications and costs of marine restoration measures has become essential.
Laura Wendling (SINTEF) Sanna Kuningas (LUKE) Federica Montesanto (Aarhus University) Liisa Saikkonen (SYKE) Moderator: Mikelis Bendiks
11:45-12:00
Wrap up
Moderator: Mikelis Bendiks
Pathways to restoring Nordic Seas
A unique and innovative element of this event was the creation of an AI-generated video that synthesized the insights and responses provided by the audience. Before the event, participants were invited to answer three key questions about marine restoration.
What are the main challenges?
What is needed to overcome them?
If we overcome the challenges, what can restoration do for the health of the marine environment?
This AI-driven approach allowed for an engaging, data-driven summary of the audience’s input, bringing their voices to life in a format that added depth to the event.
Live Illustration
Throughout the event, key moments, ideas, and themes were captured visually in real-time by a live illustrator, who translated the complex concepts being discussed into an accessible and visually-engaging narrative.
Credit: Doti at Illustrated Live – katiechappell.com
By translating the presentations and panel discussion insights into illustrations, this creative process not only helped to simplify complex concepts but also deepened the audience’s engagement with the topics being discussed.
Live illustration is an effective tool for enhancing communication and audience engagement, as it provides a dynamic and creative way to summarize and highlight key points. It helps capture the essence of the event in a visual form, allowing the ideas to come to life and giving participants a clearer connection between the discussions and the practical implications of marine restoration.
The illustrations also serve as a valuable resource for reinforcing learning and ensuring that important concepts are retained long after the event has concluded. This method of communication is particularly beneficial in complex subjects like marine restoration, where diverse and technical topics can sometimes be difficult to fully absorb. Live illustration helps make these discussions more memorable, turning abstract concepts into tangible representations that foster a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the field.
Audience: Aimed at researchers, policymakers, environmental economists, and marine restoration practitioners, and anyone else interested.
Join us for a pivotal conversation on developing sustainable, cost-effective approaches to protect and restore the invaluable Nordic marine environment.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Working Group for Environment and Economy (NME) and HELCOM will jointly host a webinar on cost-effective marine restoration on 4 December 2024.
The Baltic Sea, one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world, faces severe environmental threats, particularly due to eutrophication resulting from unsustainable agricultural practices.
In a collaborative effort to tackle this pressing issue, a free hybrid seminar and networking event will bring together governments, scientists, policymakers, the agriculture industry, and concerned citizens to explore solutions that can mitigate the environmental impact on this crucial marine ecosystem.
The event will be held on Friday, October 11, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (EEST), at Eurooppasali (Malminkatu 16, Helsinki, Finland) and online. It is open to anyone interested in learning about or contributing to the ongoing efforts to protect the Baltic Sea.
This event coincides with the arrival of the Save The Baltic Sea (STBS) expedition in Helsinki, part of an environmental campaign and walking expedition that began in Lithuania.
The seminar is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Finland, HELCOM, and Save The Baltic Sea.
The event will conclude with networking and a light lunch, allowing attendees to engage with experts and stakeholders committed to protecting the Baltic Sea.
Lithuania will host this year’s oil spill response exercise, BALEX DELTA 2024, starting today in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The largest Baltic Sea international pollution incident drill lasts for four days and will involve twelve ships from seven different countries at sea, preceded by a shoreline and wildlife response exercise, conducted on Tuesday 27 August.
The annual BALEX DELTA is a complex exercise. They have been conducted since the late 1980s, substantially improving the readiness of Baltic Sea coastal countries to respond collectively to major pollution incidents. The HELCOM Response Working Group has been committed to ensuring that all related procedures and plans are in place and regularly updated as needed.
Among the priorities this year are to test the alerting and assistance request procedures and to practice the shoreline response capability, the latter bringing together the unified Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian units under a single command.
The main organizers of BALEX DELTA 2024 are the Lithuanian Navy, Klaipeda Fire Rescue Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, and the Baltic Sea Rehabilitation Center of the Lithuanian Maritime Museum. Observers representing various organizations such as the European Union, European Maritime Safety Agency and HELCOM will participate in the exercise. This year the total number of exercise participants will reach over 300 people.
