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This vacancy is now closed. We are no longer accepting applications.

We are currently in search of an enthusiastic expert to strengthen our team at the international HELCOM Secretariat as Administrative Assistant parental leave substitute. The position is to support the Administrative Officer in the administration of the Secretariat. While the tasks are mainly focused on finances, they also include tasks related to HR and general administration of the office.

Responsibilities

• Assisting in closing of accounts and preparing the financial statement;
• tasks related to accounting, invoicing, reporting and follow‐up;
• support in budgeting tasks;
• tasks related to HR and general administration (e.g. preparing contracts, reports and applications);
• support in developing the administrative tools of the Secretariat;
• other administrative tasks as assigned.

Qualifications and experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. business administration, public administration, economics) or corresponding education;
• minimum of two years of relevant professional experience from financial and administrative tasks;
• knowledge of accounting practices and systems;
• ability to work independently, take responsibility and initiatives;
• excellent organizational and administrative skills and proven ability to deliver to tight timelines;
• excellent social and team skills;
• A thorough knowledge of the English and Finnish languages as well as high competence in ITskills.
  Experience from the financial management of EU co‐financed projects is an asset.

Terms of appointment

The selected candidate is expected to start preferably on 11 January 2022. The appointment is a parental leave substitute for one year, with a possibility of prolongation. The salary is 2.800 € per month. Please note that the salaries paid by the Commission are exempt from Finnish income tax.

The interviews are tentatively scheduled to take place on 1 December 2021 in Helsinki.

Charting a way forward for a healthy Baltic Sea, HELCOM has adopted the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021 that was held in Lübeck, Germany, on 20 October 2021.

“This is a good day for the Baltic Sea and its marine environment,” says Rüdiger Strempel, the Executive Secretary of HELCOM, a regional sea organisation to which all Baltic Sea countries and the EU are a party of. “With the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan, we now have a clear-cut roadmap for improving the ecological state of our sea over the next ten years.”

Despite significant progress in the past decades, the Baltic Sea remains heavily polluted and affected by human pressures. The most pressing of these remains eutrophication, the excessive concentration of nutrients in the sea and main cause of harmful algal blooms, leading to the depletion of oxygen in deep waters and upsetting marine biodiversity.

Addressing biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances, and sea-based activities such as shipping and fisheries, the updated HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan contains about 200 concrete actions that were developed to tackle the pressures the Baltic is facing today.

In addition, the plan now also addresses climate change, marine litter, pharmaceuticals, underwater noise, and seabed disturbance. “The update has also allowed us to include emerging and previously insufficiently addressed pressures,” Strempel notes.

The updated BSAP is also closely aligned with international and regional ecological objectives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), or, for those of our Contracting Parties that are also EU members, the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

All actions of the updated BSAP are to be implemented by 2030 at the latest. “A successful completion of the BSAP is a prerequisite for attaining the overall objective of a healthy Baltic Sea,” emphasizes Strempel.

Initially launched in 2007, the plan was revised when it became clear that the goal of “good environmental status” – a clean, healthy and productive Baltic Sea unaffected by pollution and other human pressures – would not be attained by 2021, as revealed by HELCOM’s latest assessment of the Baltic Sea.

“The BSAP has nonetheless delivered, and it remains one of the most effective tools at our disposal for achieving our environmental objectives,” says Strempel, adding that the original plan has contributed to reducing inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances. It has also led to a better protection of the Baltic Sea’s biodiversity, and to cleaner and safer shipping practices. “That is why the HELCOM Contracting Parties decided to build on and update the plan.”

Initiated in 2017, the update took about four years to complete, involving hundreds of national policy makers, experts and researchers from all Baltic Sea countries and the EU working under the umbrella of HELCOM in its various bodies. Stakeholders from civil society, NGOs, industry and the business sector were also closely involved in the update.

“The BSAP is not just an environmental success, but also a political one, demonstrating once again our capability for regional and cross-sectoral cooperation in the Baltic Sea area,” says Strempel, further stressing that the adoption of the plan was a major achievement also because it took place against the special challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The updated Baltic Sea Action Plan is publicly available on HELCOM’s website.

