Experiences of HELCOM in Conservation of Marine and Coastal Biological Diversity and Possibilities of its Application in the Black Sea region

Abstract

The Helsinki-“Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea” of 1974 was revised in the year 1992 following an intensive discussion period. The “new” Convention now covers in a special article nature conservation and biodiversity protection and the sustainable use of resources in both coastal and marine areas of the Baltic Sea.

With the objective to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of that article HELCOM in 1993 established the permanent working group EC NATURE with Germany as lead country and currently chaired by the author. Since then the working group has elaborated several HELCOM recommendations, guidelines, appendices and project group programmes. Many of these activities might be as well applicable to the Black Sea region after some modifications.

The present paper points out experiences of HELCOM and examples in the field of marine and coastal nature conservation and biodiversity protection with possible relevance to the Black Sea region.