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The Baltic Sea is in a bad ecological state and immediate action is needed to improve the environment, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) after the Baltic Sea Environmental Protection Commission (HELCOM) ministerial meeting held in Riga at the end of April.
WWF was informed by the LETA agency that the main emphasis in the ministerial talks was on the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan and setting priorities, based on the new findings obtained from the comprehensive assessment of the state of the marine environment “Holas3”.
As WWF informs, according to the “Holas3” report, the Baltic Sea is currently in a bad ecological state and immediate action is needed to achieve the expanded goals and improve the state of the marine environment. In almost all marine areas, fish populations are threatened and commercial fish stocks are fragile.
According to the authors of the report, the natural food web has been disrupted in some places. The massive growth of different species of algae, caused by the excessive entry of nutrients into the water, has led to a lack of oxygen, a decrease in water transparency and the formation of large dead zones. One third of the Baltic Sea is already dead.
Climate change exacerbates these direct threats to biodiversity. The Baltic Sea has warmed faster than any other sea on the planet, says WWF.
At the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, WWF Baltic Sea Program Director Johanna Fox highlighted WWF’s concerns about the significant delay in the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan and reminded Baltic Sea decision-makers that it is their responsibility to step up action and ensure that the protection and restoration of Baltic Sea ecosystems becomes a priority for member states – both both financially and legally.
LETA already reported that a HELCOM meeting was held in Riga, where a declaration was signed confirming the commitment of HELCOM European Union member states to continue protecting and improving the state of the Baltic Sea environment.
