Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area is a 1992 international convention encompassing various measures for the prevention and elimination of pollution of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. The convention is implemented by the Helsinki Commission (

HELCOM The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission, HELCOM) is an intergovernmental organization governing the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki Convention). A regional ...

History

The first Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area was signed by

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1974 and entered into force on 3 May 1980. In 1992, the convention was updated due to geopolitical and environmental changes. The updated convention was signed by

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

and entered into force on 17 January 2000.

Summary of Provisions

The States-Parties to the Convention agreed individually or jointly to take all appropriate legislative, administrative or other relevant measures to prevent and eliminate pollution in order to promote the

ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

of the Baltic Sea Area and the preservation of its ecological balance. The Parties undertake to apply: *

Precautionary principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes cautio ...

, that is, to take preventive measures when there is reason to assume that substances or energy introduced, directly or indirectly, into the marine environment may create hazards to human health, harm living resources and marine ecosystems, damage amenities or interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea; *Best Environmental Practice and

Best Available Technology The best available technology or best available techniques (BAT) is the technology approved by legislators or regulators for meeting output Technical standard, standards for a particular process, such as pollution abatement. Similar terms are ''be ...

(criteria set out in Annex II); *

Polluter pays principle In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the Party (law), party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. This principle has also been used to put the cos ...

, that is, make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the environment. The aim of the States-Parties to the Convention is to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area caused by harmful substances from all sources, including: * from land-based sources (measures set out in Annex III); * from ships (measures outlined in Annex IV); * from incineration and dumping (exemptions from dumping provisions set out in Annex V); * from exploration and exploitation on the seabed (measures related to the offshore exploration and exploration activities set out in Annex VI). The States-Parties to the Convention are obligated to notify and enter into consultations with each other when an

environmental impact assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

of a proposed activity predicts that the project is likely to cause a significant adverse impact on the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area. Similarly, they are to notify and consult each other whenever a pollution incident in their territory is likely to cause pollution to the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area outside its territory and adjacent maritime area. The Convention sets up a Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (

)(originally set up pursuant to the first Helsinki Convention, its functions subsequently reviewed), whose responsibilities are to implement the Convention, make recommendations to the Parties, define pollution control criteria and objectives and promote additional measures in co-operation with respective governmental bodies of the Parties. The Parties also undertake to implement measures to maintain adequate ability and to respond to pollution incidents in order to eliminate or minimize the consequences of these incidents and regularly report to the HELCOM commission on and inform the general public of the measures taken in accordance with the Convention.Articles 16 and 17 of the Convention

References

Law of the sea treaties Treaties concluded in 1992 Treaties entered into force in 2000 Environmental treaties Environmental impact of shipping Waste in Europe Treaties concluded in 1974 Treaties entered into force in 1980 Treaties of Denmark Treaties of West Germany Treaties of East Germany Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Estonia Treaties entered into by the European Union Treaties of Finland Treaties of Germany Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Poland Treaties of Russia 1974 in Finland 1992 in Finland Baltic Sea Waste treaties Marine conservation Treaties of Czechoslovakia