During the BALEX 2024 exercise, various tasks are carried out such as a BALEX ALPHA table-top exercise on response to incidents with Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) cargo, emergency ship towing, firefighting at sea, pollution detection with EMSA CleanSeaNet service support, pollution monitoring from the air, pollution dispersion modeling (SeaTrackWeb), response of pollution incidents at sea, in the port and on shore, and reception of collected pollutants from ships to ships (STS), provided help for animals and birds affected by oil.
Firefighting teams from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will carry out pollutant response work in the Curonian Lagoon and on the shore. Rendering assistance to birds affected by oil will be practiced by the Baltic Sea Rehabilitation Center of the Lithuanian Maritime Museum.
About BALEX DELTA
The annual international marine pollution response exercise in the Baltic Sea, BALEX, is held in accordance with the 1992 Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (the Helsinki Convention). The Convention mandates cooperative responses and preparedness among the Baltic Sea States for large-scale accidents.
The general objective of the BALEX exercises is to ensure that every Contracting Party is able to lead a major response operation.
BALEX exercises are hosted by the Contracting Parties according to a schedule agreed on by the HELCOM Response Working Group. BALEX has been held every year since 1989.
Contact
Johanna Laurila Communications Advisor, HELCOM Johanna.laurila@helcom.fi Tel +358 40 647 3996
Markus Helavuori Deputy Executive Secretary, Professional Secretary (WG Maritime, WG Response, WG Sea-based pressures) Markus.helavuori@helcom.fi Tel +358 40 162 6520
Help us reach out to more people and protect our beloved Baltic Sea!
HELCOM is hosting an online workshop on Baltic Sea issues on 11 Sept 2024, 9.00 CEST/10.00 EEST for anyone interested. Read more at http://bit.ly/HELCOMworkshop & secure your spot by the 6th Sept.
Register here: bit.ly/HELCOMworkshop
* * * We are excited to introduce the HOLAS for All project at HELCOM! Funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, aims to expand our communication efforts and enhance ocean literacy and awareness, with a focus on the findings of the HOLAS 3 report. This project is designed to engage policymakers, scientists, the public and youth/children, with tailored messages to ensure the most effective outreach for each audience.
To kick off this project, we would like to invite you to participate in our online workshop. This session aims to gain feedback from a diverse network of people on Baltic Sea issues. The feedback will then be used to help shape future communication efforts at HELCOM.
Today, a handover ceremony in Butinge, at the border between Latvia and Lithuania will be held to mark the change of HELCOM Chairmanship. Lithuania will assume the Chairmanship of HELCOM from 1 July 2024 until 30 June 2026, taking over from Latvia. The Chairmanship rotates between Contracting Parties every two years, in alphabetical order.
“It is an honour and a privilege to take over the responsibility of HELCOM Chairmanship in times when protecting the Baltic Sea marine environment must remain high on all agendas”, says Mr. Vitalijus Auglys, Head of the Pollution Prevention Policy Group with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, and the forthcoming Chair of HELCOM.
Mr. Auglys is currently the Head of Pollution Prevention Policy Group of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) of the Republic of Lithuania. He has worked for thirty years in the public and environmental sector with extensive experience in international cooperation, including the entire EU and Baltic Sea regions.
The Chair’s key.
Reflecting on the priorities of the incoming Lithuanian chairmanship he states, “Geopolitical challenges in the Baltic Sea region and political tensions between the countries can affect environmental activities and maritime security. That is why one of the top priorities of our Chairmanship is to strengthen HELCOM’s role in the context of those challenges.”
“Another priority area is to seek a balance between environmental protection and the Blue Economy, as this can overcome current shortcomings in the management of marine, coastal and aquatic ecosystems and become an important part of meeting the economic, social and environmental needs. Thirdly, we want to strengthen dialogue and engage the public in decision-making,” he continues.
Let the joint work continue
“We are pleased with Latvia’s achievements during the HELCOM Chairmanship and would like to thank our colleagues and everyone involved for their work. We are pleased to hand over the Chairmanship to Lithuania, underlining our long-term commitment to the security and sustainable development of the Baltic Sea. Let our joint work on the implementation of the Action Plan, including strong biodiversity conservation measures in the Baltic Sea, continue,” says Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Ms Inga Bērziņa.
The HELCOM ceremonial Chairmanship key will be handed over by the outgoing Chair of HELCOM, Ms Evija Šmite, Deputy Director General and the Director of Fisheries Control Department, State Environmental Service of Latvia.
