13th Baltic Sea Science Congress - Video address by Rüdiger Strempel, HELCOM Executive Secretary

As we have reached an important milestone with the updated HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan - or BSAP - and have also just entered the UN Decade of Ocean Science, we are at the start of some major processes that have great potential for further improving the ecological state of the Baltic Sea.
When it comes to marine science, the Baltic Sea region is a front runner, and the Baltic Sea Science Congress, now in its 13th edition, testifies to that. But even today, we are still facing knowledge gaps, especially when it comes to solving the Baltic’s main challenge of eutrophication and emerging issues such as climate change and new hazardous substances.
In addition, with about 200 actions and measures and very ambitious goals, the freshly updated BSAP will need all the support it can get. That includes strong scientific underpinnings and knowledge about the natural and human-made processes taking place in the Baltic Sea so that the BSAP can be successfully implemented.
HELCOM is a platform for policy-science interaction, and we have mastered the policy part of the equation. But we only have a limited mandate and capacity for actual scientific research.
At HELCOM, we therefore need to rely on others for the necessary scientific knowledge needed to reach our ambitious goals, objectives and agreements for protecting and improving the state of the Baltic Sea - including addressing all challenges that are preventing the achievement of good environmental status.
Alongside the updated BSAP, we have just adopted the HELCOM Science Agenda, to raise awareness of our scientific needs with science funding organizations. The agenda is designed to help fill our knowledge gaps and support our ongoing processes with the scientific basis needed for their sound implementation.
Sharing this information with the scientific community will help prioritize and guide research and innovation so that they match the current and future policy needs, of HELCOM as well as other stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region.
The HELCOM Science Agenda addresses the topic of biodiversity, including species, habitats, food webs and marine protected areas. It also touches on human-induced pressures such as climate change, eutrophication, hazardous substances and litter, underwater noise, alien species, shipping and fisheries. And it includes holistic themes such as the ecosystem approach and maritime spatial planning, as well as economic and social considerations.
Since the agenda is also linked to the UN Decade of Ocean Science, it will in effect also contribute to building the knowledge needed for reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably SDG 14 on oceans and seas.
The Baltic Sea Science Congress has been a major enabler of science-based policy making since the 1990s. In light of the recent adoption of the HELCOM BSAP and Science Agenda, we will be following this 13th edition with particular interest.
If you wish to learn more about how science-policy interaction in the Baltic Sea region will shape up in the 10 years to come, please join the BSSC Workshop: “Ways forward for science-policy interaction in the light of the updated HELCOM BSAP and new HELCOM Science Agenda”, which will take place on Thursday, 21 October.
I wish you a successful Baltic Sea Science Congress.
Thank you!