Q: What is the BSAP?

A: The Baltic Sea Action plan, or BSAP, is HELCOM’s strategic programme for a healthy Baltic Sea. It contains about 200 actions addressing the various pressures on the Baltic Sea and its biodiversity. Originally adopted in 2007, the BSAP was updated in 2021 during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Lübeck, Germany.

Why the update?

The original BSAP envisioned the achievement of good ecological status by 2021. Unfortunately, that goal was not achieved. But the BSAP has nonetheless delivered, and it remains one of the most effective tools at our disposal for achieving our environmental objectives. It has contributed to reducing inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances, to the protection of biodiversity, and cleaner and safer shipping practices. That is why the HELCOM Contracting Parties decided to update the Plan. The update has also allowed us to include emerging and previously insufficiently addressed pressures.

What’s in the updated BSAP?

The new BSAP is an evolution rather than a revolution. It is based on the original plan and maintains the same level of ambition. It also retains all actions previously agreed on insofar as they still need to be implemented. In addition, it includes new actions to strengthen the existing efforts and tackle emerging concerns. The updated BSAP now contains about 200 actions and measures, divided into four segments, namely 1) biodiversity, 2) eutrophication, 3) hazardous substances and litter 4) sea-based activities.

In addition, a new section on horizontal topics addresses cross-cutting issues including climate change, monitoring, maritime spatial planning, economic and social analysis, knowledge exchange and awareness raising, hot spots, and financing. The ecosystem approach is a fundamental element of the updated BSAP.

The updated BSAP is also closely aligned with international and regional ecological objectives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), or the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive, for those of our Contracting Parties who are also EU members. The BSAP therefore also drives the implementation of those targets and objectives.

How was it done?

The update of the BSAP is based on a science-based participatory process that took about four years to complete. The official go-ahead was given in 2018 during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2018 in Brussels, but work on the update had already started in 2017.

The updated BSAP is based on a thorough analysis of the sufficiency of the existing actions and measures, to understand what worked and what did not, and what would be the state of the Baltic Sea under a “business as usual” scenario without any modifications. This analysis helped to adjust some of the existing actions and measures and to develop new ones.

In general, updating the BSAP was an inclusive and stakeholder-driven process, with the majority of HELCOM groups and bodies involved in the work. Our stakeholders also participated in the development of new actions. The BSAP is therefore not just an environmental success, but also a political one, demonstrating once again our  capability for regional and cross-sectoral cooperation in the Baltic Sea area.

The updated BSAP is based on the strongest possible political mandate. It was adopted during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021 in Lübeck, Germany on 20 October 2021.  

What are the expectations for the updated BSAP?

All actions and measures contained in the Baltic Sea Action Plan are to be implemented by 2030 at the latest. Successful implementation of the BSAP and attaining its goals on biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances and litter, and sea-based activities is a prerequisite for attaining our overall objective of a healthy Baltic Sea.

The way towards a healthy Baltic Sea will be charted during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021, to be held in Lübeck, Germany, on 20 October 2021, where the HELCOM Ministers and the EU Commissioner for the Environment are planning to adopt the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan.

“The Lübeck Ministerial Meeting is particularly significant because the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan will influence and guide our regional efforts towards a healthy Baltic Sea for the next decade,” said Rüdiger Strempel, Executive Secretary of HELCOM.

Initially adopted in 2007 by the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU, who constitute the HELCOM Contracting Parties, the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) is HELCOM’s strategic programme of concrete actions and measures for a healthy Baltic Sea. The HELCOM Contracting Parties agreed on the update of the BSAP in 2018 when it became clear that the goal of good environmental status of the Baltic Sea would not be attained by 2021.

“The BSAP remains one of the most effective tools at our disposal for achieving the ecological objectives we have envisioned for the Baltic Sea, which is why the HELCOM countries decided to update it,” explained Strempel, adding that the current plan has contributed substantially to improving the state of the sea’s marine environment.