She notes the continuity in priorities between the two Chairmanships. Ensuring that HELCOM remained a well-functioning regional organization capable of action even in unforeseen and force majeure situations was one of the priorities of Latvia’s Chairmanship from 2022 to 2024, which also took place against the current backdrop of geopolitical tension.
“Despite the geopolitical challenges, however, HELCOM has not been impaired in acting effectively and efficiently to achieve its main objectives in the protection of the Baltic marine environment. The work has continued, and several important milestones have been achieved – such as the renewal of the HELCOM working structure and the finalization and publication of the Third Holistic Assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3)”, emphasizes Šmite.
“This spring has also been a memorable peak period for the Latvian Chairmanship. The Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment, held on 25 April 2024, was productive and forward-looking and the following HELCOM 50th anniversary celebration was impressive, historical and interesting, draw attention to HELCOM and our joint work over the decades. In this special anniversary year, it is good to be reminded of how establishing HELCOM decades ago was a major step forward towards protecting our unique and vulnerable sea”, she continues.
Mr. Tomas Želvyshas been selected as the Vice-Chair of HELCOM. He has i.a. worked in the private sector as well as the Environment Protection Agency, but most of his career in the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Lithuania as a Chief Specialist and as a Senior Adviser on water and subsoil issues in the Pollution Prevention Policy Group.
Communication division Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia +371 20 200 305 prese@varam.gov.lv www.varam.gov.lv
The HELCOM Annual Report 2023 has been published. The report provides a comprehensive overview of our activities, including the achievements and challenges in the great range of working areas HELCOM deals with.
In 2023, these included Species and habitats, Spatial conservation and MPAs, Agriculture, Nutrients, Hazardous substances, Marine litter, Seabed, Underwater noise and energy, Shipping, Response to spills, Submerged hazards, Fisheries, Maritime Spatial Planning, Climate change, Economy and society, Monitoring and assessment as well as International processes.
The major events of the year for HELCOM included the launch of the holistic assessments of the state of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3) and the ongoing strategic pause of HELCOM.
“The publication of HELCOM’s Third Holistic Assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3) in 2023 offered stark and startling new insights into what we are up against in seeking to protect our regional marine environment. [It] does not present a pretty picture. In a nutshell: there was little to no improvement of the Baltic Sea environment during the assessment period.
Yet HOLAS 3 is not all gloom and doom. While it underscores the urgency of transformative action in all socioeconomic sectors across the entire Baltic Sea region, it also shows that measures to reduce pressures on the Baltic Sea do have a beneficial effect, if duly implemented.”
HELCOM has just adopted a new Recommendation, following Article 20, Paragraph 1b of the Helsinki Convention, aimed at mitigating ammonia emissions from agricultural practices. This aligns with the 1992 Helsinki Convention’s overall commitment to preventing and eliminating pollution to the Baltic Sea from land-based sources.
Ammonia (NH3) is a significant environmental pollutant, originating primarily from agricultural activities, such as fertilisation and animal farming. When released into the environment, ammonia can contribute to the formation of particulate matter and eutrophication, leading to harmful algal blooms and oxygen dead zones in aquatic ecosystems like the Baltic Sea. Reducing ammonia emissions is crucial for maintaining a healthy Baltic marine environment as well as clean air, making its reduction a priority for environmental policy.
The Recommendation emphasises the need for integrated sustainable nitrogen management, such as urging the use of nitrogen budgeting tools. A crucial step will be to adapt protein content in livestock diet, to avoid unnecessary excess excretion of nitrogen via faeces and urine.
The Recommendation also states that animal housing techniques should include frequent manure removal and the use of ammonia-absorbing materials to avoid ammonia volatilisation into the air. Additionally, to avoid this volatilisation, manure storage, covering storages and encouraging manure acidification is advised. In the field, fertilisers should be applied using low-emission techniques and sustainable grazing practices should be promoted to also reduce ammonia emissions.
Monitoring these ammonia emissions and supporting research to optimise nitrogen management and assess the effectiveness of mitigation measures are also crucial components of the Recommendation. For this, Contracting Parties are required to report actions to the Commission in 2027 and every four years thereafter.
HELCOM acknowledges the urgent need to address the persisting problem of excess ammonia emissions, and this recommendation serves as a vital step towards ecological restoration and an overall healthier Baltic Sea environment.
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