On March 17 through 19, 2009, the X Jubilee International Ecological Forum “Day of the Baltic Sea” was held with the assistance of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations. The Forum was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russian Federation, HELCOM ( “Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea” of 1992) Secretariat, the ministries of Baltic countries, and the Directorate for Environment Protection at European Commission.
On March 17 through 19, 2009, the X Jubilee International Ecological Forum “Day of the Baltic Sea” was held with the assistance of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations. The Forum was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russian Federation, HELCOM ( “Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea” of 1992) Secretariat, the ministries of Baltic countries, and the Directorate for Environment Protection at European Commission.
The Forum took place during the presidency of Russia in the Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea that is the governing body of the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM), whose purpose is the protection of the Baltic Sea marine environment and ensuring the reasonable exploitation of its natural resources.
The main theme of the Forum was the preparation of national-level programs to implement the “HELCOM Action Plan for Baltic Sea” (HAPBS) in all four sectors: eutrophication, maritime activities, polluting substances, biodiversity. Besides, the forum mentioned the issues of financial capabilities to implement projects under the HAPBS, the continuation of the project “Nord Stream”, European initiatives on ecology of the Baltic Sea region, etc.
Source: Committee for External Relations of St.Petersburg