Baltic Marine Environment
Protection Commission

 

Baltic Marine Environment
Protection Commission

    Groups

    HELCOM has eight main groups – the HELCOM Working Groups – which handle specific topics related to the Baltic Sea’s environment or maritime activities. The groups are major contributors to the HELCOM work, gathering science and technical expertise and translating their findings into policies, strategies or recommendations best suited for responding to a particular issue affecting the Baltic Sea.

    Of the current eight HELCOM Working Groups (WGs), five are permanent and three have a limited time mandate. 

    The work carried out in the HELCOM Working Groups usually needs to be further approved by the HELCOM decision making bodies such as the Heads of Delegation or the Meeting of the Helsinki Commission.

    The HELCOM Working Groups are mainly composed of national experts, usually from a Ministry or a national agency and who are officially nominated by a HELCOM Contracting Party. The groups are led by a Chair elected by its members, and are serviced by a HELCOM Professional Secretary. The groups usually have two main meetings per year, in spring and in autumn.

    In addition, HELCOM also has a variety of expert groups and networks that are supervised by and fall under the responsibility of a main HELCOM Working Group.

    The five permanent HELCOM Working Groups

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    GEAR
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    Maritime
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    Pressure
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    Response
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    State & Conservation

    GEAR – Working Group on the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach
    Maritime – Maritime Working Group
    Pressure – Working Group on reduction of Pressures from the Baltic sea Catchment area
    Response – Response Working Group
    State & Conservation – Working group on the State of the Enviroment and Nature Conservation

    The three time-limited HELCOM Working Groups

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    Agri
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    Fish
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    HELCOM-VASAB MSP

    Agri – Working Group on sustainable agricultural practices
    Fish – Working Group on Ecosystem-based sustainable fisheries
    HELCOM-VASAB MSP – Joint HELCOM-VASAB Working Group on Maritime Spatial Planning

    The five permanent groups:

    • The GEAR WG works towards the regional co-operation on national marine strategies, with the view to facilitate adaptive management of marine and maritime matters that is based on the ecosystem approach.
    • The Maritime WG works to prevent any pollution from ships – including deliberate operational discharges as well as accidental pollution. 
    • The Pressure WG focuses on inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances from land. Its portfolio also includes marine litter and underwater noise.
    • The Response WG works to ensure a swift national and international response to maritime pollution incidents and coordinates aerial surveillance of shipping in the Baltic Sea.
    • The State and Conservation WG covers monitoring and assessment of the Baltic Sea as well as issues related to nature conservation and biodiversity protection.

    The three time-limited groups:

    • The Agri WG enhances dialogue between agricultural and environmental authorities on the development and application of sustainable agricultural practices with the least environmental impact on the Baltic Sea.
    • The Fish WG deals with fisheries in relation to the implementation of the ecosystem-based approach.
    • The HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG focuses on coherent regional maritime spatial planning (MSP) processes in the Baltic Sea. It is jointly managed by HELCOM and VASAB.

    The time-limited groups were set up to respond to and direct additional resources at emerging needs.

    HELCOM Expert Groups

    as of 24 March 2021

    Fish

    GEAR

    Maritime

    Pressure

    Response

    State and Conservation