The updated BSAP will contain about 200 concrete actions and measures addressing biodiversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances, and sea-based activities such as shipping and fisheries. In addition, it will also include new actions on emerging or previously less focussed on pressures such as climate change, marine litter, pharmaceuticals, underwater noise, and seabed disturbance. All actions are to be implemented by 2030 at the latest.

“The update is intended to ensure that the BSAP remains fit-for-purpose in tackling the Baltic Sea’s challenges today and for many years to come,” said Strempel.

In Lübeck, in addition to the updated BSAP, the Ministers are also expected to adopt the Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy, the Regional Maritime Spatial Planning Roadmap 2021-2030, the HELCOM Science Agenda, and the HELCOM Guidelines for sea-based measures to manage internal nutrient reserves.

A side-event on regional investments in the seascape, hosted by the NGOs WWF and Coalition Clean Baltic, will also be held in connection with the Ministerial Meeting. The event is open to all.

Generally, the HELCOM Ministerial Meetings take place every three years and are attended by the minister in charge of environmental matters or maritime affairs of each Baltic Sea country, and, for the EU, the Commissioner for the Environment. 

Germany currently holds the rotating chairmanship of HELCOM and will be hosting the Ministerial Meeting 2021 in the medieval city of Lübeck, famous as a major former Hanseatic trade hub in the Baltic Sea region.

To provide more insight into climate change in the Baltic Sea, HELCOM and Baltic Earth will hold a media launch of the soon-to-be published Baltic Sea Climate Change Fact Sheet on 3 September 2021. Open to all journalists and media professionals, the event will be held online.

The Baltic Sea Climate Change Fact Sheet provides the latest scientific knowledge on how climate change is currently affecting the Baltic Sea and about what we can expect to happen in the future. 

During the unveil event, key findings of the Climate Change Fact Sheet will be presented to the media. The authors of publication and Baltic Earth and HELCOM climate change experts will be available for questions.

A complete yet concise and easy to read publication, the publication will help policy makers to include climate change considerations in their work and decisions. More broadly, it also seeks to inform the general public about the effects of climate change in the Baltic Sea.

Jointly developed by HELCOM and Baltic Earth, the Climate Change Fact Sheet contains information about 34 parameters ranging from air and water temperature to marine and coastal ecosystem services, grouped into six different categories: energy cycle, water cycle, carbon and nutrient cycles, sea level and wind, biota and ecosystems, human activities, and services.

More info and registration:

https://helcom.fi/ccfs-launch

The outcome of the latest meeting of the HELCOM decision-makers, the 60th Meeting of the Heads of Delegation(HOD 60-2021) that was held online from 3 to 4 June 2021, is now available. 

During HOD 60-2021, the HELCOM Heads of Delegations notably fine-tuned the latest draft of the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) that is due to be adopted during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021 in October of this year.  

Several key documents due to be adopted alongside the updated BSAP were also endorsed at HOD 60-2021, such as the revised HELCOM Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter and the Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy. Others were the Guidelines for Sea-Based Measures to Manage Internal Nutrient Reserves in the Baltic Sea Region, and the Regional Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Roadmap 2021-2030.

The prolongation of one of HELCOM’s three time-limited main working groups, the Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group (HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG) was also decided, extending the group’s activity to 2030, in line with the timespan of the Regional MSP Roadmap 2021-2030.

The decision-makers also advanced on the HELCOM Regional Action Plan on Underwater Noise. Addressing both monitoring and the management of man-made underwater noise in the Baltic Sea, the new plan will come in the form of a HELCOM recommendation containing a set of specific actions to be implemented at the regional and national levels. 

The revised HELCOM Recommendation 23/5 on the reduction of discharges from urban areas by the proper management of storm water systems was also adopted during the meeting. 

HOD 60-2021 further provisionally approved the HELCOM RED LIST II project proposal for reviewing and updating the HELCOM Red List of species and the one for habitats. HELCOM RED LIST II is due to run from 2022 to 2024.

HELCOM also welcomed its latest observer, the Nordic Boating Council (NBC), during the meeting. With the NBC, HELCOM now counts 64 observers. 

