Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	Coastal Publications

Organisations
	Greenpeace launches campaign to stop Baltic pollution
	New hyperlinks to websites

Environment
	Sunscreen chemicals cause health problems
	150 Million US $ needed to recover Environmental Hot Spots in Kaliningrad

Policy
	European Fisheries Plans under fire
	Green Week for a new Bathing Water policy
	European proposals on how to fight marine pollution
	EU will be founder member of the new South East-Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

Events recently announded

Please note:
The overview of the Coastal Guide conference and event  meeting list can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/meetings/

New Coastal Publications

Greenpeace launches campaign to stop Baltic pollution

On the 23rd of April, Greenpeace launched a new campaign to raise public awareness on the pollution of the Baltic Sea. The first step of the campaign was set by showing a so-called "Frankenfish", held up by activists wearing surgical masks, at the press gathering before the Greenpeace MV set sail from St Petersburg to Stockholm. The organisation chose this location because the city will form the background of a convention where 120 countries are to adopt a ban on highly toxic chemicals, known as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP's) on the 23rd of May. It is these very same POP's, Greenpeace deems responsible for the health problems, including lower birth weights and slower development, among children born in Sweden and other Baltic countries, a view that is supported by the Helsinki Commission Committee (HELCOM). A report, recently published by HELCOM at the end of March, stated that a growing number of unknown chemical compounds are showing up in the food chain that may be dangerous for public health. In response, the government of Sweden has advised people to cut down on their intake of "fatty fish" such as salmon, herring and cod. So far, Sweden is the only country in the region that has taken measures. Apart from the month-long cruise, Greenpeace activists recently undertook other actions by climbing an incinerator on Bely Island near St Petersburg to stop the pollution of the Baltic Sea. 15 activists were arrested. Although HELCOM is convinced action must be taken against the increasing pollution of the Baltic, a spokesperson for the organisation, Ulrike Hassink, said it "does not condone the actions Greenpeace takes".

More information can be found at: http://www.greenpeace.org, http://www.helcom.fi and http://irptc.unep.ch/pops/
Email address Ulrike Hassink: ulrike.hassink@helcom.fi

New hyperlinks

Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
http://www.amap.no/
The AMAP Project Directory is a database of activities (projects and programmes) including research, monitoring and other scientific studies or related activities that provide information about the Arctic, its environment and ecosystems

Coastal CRC (Australia)
http://www.coastal.crc.org.au
Provides decision-making tools and knowledge necessary for the effective management and ecosystem health of Australia's coastal zone, estuaries and waterways.

EUCC - Poland
http://eucc.szc.pl/
Information about the EUCC - Poland National Branch, the activities and areas.

Living with the Sea (UK)
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/livingwiththesea/
EC Life Natura funded partnership project, addressing the impact of sea level rise and the flood and coastal response on the internationally important habitats protected by the Habitats and Birds Directive

Maritime University of Szczecin (Poland)
http://www.wsm.szczecin.pl/
Technical school educating officer staff for the maritime sector, mostly for sea transport and fishing fleets as well as specialists to be employed by ship operators and in the field of port management.

Sunscreen chemicals cause health problems

Swiss researchers from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich have discovered that some sunscreens contain chemicals that mimic the effect of the human hormone oestrogen. The substances, benzophenon, octylmethoxycinnamate and methylbenzilidene camphor can interfere with the normal functions of oestrogen. They have been linked to breast cancer in humans. However, evidence that they are a health concern from sunscreens is still lacking. Nonetheless, as a precaution the Danish government has ordered the removal of many well known sun screen creams from the market including Elisabeth Arden, Biotherm and Nivea Sun. The Body shop has also decided to remove its own brand from the shelves. The Dutch Cosmetic Association is currently drawing up a list of all creams containing these substances. In Britain, the Cosmetic Toiletry & Perfumery Association, which represents sunscreen manufacturers, has done a study, not yet published, that shows no effect from these chemicals in rats. Although, the Swiss researchers are not advising people to ditch sunscreens completely, they do suggest that sunblocks like zinc oxide might make a healthier alternative. Anyone worried about their own sunscreen should consult the contents on the side of packaging.

For more information: Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology http://www.unizh.ch/phar/devtox/news.htm

150 Million US $ needed to recover Environmental Hot Spots in Kaliningrad

The environment in the Kaliningrad Region is in a serious condition, according to national and international experts despite the pollution load having decreased by 20% in the last ten years. In the Fourth Regional HELCOM PITF Workshop in Kaliningrad (23-24 April 2001) the status of nine environmental hot spots in the Kaliningrad Region were re-assessed. They include pulp and paper mills, a wastewater treatment plant, an oil terminal, an agricultural region and two coastal lagoons and wetlands. These pollution sources were found to pose a serious threat to the environment, health and/or economy and were listed hot spots in 1992 as part of the Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme (JCP). Kaliningrad Region was the fourth region to be reviewed after similar meetings in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia in the past months. Later on this year, regional hot spots check-ups will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Krakow, Poland.

