– Check against delivery –
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Germany’s 2-year chair of HELCOM is coming to an end today. It is a good time to reflect.
To start off, I would like to emphasise the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Last October, in close consultation with all HELCOM contracting parties, we succeeded in adopting this ambitious programme of actions and measures for 2030 at ministerial level. The broad support from the ministers gives us the necessary political momentum to implement the agreed programme now.
The BSAP is the main instrument for coordinating implementation of SDG 14, Life below Water, for the Baltic Sea. Less waste, less noise and less fertiliser pollution will help to significantly improve the state of the Baltic Sea by 2030 and increase its protection. The aim is for the region to set an example for ecosystem-based management. A network of well-managed HELCOM protected areas will help to achieve this goal.
I would also like to highlight the HELCOM Science Agenda. It underscores HELCOM’s commitment to science-based marine conservation and makes an important contribution to implementation of the UN Ocean Decade. I believe that the BSAP and the HELCOM Science Agenda show that regional marine protection cooperation pays off. It is a key component in successful global marine protection.
The German government has recognised the enormous importance of marine protection and will launch a marine protection initiative. This initiative will include a binding marine strategy. I am committed to thinking more broadly about marine conservation and protection in Germany and beyond. To this end, protection and sustainable use must be aligned. The BSAP provides a well-founded basis to achieve this goal in the Baltic Sea. I will also work for an ambitious global marine policy that advances processes that are already underway – keywords here include marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction, the agreement on marine litter and, of course, cooperation in OSPAR. As a sister organisation of HELCOM, OSPAR is also closely involved in today’s event.
On balance, we have made a lot of important progress in the last two years. Let’s build on this progress now. I wish Latvia every success for the HELCOM chair in the next two years!
Thank you.