Attended by all Contracting Parties and chaired by Lilian Busse, the current chair of HELCOM, HOD 60-2021 further welcomed the new Vice-chair of HELCOM, Andreas Röpke from the Ministry for Agriculture and Environment of the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He takes over from Johannes Oelerich from the Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein. 

• Download the outcome
• Go to the meeting site and meeting documents

The “International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise” is celebrated on the third Sunday in May of each year, to raise awareness of the alarming situation of the harbour porpoise, a rather unique marine mammal. And indeed: it is the only cetacean that calls the Baltic Sea its permanent home. 

In the Baltic Sea region, harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) were actively hunted until the end of the 19th century. Although this practice has stopped, their populations declined rapidly since the middle of the 20th century. They are now heavily impacted by other human pressures, most notably by-catch in fishing gear, but also pollutants, habitat deterioration and disturbance caused by underwater noise. 

The “International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise” (IDBHP) was declared an international observance by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS).

Read more about the harbour porpoise:

Watch the video address by Rüdiger Strempel on the occasion of the “International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise” 

Lars Sonesten is the Head of Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). He is the Chair of the HELCOM Pressure Working Group as well as the Chair of the OSPAR INPUT Working Group. He was a member of the WOA II expert team.

What are the benefits of the WOA II for the global ocean?

Lars Sonesten: I think that the main benefit of WOA II is that it takes the alarming status of and our concerns about the seas and coastal areas to the highest political level worldwide. Hopefully, this may inspire national and regional authorities and organisations to increase their efforts to counteract the deterioration of our common seas.

What are the benefits of WOA II for the Baltic Sea region in particular?

First of all, it puts the environmental status of Baltic Sea into a global context, and makes it possible to compare with other sea areas. In addition, I think that our long experience as a regional sea convention in monitoring and joined assessing the status, as well as taking measures to combat the deterioration may serve as a good example for other sea areas.

What was your personal involvement in the WOA II process?

I was involved in writing the two chapters on inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances to the seas (chapters 10 and 11, respectively), with special responsibility on the atmospheric inputs of hazardous substances. As the chairman of HELCOM Pressure and OSPAR Input, I had an interest to share and incorporate as much relevant information as possible that is related to the Baltic Sea as well as the Northeast Atlantic.

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About WOA II

The Second World Ocean Assessment (WOA II) assesses the state of the global ocean in the period of 2016 to 2020. Carried out by the UN’s Regular Process with the support of more than 300 experts, it covers environmental, economic and social aspects about the marine environment. While the first cycle (WOA I) focused on establishing a baseline, the WOA II follow-up effort also evaluates trends should support policy development and decision-making at the national, regional and global levels. Several HELCOM experts participated in the development of the WOA II, and the results of various HELCOM assessments such as HOLAS II and PLC were also used in the report.

Read the WOA II reports

We are currently in search of an enthusiastic trainee to support our communication activities at the international HELCOM Secretariat. The position involves both media production and content development tasks related to HELCOM’s institutional communications and the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021 (MM2021) that will take place in Lübeck, Germany on 20 October 2021. The trainee will also be involved in communication activities related to the updated HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) that is due to be adopted during the MM2021. 

Applicants with the required expertise and personal qualities are invited to submit their application (consisting of a CV, a motivation letter and a portfolio of recent job-related and or study-related work) via e-mail no later than 15 May 2021.

• More info & application instructions: https://helcom.fi/about-us/vacancies/

Are you a HELCOM Map and Data Service (MADS) user? Would you like to help us improve our data portals? If so, we would like your feedback! Please take a few moments and take our MADS End-user Survey. The survey will only take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and will remain open until 14 May. Your responses will be kept confidential. 

Does the HELCOM Map and Data Service meet your needs? Is data easy to find in the Metadata Catalogue? What data layers do you use? How would you improve the user interface? Your response to these questions and more will help us enhance this important data sharing platform. 

The survey has been developed in consultation with partners of the Baltic Data Flows project. The project, co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union, seeks to enhance the sharing and harmonisation of data on the Baltic marine environment.     

• Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TBNLXF3