Further information: HELCOM PITF: http://www.helcom.fi/

European Fisheries Plans under fire

The Fisheries Council met in Luxembourg on April 25th for a first exchange of views on the Commission's Green Paper which is to enable the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to overcome its shortcomings and meet the challenges it has to face. As part of this new strategy, an ambitious Bio-diversity Action Plan for Fisheries was presented which includes measures at three levels: the conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks; the protection of non-target species and habitats from fishing activities and the reduction of the impact of aqua-culture on different ecosystems. The Green Paper and the accompanying Bio-diversity Action Plan will be discussed at the next Council meeting in June. One of the main outcomes of the new strategy is the proposal to cut the EU's fleet by more than one third or up to 40 per cent. Additionally, EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler called for an overhaul of the EU's subsidy and quota system and launched the idea of establishing EU fishing inspectors with powers to fine fishing fleets that are guilty of over-fishing. However, European fisheries Ministers think the proposals go too far and further hurt the hard-pressed fishing communities. As a result, the Ministers of, among others, France and Spain gave a frosty reception to the Commission's proposals. The next Fisheries Council on June 18th will be decisive for the Commission's plans.

More information the can be obtained at: http://www.coastalguide.org/news/2001-07.html#pol1 and at http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/news_corner/press/inf01_25_en.htm

Green Week for a new Bathing Water policy

During the Green Week, which was held last week in Brussels, an open consultation exercise with all interested parties and stakeholders concerning a new Bathing Water Directive was organised by the European Commission. An important criticism on the current Bathing Water Directive is that some parameters set out in the Directive are outdated and others are no longer relevant. The monitoring of waters is being done only for compliance and not in order to gain a better understanding of the bathing waters. The Directive did not specify analysis methods so laboratories have used a variety of methods and the results are not fully comparable. Microbiological analysis requires considerable time which means that, in case the water sample is confirmed as non-compliant, any (re)action to address that non-compliance will be too late and people might have been exposed to pollution. Furthermore, it has become clear that the issue of bathing water quality is not just a matter of 'product control' but of real quality management and quality assurance.

The most important outcomes of the 4 workshops organised around different aspects of the Directive were that a shift from monitoring to management had to be established. Quality status of the beach should not be calculated on the basis of the number of samples that either pass or fail the standards but beach profiles should be developed to describe, quantify, understand and map all potential sources of pollution or contamination on, and in the vicinity of, the bathing area. High risk locations and periods need to be identified and acted upon if water quality is to be improved. High priority should be given to developing predictive capacities to enable real time management actions and the impacts of the resulting actions need to be reflected in eventual beach classification.

The definition of the bathing area should be adjusted to local and regional changes in the use of the areas as bathing areas. Bathing activities are not only swimming but also surfing and boating which should also be included in the definition. Information should be seen as an integral part of the Directive. Involving citizens and roundtables are necessary to include all stakeholders' opinions. Information should be provided to the public on the spot (on the beach) and on the Internet. Management actions stipulated in the revised Bathing Water Directive for the coastal bathing waters should also reflect the approach outlined in the Commission's recent Communication on Integrated Coastal Zone Management; http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/iczm/comm2000.htm. All comments and suggestions made during the consultation exercise during the Green Week Conference will be taken into account by the Commission as it drafts its Proposal for a new Bathing Water Directive. The Proposal is scheduled for adoption by the Commission around June/July 2001.

For the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and Council on the development for a new Bathing Water Directive: COM(2000) 860, see http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2000/com2000_0860en01.pdf
Information on the Green Week: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/greenweek/index2a.htm

European proposals on how to fight marine pollution

The European Commission has launched a number of proposals aimed at fighting marine pollution. Firstly, the Commission proposed a Directive for the establishment of a Community monitoring, control and information system for maritime traffic. Secondly, the Commission voiced a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of a fund for the compensation of oil pollution damage in European waters and related measures. Moreover, the Commission expressed the desire for the establishment of a European Maritime Safety Agency by launching the adhering proposal. Lastly, a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council for the prevention and control of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies was amended and re-launched.

The (full text) proposals can be downloaded at:
http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/2001/ce12020010424en.html

EU will be founder member of the new South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

At a diplomatic Conference in Windhoek, Namibia, on 20 April, the European Union signed a Convention for the establishment of a new regional fisheries organisation to combat illegal fishing in the south-east Atlantic. The south-east Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was established by the EU, Namibia, South Africa, Angola, the United Kingdom (on account of St Helena), Norway, Iceland, the United States and Korea. (Japan has announced its intention to join SEAFO). The aim of the Convention is to ensure the equitable and sustainable exploitation of fish resources found in the south-east Atlantic waters beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones of the coastal states in this area.

Further information: EU DG Fisheries: http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/policy_en.htm
Council Decision of 29 January 2001 on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the Convention on the conservation and management of fishery resources in the south-east Atlantic Ocean: http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index-list.html in OJ - L111

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 10: Wednesday 16 May, 2001

COASTAL GUIDE NEWS is a biweekly newsletter published by the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC) with financial support of Stichting DOEN, the foundation of the Dutch lottery "Postcode Loterij". For free subscriptions, comments or contributions to this newsletter, please contact news@coastalguide.org. 

© Articles may be reproduced free of charge with acknowledgement and citation of Coastal Guide News and the URL of the Coastal Guide (http://www.coastalguide.org). The articles of this and previous issues of Coastal Guide News can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/news

Members of the Coastal Guide News editorial team: Ramon v. Barneveld, Erik Devilee, Irene Lucius, Hanneke Mesters, Guy Monod de Froideville, Albert Salman, Jolanda v.d. Sman, Josefien Wormgoor. 

Established in 1989, the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC) is an association involving the largest coastal network in Europe with 750 members and member organisations in 40 countries. For more information please contact EUCC International Secretariat, POBox 11232, NL-2301 EE Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.: +31-71-5122900, internet: http://www.eucc.nl

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